Use of plant growth-promoting rhizobacteria (PGPR) and organic fertilization for soilless cultivation of basil
Metadata
- Cite key: moncadaUsePlantGrowthpromoting2021
- Item type: Journal Article
- Authors: Alessandra Moncada, Alessandro Miceli, Filippo Vetrano
- Affiliation: Dipartimento Scienze Agrarie, Alimentari e Forestali, Università di Palermo, Viale delle Scienze 4, 90128, Palermo, Italy
- Journal: Scientia Horticulturae 275 (2021) 109733
- Date: 01/2021
- Date added: 2021-02-04
- DOI: 10.1016/j.scienta.2020.109733
- Funding: [not reported]
- URL: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scienta.2020.109733
- PDF:
Moncada et al. - 2021 - Use of plant growth-promoting rhizobacteria (PGPR).pdf
Opinion
A clean, well-replicated 2x6 factorial (PGPR inoculant x mineral:organic nutrient-solution ratio, 5 pots x 4 plants per cell, two-way ANOVA + LSD) with a clear headline result: the PGPR inoculant did essentially nothing for growth but cut leaf nitrate substantially, while the mineral-to-organic fertilizer ratio drove almost everything else. The main limitation for this vault is structural rather than a flaw in the paper itself: it is not aquaponics or even recirculating hydroponics — it is peat-substrate pot culture with an ebb-and-flow nutrient solution, so every fish/aquaculture column is NA and “HYD” had to be repurposed to hold this paper’s own (sole) soilless-system yield figures. Most published tables report NS-level and PGPR-level marginal means rather than the full 12-cell interaction, so the interesting PGPR x NS interaction (significant for leaf color and nitrate) is only fully recoverable as bar charts (Figs. 2-3) plus a handful of numbers spelled out in the discussion text. Worth citing as a organic-vs-mineral-fertilizer/nitrate-mitigation comparison point for aquaponics reviews discussing PGPR as a nitrate-reduction lever, but not as an aquaponics data point per se.
Abstract
Today there is a greater environmental and ecological awareness and it is growing the number of farmers who want to adopt sustainable and efficient cultivation systems even if not officially certified as organic. Sustainable and modern cultivation systems must involve organic fertilization and cannot ignore the role of rhizosphere microorganisms. Starting from this premise, this paper aimed to evaluate the use of plant growth-promoting rhizobacteria (PGPR) and organic liquid fertilizers on soilless cultivation of basil. Genovese basil plants were cultivated in pots filled with a substrate inoculated or not with a commercial biostimulant (TNC BactorrS13) containing growth-promoting rhizobacteria (Bacillus spp.). Plants were fed only with water (control without fertilization) or with nutrient solutions (NS) that provided the same amount of nutrients with five combinations of mineral (M) and organic (O) fertilizers: 100 % M, 75 % M + 25 % O, 50 % M + 50 % O, 25 % M + 75 % O, 100 % O. The inoculum of the substrate with PGPR had no significant effect on basil plant growth but showed to be effective in decreasing the nitrate content of basil leaves. Several plant characteristics (e.g. yield, fresh and dry biomass, leaf number and area, stem diameter, etc.) showed to be negatively affected by the progressive reduction of the percentage of mineral fertilizer in the nutrient solution, in favor of the organic one, which, on the other hand, determined a significant reduction of the nitrate content of basil leaves.
Summary
Genovese basil was sown directly into 250 mL pots of peat-based substrate and grown for 56 days in an unheated greenhouse at the University of Palermo, under a fully-crossed 2 (PGPR inoculant: present/absent) x 6 (nutrient solution: unfertilized water control, 100% mineral, and four mineral:organic blends down to 100% organic) design, with 5 replicate pots (4 plants each) per one of the 12 combinations. Half the pots were inoculated at sowing with a commercial Bacillus-spp. biostimulant (TNC BactorrS13); the other half received no inoculant. The bacterial inoculant had no significant effect on stomatal conductance, water use, growth, or yield, but significantly reduced leaf nitrate content, particularly at the mineral-heavy end of the fertilizer gradient (a nitrate x PGPR interaction, p<0.01). Progressively replacing mineral fertilizer with organic fertilizer significantly and monotonically reduced stomatal conductance, plant water use and water use efficiency, plant height, stem diameter, fresh/dry leaf and stem biomass, yield, leaf number and leaf area, while shifting leaf color (lighter, more saturated, more yellow) — but it also sharply cut leaf nitrate, which dropped by roughly 88% just from replacing 25% of the mineral fertilizer with organic fertilizer. The authors attribute the growth penalty of organic fertilization to slow, temperature-limited nitrogen mineralization during a cool autumn/winter greenhouse cycle, and the nitrate reduction to both the inherently lower N-NO3 content of organic fertilizers and possible microbial nitrate immobilization aided by the PGPR inoculant.
Experiment data
- Location: Unheated research greenhouse, Dipartimento SAAF, University of Palermo, Italy (38°6’28” N, 13°21’3” E; altitude 49 m)
- Design: Fully-crossed 2-factor pot experiment: PGPR inoculant (+/-) x nutrient solution (Control/water-only, 100% M, 75% M + 25% O, 50% M + 50% O, 25% M + 75% O, 100% O) = 12 treatment combinations, 5 replicate pots (4 plants/pot = 20 plants/treatment) per combination; two-way ANOVA + LSD (p<=0.05)
- Replicates / n: 5 pots (4 plants each) per of the 12 PGPR x NS combinations. Published NS-level and PGPR-level tables (1-3) report marginal (pooled) means over the crossed factor, not all 12 cells individually — see Extraction notes.
