Journal of Food, Agriculture and Environment

Jatropha cake as a fertilizer for the growth of Blc. Amy Wakasugi ‘Yamanashi’ orchid

Author(s):

Roberto A. Ribeiro *, Maria Flávia R. Starling, Luiza A. R. Rossi-Barbosa

Recieved Date: 2014-07-07, Accepted Date: 2014-09-20

Abstract:

Jatropha curcas is oil plant which has been used to obtain biodiesel once produces oil with potential as raw material to this application. Jatropha cake is a waste product of the process of oil extraction from seeds that can be utilized as a fertilizer. The objective of this work was to investigate the potential of Jatropha cake as a fertilizer for the growth of Blc. Amy Wakasugi ‘Yamanashi’ orchid. Sixty seedlings were treated with Jatropha cake, enriched castor cake, calcium nitrate, chemical fertilizer and their mixtures. Chemical analyses were done to verify nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium contents in these fertilizers. The length, the width and the largest part of the aerial unit were measured, and the number of leaves was determined to evaluate the development of the orchids. Compositions (g kg ^-1) of Jatropha cake and enriched castor cake were, respectively, nitrogen 38.5 ± 0.4 and 29.3 ± 0.7, phosphorus 5.60 ± 0.23 and 36.81 ± 0.43, potassium 25.6 ± 0.8 and 21.0 ± 0.7. Slight differences in the length and width were observed among the orchids subjected to the different treatments over nine months. For the number of leaves, the treatments with Jatropha cake were found to exhibit the highest values over nine months, whereas the measurements of the largest part of the aerial unit revealed that the use of enriched castor cake was slightly better than the use of the other fertilizers. The results indicated that Jatropha cake exhibits potential for application as a fertilizer for this orchid.

Keywords:

Jatropha cake, fertilizer, orchids

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Journal: Journal of Food, Agriculture and Environment
Year: 2014
Volume: 12
Issue: 3&4
Category: Environment
Pages: 371-374

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