- Duration: Sown 15 Oct 2018, harvested 56 days after sowing (11 Dec 2018)
- Organisms: Basil (Ocimum basilicum) cv. ‘Genovese’
- Statistics: Two-way ANOVA (PGPR inoculant x nutrient solution), LSD test at p<=0.05 for mean separation
- Yield: Control (unfertilized) 989.7 g m⁻²; 100% M 3824.4 g m⁻² (highest); 100% O 2847.8 g m⁻²; NS effect significant p<0.001, PGPR ns
- Tissue nitrate content: 100% M, uninoculated 3512.5 mg kg⁻¹ fw vs PGPR-inoculated 2512.5 mg kg⁻¹ fw (-28.5%); NS-pooled means range from 55.0 (Control) to 3012.5 (100% M) mg kg⁻¹ fw; PGPR x NS interaction p<0.01
- Water Use Efficiency (WUE): Control 2.2 g dw L⁻¹ H2O; 100% M 4.4 g dw L⁻¹ H2O; 100% O 3.2 g dw L⁻¹ H2O; NS effect p<0.001, PGPR ns
Design and treatments
This paper: No true hydroponics and no aquaponics: basil was grown in 250 mL pots of a commercial peat-based substrate, fed via a closed-loop ebb-and-flow sub-irrigation system (small trays flooded to 2 cm for 15 min, drained back to a 10 L tank, reused; refilled with fresh NS when >20% of volume was consumed). The two crossed factors were (1) PGPR inoculation — half the pots received 0.15 g L⁻¹ of TNC BactorrS13 (1.3x10⁸ CFU g⁻¹ of a 13-species Bacillus/Paenibacillus blend, plus humic acids, cytokinins, auxins, gibberellins, amino acids and Ascophyllum nodosum-derived trace elements) at sowing and first fertigation, the other half received none; and (2) nutrient solution composition — unfertilized water control, or one of five mineral(M):organic(O) blends (100M, 75M25O, 50M50O, 25M75O, 100O) formulated to deliver equal total nutrients (mineral solution modified from Sonneveld’s recipe; organic solution from a commercial liquid organic fertilizer, NPK 3-2-5.5, containing beet-marc/sugarcane/fish-flour/wheat-residue N).
Nutrient-solution gradient effects on growth, water use and color
This paper: Progressively replacing mineral fertilizer with organic fertilizer produced a consistent, statistically significant (p<0.001 for NS, ns for PGPR, ns for the interaction on nearly all growth/physiology variables) monotonic decline: stomatal conductance (288.3 -> 171.4 mmol m⁻² s⁻¹), plant water use (50.9 -> 37.1 g fw L⁻¹ H2O), WUE (4.4 -> 3.2 g dw L⁻¹ H2O), plant height (16.0 -> 12.7 cm), stem diameter (2.6 -> 2.2 mm), leaf/stem fresh and dry weight, yield (3824.4 -> 2847.8 g m⁻²), leaf number (7.9 -> 6.7 leaves plant⁻¹) and leaf area (167.3 -> 136.2 cm² plant⁻¹) all decreased as the organic fraction rose from 0% to 100%. The unfertilized control was always the lowest-performing treatment. Leaf color also shifted with fertilizer composition (not with PGPR): lightness (L*) and yellowness increased and Chroma/Hue decreased as organic fraction rose, with ΔE (total color difference vs. the 100% M reference) increasing from 1.1 (100% M) up to 7.7 (100% O), and highest (17.6) in the unfertilized control.
Compared with:
- #todo Atkin & Nichols (2004) — organic hydroponic nutrient solutions slowed lettuce growth in NFT relative to conventional mineral solutions, a parallel finding to this paper’s basil result. (p.6)
- #todo Succop & Newman (2004) — conventionally-fertilized greenhouse basil was more productive than organically-fertilized basil, cited as consistent with this paper. (p.6)
- #todo Akoumianaki-Ioannidou et al. (2015) and Treadwell et al. (2011) — organic fertilization in soilless systems can adequately cover basil nutrient needs, cited as a contrasting view. (p.6)
PGPR effect and the nitrate reduction
This paper: The PGPR inoculant had no significant main effect on any growth, yield, water-use, or leaf-color parameter (all “ns” in Tables 1-3). Its one significant, and the authors’ headline, effect was on leaf nitrate content, where a significant PGPR x NS interaction (p<0.01) was found: in the 100% M treatment, PGPR inoculation cut nitrate from 3512.5 to 2512.5 mg kg⁻¹ fw (-28.5%); in the 75% M + 25% O treatment, from 490.0 (uninoculated) to 260.0 mg kg⁻¹ fw (inoculated, -46.9%). Both uninoculated values were near or above EU maximum-acceptable nitrate levels cited for spinach (3500 mg kg⁻¹ fw) and lettuce (5000 mg kg⁻¹ fw); the inoculated 100% M value (2512.5) fell below the spinach threshold. The authors hypothesize the effect is driven by microbial nitrate immobilization rather than classical PGPR growth promotion, and speculate that the low greenhouse temperatures recorded during the trial may have suppressed the PGPR strains’ more typical growth-promoting activity.
Compared with:
- #todo Woitke & Schitzler (2005) — PGPR benefits depend on treatment timing, inoculum dose, and environmental conditions; cited to explain the absence of a growth effect here. (p.5)
- #todo Bhattacharyya & Jha (2012) — PGPR isolates typically increase height, root length and dry matter in potato/tomato/maize/wheat, contrasted with this paper’s null growth result. (p.5)
- #todo Burger & Jackson (2003) — microbial nitrate immobilization is greater under organic than conventional cropping systems, cited to support the PGPR/nitrate mechanism hypothesis. (p.5-6)
Citations to chase
- #todo Atkin & Nichols (2004) — organic hydroponic nutrient solution slows NFT lettuce growth vs mineral solution
- #todo Succop & Newman (2004) — conventional vs organic fresh-market basil productivity in a greenhouse
- #todo Akoumianaki-Ioannidou et al. (2015) — cultivation system/fertilization effects on Ocimum basilicum and Mentha spicata seedling production
- #todo Treadwell et al. (2011) — organic fertilization programs for greenhouse basil/spearmint in soilless trough systems
- #todo Woitke & Schitzler (2005) — biotic stress relief on plants in hydroponic systems (PGPR timing/dose/environment dependence)
- #todo Bhattacharyya & Jha (2012) — PGPR review, growth promotion in potato/tomato/maize/wheat
- #todo Burger & Jackson (2003) — microbial N immobilization in organic vs conventional cropping systems
Extraction notes
Aquaponic/aquaculture component: NONE. This is a pure soilless (peat-substrate, pot-based) fertigation study comparing mineral vs. organic liquid fertilizer and a PGPR biostimulant. There is no fish, no aquaculture, no biofilter, and no true recirculating hydroponic system (NFT/DWC/aeroponics) — it is closed-loop ebb-and-flow sub-irrigation of potted substrate. Flagged per the task brief: extracted in full (useful biostimulant/organic-fertilizer/nitrate comparison point) but this is NOT an aquaponics paper and should not be tagged Meta/Fish/.
Type call: experiment — original data collected under a controlled, replicated (5 pots x 4 plants per of 12 combinations), two-way-ANOVA-tested factorial design. Not a review despite extensive literature comparison in the Discussion (per SCHEMA.md’s test: does the paper report data the authors collected themselves — yes, Materials and Methods, Results with ANOVA tables).
Severity tally: 0 ⚠️BLOCK, 0 ⚠️MATERIAL, 0 ⚠️CHECK, 2 ⚠️MINOR. Per SCHEMA.md scoring (0 BLOCK and <=2 MATERIAL = ok), quality: ok.
⚠️MINOR — discussion-text nitrate reduction percentage vs. recomputed values (no cell impact): p.4-5 states “the nitrate content of the uninoculated plants dropped by 87.8% on average (490.0 mg kg⁻¹ fw)” when reducing the mineral fraction from 100% M to 75% M + 25% O. Recomputing from the paper’s own uninoculated 100% M value (3512.5 mg kg⁻¹ fw, stated earlier in the same paragraph) gives (3512.5-490.0)/3512.5 = 86.05% reduction, not 87.8%. The 87.8% figure instead matches the NS-pooled (PGPR-averaged) reduction from Table 3 (3012.5 -> 375.0 mg kg⁻¹ fw = 87.55%, rounds to ~87.8% with the paper’s own rounding). This looks like the authors quoted a pooled percentage alongside an uninoculated-only absolute value in the same sentence. Not flagged as BLOCK/MATERIAL because no trials.csv cell stores this percentage — Tissue nitrate HYD in each row uses the directly-tabulated Table 3 pooled values (375.0 for T3), and the PGPR-split raw values (490.0/260.0) are recorded only in prose above, not in a cell.
⚠️MINOR — “5 replicated pots” caption vs. marginal-mean aggregation (no cell impact): Tables 1-3 captions state “Each value is the mean of 5 replicated pots of 4 plants each,” but the “PGPR inoculant” rows (2 values) and “Nutrient solution (NS)” rows (6 values) in the same tables are marginal means that necessarily pool across the crossed factor not shown in that row (i.e., each NS-level row averages the 5-pot PGPR+ and 5-pot PGPR- cells = 10 pots; each PGPR-level row averages across all 6 NS cells = 30 pots). This is standard ANOVA marginal-mean reporting, not a contradiction, but the caption’s “5 replicated pots” is only literally true of the 12 individual treatment-combination cells, not of the marginal rows actually published. Replicates (n) is recorded as 5 (the true per-cell replication, matching the paper’s stated design “five replicated pots for each combination of bacterial inoculant and nutrient solutions”), with this caveat noted here rather than in every row.
Extraction judgment call — one row per Nutrient Solution level, not per full 2x6 factorial cell: The paper’s stated design has 12 distinct treatment arms (2 PGPR x 6 NS, 5 pots each), which would technically justify 12 trials.csv rows. However, Tables 1-3 (the paper’s own primary results tables) report only the 6 NS-level marginal means and 2 PGPR-level marginal means — not all 12 individual cells — because the PGPR main effect and PGPR x NS interaction were non-significant for every growth/water-use/color variable except leaf nitrate (interaction p<0.01) and ΔE (interaction p<0.05, only two endpoint values stated in text). Recording 12 rows would produce 10 rows that are >90% NR for growth variables (duplicating the 6 NS-pooled values twice each with no other information gained) while only nitrate and ΔE would differ, and only at 2 of the 6 NS levels where the paper states the split in running text. Per SCHEMA.md’s “if unsure, keep one row [i.e. fewer rows] and describe the ambiguity in remarks — splitting multiplies weight in a pooled analysis, merging is reversible from the note, un-multiplying is not,” 6 rows (one per NS level, using the paper’s own pooled-NS values) were used, with the PGPR crossing, its null main effect, and the two known nitrate/ΔE interaction splits documented in full in each row’s Experimental Remarks and in Nutrient supplemented / NutrientsupplementedDetails.
Judgment call — Plant fresh weight / Plant dry matter mapped to leaf-only values: The paper reports leaf and stem fresh/dry weight as separate per-plant figures (Table 2), not a combined whole-plant total. Plant fresh weight and Plant dry matter are populated with the leaf fresh/dry weight (the primary marketable tissue for basil); stem fresh/dry weight is recorded as NO COLUMN in Experimental Remarks for each row, not summed into the leaf figure (summing would be derivation).
Judgment call — AP/HYD repurposed: Per SCHEMA.md (“System is AP, HYD, or another treatment label used in that paper”), and because this paper has no aquaponic treatment anywhere, AP is NA in every row and HYD holds this paper’s own soilless-system Yield (g m⁻²) value for that NS treatment — the closest fit to the schema’s only area-yield field.
[not reported] fields, grouped by field name (apply to all 6 rows unless noted): Funding; Date added (only DOI page-1/CrossRef metadata used; Zotero “Date Added” recorded from zotero-export.csv instead, see Metadata); Fish block (all columns — genuinely NA, not NR, no aquaculture component); Aq pH (NA — no aquaponic loop); Water recycle (no L/min flow rate stated, only a flood-height/duration/refill-threshold protocol); Water volume in the system (only the 10 L tank is stated; tray/substrate pore-water volume not given); Daily Water exchange rate (paper states a 20%-consumption refill trigger, not a stated %/day rate); Water temperature; Dissolved Oxygen; EC (only stated for the two extreme treatments, 100% M = 2.3 and 100% O = 2.7 mS/cm — recorded for T2/T6 only, NR for T1/T3/T4/T5 as the paper only gives the range, not intermediate values); TAN/NH4-N, NO2-N, NO3-N (water) (no water nutrient-concentration analysis reported; the stated N-NH4+:N-NO3- 1:14 is a mineral-fertilizer formulation ratio, not a measured concentration); Plant Category (paper never applies a category label to basil — per SCHEMA.md, no external taxonomy substituted); Days Plant after transplant (NA — seeds were sown directly into pots, no transplant step; NO COLUMN: harvested 56 days after sowing); SPAD; pHOptimal (NS pH is stated as 6.8 for 100% M and 6.3 for 100% O only — routed to NO COLUMN, not this column, since “pHOptimal” is not clearly the same concept as a measured NS pH); FUE HYD; Water classification; Average room Temperature (only min/max air-temperature ranges given via Fig. 1, no single trial-mean reported — “range only”: min 20.5-9.4°C, max 38.8-14.7°C, RH 79-82%); Air supplement, Iron supplemented, Remineralization, pH Buffers, Artificial Lighting (none mentioned — both flag and Details recorded NR/NR per the paired-column rule).
Explicitly NA (structurally inapplicable, not silent about it): Entire fish block; Aq pH; FUE AP; Tissue nitrate AP; AP; Biological system already in use / Details; Days Plant after transplant.
Explicitly N (paper states absence): Climate control = N (“unheated greenhouse” stated directly), Details records the monitoring equipment used (data logger, pyranometer) despite no active climate control.
NOT DERIVED, left NR: Whole-plant (leaf+stem) fresh/dry weight totals (leaf and stem given separately; not summed — see judgment call above).
NO COLUMN items (per row, summarized once here): Stem fresh weight and stem dry weight per plant (Table 2); NS pH (6.8 for 100% M, 6.3 for 100% O only — intermediate blends not stated); days-after-sowing harvest timing (56 DAS); stomatal conductance (mmol m⁻² s⁻¹, Table 1 — no dedicated column); leaf area per plant and per leaf (cm², Table 3); L*, a*, b*, Chroma, Hue angle, ΔE (colorimetric parameters, Table 3); PGPR biostimulant composition detail (Bacillus spp. blend + humic acids/cytokinins/auxins/gibberellins/amino acids/seaweed trace elements) and its null main effect on growth, with the two PGPR x NS nitrate/ΔE interaction splits that are stated in running text (100% M and 75% M + 25% O nitrate; 100% M and 100% O ΔE).
Scanned PDF check: clean extractable text layer (Elsevier typesetting); no OCR issue, not added to NEEDS_OCR.md.
New tags introduced: none beyond existing vault conventions (Meta/Type/Experiment, Meta/Region/Europe, Meta/Plant/Basil all previously used, e.g. in knausAquaponicGrowthBasil2024). No Meta/Fish/ tag applied — no fish studied.
New wikilink targets introduced: Alessandra Moncada, Alessandro Miceli, Filippo Vetrano, Basil (Ocimum basilicum) (existing target, reused), Yield, Tissue nitrate content, Water Use Efficiency (WUE), PGPR inoculation can reduce leaf nitrate content without improving basil growth or yield, Replacing mineral fertilizer with organic fertilizer in a soilless nutrient solution reduces basil growth and yield while also reducing leaf nitrate content, Organic fertilizer nitrogen availability lags mineral fertilizer under cool greenhouse temperatures, limiting plant growth.
Source: Moncada et al. - 2021 - Use of plant growth-promoting rhizobacteria (PGPR).pdf
Data Tables
Structured data extracted from this paper into the vault's
trials.csv/plant_measurements.csvdatasets. Fields the paper didn't report are omitted. Download the full datasets (measurements).
Trial Parameters
moncadaUsePlantGrowthpromoting2021-T1
Water
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| Water volume in the system | 10 L (solution tank per treatment; tray/substrate pore-water volume not stated) |
| Water type | Water only (no fertilization; irrigation water, composition not further specified) |
| WUE | 2.2 g dw/L H2O |
Plant
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| Plant | Basil (Ocimum basilicum), cv. Genovese |
| Details | Sown 15 Oct 2018 in 250 mL pots (commercial peat-based substrate, SER CA-V7 Special semine, pH 6.0, pre-charged with 800 g/m3 NPK 12-11-18); density 560 plants/m2 (4 plants/pot); harvested 56 days after sowing (11 Dec 2018), no transplant step (direct-sown). Treatment: Control (unfertilized, water only). |
| Plants/m2 | 560 |
| Plant height | 7.9 cm |
| Leaf count | 5.7 leaves/plant |
| Plant fresh weight | 1.3 g/plant (leaf fresh weight; stem fresh weight reported separately, see remarks) |
| Plant dry matter | 0.19 g/plant (leaf dry weight; stem dry weight reported separately, see remarks) |
| Tissue nitrate HYD | 55.0 mg/kg fw |
System & Setup
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| System type | Soilless pot culture, closed-loop ebb-and-flow sub-irrigation (substrate-based) |
| Media Details | 250 mL black polyethylene pots, commercial peat-based substrate (SER CA-V7 Special semine, pH 6.0, pre-charged 800 g/m3 NPK 12-11-18); tray 70x40x5 cm; 10 L NS tank |
| Climate control | N (Unheated greenhouse (stated directly); air temp/RH monitored via data logger, solar radiation via pyranometer; no active heating/cooling described.) |
| Nutrient supplemented | Y (Half of the 5 pots in this NS treatment (PGPR+ subgroup) received 0.15 g/L TNC BactorrS13 at sowing + first fertigation (1.3x10^8 CFU/g of 13 Bacillus/Paenibacillus spp., plus humic acids, cytokinins, auxins, gibberellins, amino acids, and Ascophyllum nodosum-derived trace elements); the other half (PGPR-) received none. This row’s growth/yield/color values are NS-level marginal means pooled across both PGPR subgroups (PGPR main effect ns for every variable except leaf nitrate content, p<0.01 interaction, and DeltaE, p<0.05 interaction) — see Experimental Remarks for the PGPR-split values stated in running text for this treatment, if any.) |
| Equipment | Data logger (Testo mod. 608-H1) for greenhouse air temp/RH; pyranometer (SR30-L, Campbell Scientific) for solar radiation; diffusion leaf porometer (AP4, Delta-T Devices) for stomatal conductance; colorimeter (Minolta Chroma Meter CR-400C) for L*/a*/b*; flatbed scanner (Epson Photo 4180, 300 dpi) + ImageJ v1.52a for leaf area; thermo-ventilated oven (65C, 48h) for dry weight; Merck RQflex10 reflectometer for leaf nitrate. |
| Control Parameters | Closed-loop ebb-and-flow sub-irrigation: NS flooded to 2 cm height in tray, held 15 min, drained back to 10 L tank, reused; tank refilled with fresh NS when consumed volume exceeded 20%. NS pH 6.8 (100% M) to 6.3 (100% O, NO COLUMN: intermediate blends not individually stated). EC 2.3 (100% M) to 2.7 (100% O) mS/cm, increase <10% over the trial; pH ‘almost constant’. |
| Combination | Basil (Ocimum basilicum cv. Genovese) in soilless pots; PGPR inoculation (Bacillus spp. biostimulant, TNC BactorrS13) crossed with 6 mineral(M):organic(O) nutrient-solution ratios (Control/100M/75M25O/50M50O/25M75O/100O); no fish/aquaponic component anywhere in this paper. |
Site
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| Region | Europe |
| Country | Italy |
| Lat | 38.1078 |
| Long | 13.3508 |
| Average room Temperature | NR (only min/max air-temp ranges given via Fig. 1, no single trial mean: min 20.5 to 9.4 C, max 38.8 to 14.7 C; range only) |
Results & Statistics
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| Measured Unit | g fw/plant; g dw/plant; g m-2 (yield); mmol m-2 s-1 (stomatal conductance); g fw L-1 H2O (PWU); g dw L-1 H2O (WUE); mg kg-1 fw (nitrate); CIELab units |
| Statistic Details | Two-way ANOVA (PGPR inoculant x nutrient solution); LSD test, p<=0.05, for mean separation |
| Statistically analysed | Y |
| Replicates (n) | 5 |
| HYD | 989.7 g/m2 (yield) |
Experimental Remarks: TRIAL DEFINITION: T1 = Nutrient solution ‘Control (unfertilized, water only)’ treatment, pooled (marginal mean) across the crossed PGPR inoculant factor (+/-, 5 pots each, 10 pots total feeding this row’s growth/yield/color values), per the paper’s own Table 1-3 presentation. Paired comparator = the other 5 NS-level rows in this same paper (all under identical pot/ebb-and-flow conditions); no hydroponic or aquaponic control exists outside this paper’s own soilless system. See note’s Extraction notes for the full justification of 6 rows (by NS level) rather than 12 (full PGPR x NS factorial). | Highest DeltaE (17.6) and highest color saturation/lightness among all treatments (Table 3) despite lowest nitrate (55.0 mg/kg fw) and lowest yield/growth — consistent with N-deficiency-driven leaf yellowing/lightening, not a contradiction. | NO COLUMN: stem fresh weight 0.4 g/plant; stem dry weight 0.05 g/plant (leaf-only values used for Plant fresh weight/Plant dry matter, see note’s judgment-call section); stomatal conductance 138.4 mmol/m2/s (Table 1); leaf area 54.5 cm2/plant, 9.5 cm2/leaf (Table 3); colorimetric L* 56.6, a* -20.7, b* 38.8, Chroma 42.2, Hue 120.1 deg, DeltaE 17.6 (Table 3); 56 days after sowing (direct-sown, no transplant). | NOT DERIVED, left NR: whole-plant (leaf+stem) fresh/dry weight totals (leaf and stem reported separately in Table 2, not summed). | UNIT CONVERSION ONLY: coordinates 38 deg 6’ 28” N / 13 deg 21’ 3” E -> decimal 38.1078/13.3508; EC reported by the paper in mS/cm, numerically identical to dS/m (same unit, different name), no conversion arithmetic needed.
moncadaUsePlantGrowthpromoting2021-T2
Water
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| Water volume in the system | 10 L (solution tank per treatment; tray/substrate pore-water volume not stated) |
| Water type | 100% mineral nutrient solution, modified Sonneveld’s recipe (Sonneveld and Voogt 2009), N-NH4+:N-NO3- formulation ratio 1:14 (ratio, not a measured mg/L concentration) |
| WUE | 4.4 g dw/L H2O |
| EC | 2.3 dS/m |
Plant
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| Plant | Basil (Ocimum basilicum), cv. Genovese |
| Details | Sown 15 Oct 2018 in 250 mL pots (commercial peat-based substrate, SER CA-V7 Special semine, pH 6.0, pre-charged with 800 g/m3 NPK 12-11-18); density 560 plants/m2 (4 plants/pot); harvested 56 days after sowing (11 Dec 2018), no transplant step (direct-sown). Treatment: 100% Mineral (M) nutrient solution. |
| Plants/m2 | 560 |
| Plant height | 16.0 cm |
| Leaf count | 7.9 leaves/plant |
| Plant fresh weight | 4.9 g/plant (leaf fresh weight; stem fresh weight reported separately, see remarks) |
| Plant dry matter | 0.46 g/plant (leaf dry weight; stem dry weight reported separately, see remarks) |
| Tissue nitrate HYD | 3012.5 mg/kg fw |
System & Setup
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| System type | Soilless pot culture, closed-loop ebb-and-flow sub-irrigation (substrate-based) |
| Media Details | 250 mL black polyethylene pots, commercial peat-based substrate (SER CA-V7 Special semine, pH 6.0, pre-charged 800 g/m3 NPK 12-11-18); tray 70x40x5 cm; 10 L NS tank |
| Climate control | N (Unheated greenhouse (stated directly); air temp/RH monitored via data logger, solar radiation via pyranometer; no active heating/cooling described.) |
| Nutrient supplemented | Y (Half of the 5 pots in this NS treatment (PGPR+ subgroup) received 0.15 g/L TNC BactorrS13 at sowing + first fertigation (1.3x10^8 CFU/g of 13 Bacillus/Paenibacillus spp., plus humic acids, cytokinins, auxins, gibberellins, amino acids, and Ascophyllum nodosum-derived trace elements); the other half (PGPR-) received none. This row’s growth/yield/color values are NS-level marginal means pooled across both PGPR subgroups (PGPR main effect ns for every variable except leaf nitrate content, p<0.01 interaction, and DeltaE, p<0.05 interaction) — see Experimental Remarks for the PGPR-split values stated in running text for this treatment, if any.) |
| Equipment | Data logger (Testo mod. 608-H1) for greenhouse air temp/RH; pyranometer (SR30-L, Campbell Scientific) for solar radiation; diffusion leaf porometer (AP4, Delta-T Devices) for stomatal conductance; colorimeter (Minolta Chroma Meter CR-400C) for L*/a*/b*; flatbed scanner (Epson Photo 4180, 300 dpi) + ImageJ v1.52a for leaf area; thermo-ventilated oven (65C, 48h) for dry weight; Merck RQflex10 reflectometer for leaf nitrate. |
| Control Parameters | Closed-loop ebb-and-flow sub-irrigation: NS flooded to 2 cm height in tray, held 15 min, drained back to 10 L tank, reused; tank refilled with fresh NS when consumed volume exceeded 20%. NS pH 6.8 (100% M) to 6.3 (100% O, NO COLUMN: intermediate blends not individually stated). EC 2.3 (100% M) to 2.7 (100% O) mS/cm, increase <10% over the trial; pH ‘almost constant’. |
| Combination | Basil (Ocimum basilicum cv. Genovese) in soilless pots; PGPR inoculation (Bacillus spp. biostimulant, TNC BactorrS13) crossed with 6 mineral(M):organic(O) nutrient-solution ratios (Control/100M/75M25O/50M50O/25M75O/100O); no fish/aquaponic component anywhere in this paper. |
Site
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| Region | Europe |
| Country | Italy |
| Lat | 38.1078 |
| Long | 13.3508 |
| Average room Temperature | NR (only min/max air-temp ranges given via Fig. 1, no single trial mean: min 20.5 to 9.4 C, max 38.8 to 14.7 C; range only) |
Results & Statistics
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| Measured Unit | g fw/plant; g dw/plant; g m-2 (yield); mmol m-2 s-1 (stomatal conductance); g fw L-1 H2O (PWU); g dw L-1 H2O (WUE); mg kg-1 fw (nitrate); CIELab units |
| Statistic Details | Two-way ANOVA (PGPR inoculant x nutrient solution); LSD test, p<=0.05, for mean separation |
| Statistically analysed | Y |
| Replicates (n) | 5 |
| HYD | 3824.4 g/m2 (yield) |
Experimental Remarks: TRIAL DEFINITION: T2 = Nutrient solution ‘100% Mineral (M) nutrient solution’ treatment, pooled (marginal mean) across the crossed PGPR inoculant factor (+/-, 5 pots each, 10 pots total feeding this row’s growth/yield/color values), per the paper’s own Table 1-3 presentation. Paired comparator = the other 5 NS-level rows in this same paper (all under identical pot/ebb-and-flow conditions); no hydroponic or aquaponic control exists outside this paper’s own soilless system. See note’s Extraction notes for the full justification of 6 rows (by NS level) rather than 12 (full PGPR x NS factorial). | PGPR x NS interaction split stated in running text (p.4-5): uninoculated plants 3512.5 mg/kg fw nitrate (highest in the paper); PGPR-inoculated plants 2512.5 mg/kg fw (-28.5%). Average of the two (3012.5) matches this row’s pooled Table 3 value exactly. DeltaE PGPR split (Fig. 2, stated in text p.4): non-inoculated 0, inoculated 2.2; average 1.1 matches this row’s pooled Table 3 value. | NO COLUMN: stem fresh weight 1.9 g/plant; stem dry weight 0.14 g/plant (leaf-only values used for Plant fresh weight/Plant dry matter, see note’s judgment-call section); stomatal conductance 288.3 mmol/m2/s (Table 1); leaf area 167.3 cm2/plant, 21.3 cm2/leaf (Table 3); colorimetric L* 46.6, a* -18.7, b* 25.7, Chroma 30.2, Hue 129.3 deg, DeltaE 1.1 (Table 3); 56 days after sowing (direct-sown, no transplant). | NOT DERIVED, left NR: whole-plant (leaf+stem) fresh/dry weight totals (leaf and stem reported separately in Table 2, not summed). | UNIT CONVERSION ONLY: coordinates 38 deg 6’ 28” N / 13 deg 21’ 3” E -> decimal 38.1078/13.3508; EC reported by the paper in mS/cm, numerically identical to dS/m (same unit, different name), no conversion arithmetic needed.
moncadaUsePlantGrowthpromoting2021-T3
Water
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| Water volume in the system | 10 L (solution tank per treatment; tray/substrate pore-water volume not stated) |
| Water type | Nutrient solution: 75% mineral (Sonneveld-based) + 25% organic (Geolia liquid fertilizer, NPK 3-2-5.5) by nutrient content |
| WUE | 3.7 g dw/L H2O |
Plant
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| Plant | Basil (Ocimum basilicum), cv. Genovese |
| Details | Sown 15 Oct 2018 in 250 mL pots (commercial peat-based substrate, SER CA-V7 Special semine, pH 6.0, pre-charged with 800 g/m3 NPK 12-11-18); density 560 plants/m2 (4 plants/pot); harvested 56 days after sowing (11 Dec 2018), no transplant step (direct-sown). Treatment: 75% Mineral + 25% Organic (75M25O). |
| Plants/m2 | 560 |
| Plant height | 14.5 cm |
| Leaf count | 7.2 leaves/plant |
| Plant fresh weight | 4.4 g/plant (leaf fresh weight; stem fresh weight reported separately, see remarks) |
| Plant dry matter | 0.37 g/plant (leaf dry weight; stem dry weight reported separately, see remarks) |
| Tissue nitrate HYD | 375.0 mg/kg fw |
System & Setup
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| System type | Soilless pot culture, closed-loop ebb-and-flow sub-irrigation (substrate-based) |
| Media Details | 250 mL black polyethylene pots, commercial peat-based substrate (SER CA-V7 Special semine, pH 6.0, pre-charged 800 g/m3 NPK 12-11-18); tray 70x40x5 cm; 10 L NS tank |
| Climate control | N (Unheated greenhouse (stated directly); air temp/RH monitored via data logger, solar radiation via pyranometer; no active heating/cooling described.) |
| Nutrient supplemented | Y (Half of the 5 pots in this NS treatment (PGPR+ subgroup) received 0.15 g/L TNC BactorrS13 at sowing + first fertigation (1.3x10^8 CFU/g of 13 Bacillus/Paenibacillus spp., plus humic acids, cytokinins, auxins, gibberellins, amino acids, and Ascophyllum nodosum-derived trace elements); the other half (PGPR-) received none. This row’s growth/yield/color values are NS-level marginal means pooled across both PGPR subgroups (PGPR main effect ns for every variable except leaf nitrate content, p<0.01 interaction, and DeltaE, p<0.05 interaction) — see Experimental Remarks for the PGPR-split values stated in running text for this treatment, if any.) |
| Equipment | Data logger (Testo mod. 608-H1) for greenhouse air temp/RH; pyranometer (SR30-L, Campbell Scientific) for solar radiation; diffusion leaf porometer (AP4, Delta-T Devices) for stomatal conductance; colorimeter (Minolta Chroma Meter CR-400C) for L*/a*/b*; flatbed scanner (Epson Photo 4180, 300 dpi) + ImageJ v1.52a for leaf area; thermo-ventilated oven (65C, 48h) for dry weight; Merck RQflex10 reflectometer for leaf nitrate. |
| Control Parameters | Closed-loop ebb-and-flow sub-irrigation: NS flooded to 2 cm height in tray, held 15 min, drained back to 10 L tank, reused; tank refilled with fresh NS when consumed volume exceeded 20%. NS pH 6.8 (100% M) to 6.3 (100% O, NO COLUMN: intermediate blends not individually stated). EC 2.3 (100% M) to 2.7 (100% O) mS/cm, increase <10% over the trial; pH ‘almost constant’. |
| Combination | Basil (Ocimum basilicum cv. Genovese) in soilless pots; PGPR inoculation (Bacillus spp. biostimulant, TNC BactorrS13) crossed with 6 mineral(M):organic(O) nutrient-solution ratios (Control/100M/75M25O/50M50O/25M75O/100O); no fish/aquaponic component anywhere in this paper. |
Site
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| Region | Europe |
| Country | Italy |
| Lat | 38.1078 |
| Long | 13.3508 |
| Average room Temperature | NR (only min/max air-temp ranges given via Fig. 1, no single trial mean: min 20.5 to 9.4 C, max 38.8 to 14.7 C; range only) |
Results & Statistics
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| Measured Unit | g fw/plant; g dw/plant; g m-2 (yield); mmol m-2 s-1 (stomatal conductance); g fw L-1 H2O (PWU); g dw L-1 H2O (WUE); mg kg-1 fw (nitrate); CIELab units |
| Statistic Details | Two-way ANOVA (PGPR inoculant x nutrient solution); LSD test, p<=0.05, for mean separation |
| Statistically analysed | Y |
| Replicates (n) | 5 |
| HYD | 3320.2 g/m2 (yield) |
Experimental Remarks: TRIAL DEFINITION: T3 = Nutrient solution ‘75% Mineral + 25% Organic (75M25O)’ treatment, pooled (marginal mean) across the crossed PGPR inoculant factor (+/-, 5 pots each, 10 pots total feeding this row’s growth/yield/color values), per the paper’s own Table 1-3 presentation. Paired comparator = the other 5 NS-level rows in this same paper (all under identical pot/ebb-and-flow conditions); no hydroponic or aquaponic control exists outside this paper’s own soilless system. See note’s Extraction notes for the full justification of 6 rows (by NS level) rather than 12 (full PGPR x NS factorial). | PGPR x NS interaction split stated in running text (p.4-5): uninoculated plants 490.0 mg/kg fw nitrate; PGPR-inoculated plants 260.0 mg/kg fw (-46.9%). Average of the two (375.0) matches this row’s pooled Table 3 value exactly. WARN-MINOR: discussion text (p.4-5) describes this drop (from the 100% M uninoculated value) as ‘87.8% on average’, which recomputes to 86.05% from the uninoculated-only values (3512.5->490.0) but to ~87.55% from the NS-pooled values (3012.5->375.0, this row) — the quoted percentage appears to mix a pooled ratio with an uninoculated-only absolute value. No cell affected (percentages are not stored; both raw values, 490.0 and 260.0, are reported here in full). | NO COLUMN: stem fresh weight 1.6 g/plant; stem dry weight 0.12 g/plant (leaf-only values used for Plant fresh weight/Plant dry matter, see note’s judgment-call section); stomatal conductance 222.2 mmol/m2/s (Table 1); leaf area 152.1 cm2/plant, 21.3 cm2/leaf (Table 3); colorimetric L* 46.6, a* -18.8, b* 26.5, Chroma 30.9, Hue 128.6 deg, DeltaE 2.3 (Table 3); 56 days after sowing (direct-sown, no transplant). | NOT DERIVED, left NR: whole-plant (leaf+stem) fresh/dry weight totals (leaf and stem reported separately in Table 2, not summed). | UNIT CONVERSION ONLY: coordinates 38 deg 6’ 28” N / 13 deg 21’ 3” E -> decimal 38.1078/13.3508; EC reported by the paper in mS/cm, numerically identical to dS/m (same unit, different name), no conversion arithmetic needed.
moncadaUsePlantGrowthpromoting2021-T4
Water
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| Water volume in the system | 10 L (solution tank per treatment; tray/substrate pore-water volume not stated) |
| Water type | Nutrient solution: 50% mineral (Sonneveld-based) + 50% organic (Geolia liquid fertilizer, NPK 3-2-5.5) by nutrient content |
| WUE | 3.4 g dw/L H2O |
Plant
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| Plant | Basil (Ocimum basilicum), cv. Genovese |
| Details | Sown 15 Oct 2018 in 250 mL pots (commercial peat-based substrate, SER CA-V7 Special semine, pH 6.0, pre-charged with 800 g/m3 NPK 12-11-18); density 560 plants/m2 (4 plants/pot); harvested 56 days after sowing (11 Dec 2018), no transplant step (direct-sown). Treatment: 50% Mineral + 50% Organic (50M50O). |
| Plants/m2 | 560 |
| Plant height | 13.8 cm |
| Leaf count | 7.2 leaves/plant |
| Plant fresh weight | 4.2 g/plant (leaf fresh weight; stem fresh weight reported separately, see remarks) |
| Plant dry matter | 0.35 g/plant (leaf dry weight; stem dry weight reported separately, see remarks) |
| Tissue nitrate HYD | 265.8 mg/kg fw |
System & Setup
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| System type | Soilless pot culture, closed-loop ebb-and-flow sub-irrigation (substrate-based) |
| Media Details | 250 mL black polyethylene pots, commercial peat-based substrate (SER CA-V7 Special semine, pH 6.0, pre-charged 800 g/m3 NPK 12-11-18); tray 70x40x5 cm; 10 L NS tank |
| Climate control | N (Unheated greenhouse (stated directly); air temp/RH monitored via data logger, solar radiation via pyranometer; no active heating/cooling described.) |
| Nutrient supplemented | Y (Half of the 5 pots in this NS treatment (PGPR+ subgroup) received 0.15 g/L TNC BactorrS13 at sowing + first fertigation (1.3x10^8 CFU/g of 13 Bacillus/Paenibacillus spp., plus humic acids, cytokinins, auxins, gibberellins, amino acids, and Ascophyllum nodosum-derived trace elements); the other half (PGPR-) received none. This row’s growth/yield/color values are NS-level marginal means pooled across both PGPR subgroups (PGPR main effect ns for every variable except leaf nitrate content, p<0.01 interaction, and DeltaE, p<0.05 interaction) — see Experimental Remarks for the PGPR-split values stated in running text for this treatment, if any.) |
| Equipment | Data logger (Testo mod. 608-H1) for greenhouse air temp/RH; pyranometer (SR30-L, Campbell Scientific) for solar radiation; diffusion leaf porometer (AP4, Delta-T Devices) for stomatal conductance; colorimeter (Minolta Chroma Meter CR-400C) for L*/a*/b*; flatbed scanner (Epson Photo 4180, 300 dpi) + ImageJ v1.52a for leaf area; thermo-ventilated oven (65C, 48h) for dry weight; Merck RQflex10 reflectometer for leaf nitrate. |
| Control Parameters | Closed-loop ebb-and-flow sub-irrigation: NS flooded to 2 cm height in tray, held 15 min, drained back to 10 L tank, reused; tank refilled with fresh NS when consumed volume exceeded 20%. NS pH 6.8 (100% M) to 6.3 (100% O, NO COLUMN: intermediate blends not individually stated). EC 2.3 (100% M) to 2.7 (100% O) mS/cm, increase <10% over the trial; pH ‘almost constant’. |
| Combination | Basil (Ocimum basilicum cv. Genovese) in soilless pots; PGPR inoculation (Bacillus spp. biostimulant, TNC BactorrS13) crossed with 6 mineral(M):organic(O) nutrient-solution ratios (Control/100M/75M25O/50M50O/25M75O/100O); no fish/aquaponic component anywhere in this paper. |
Site
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| Region | Europe |
| Country | Italy |
| Lat | 38.1078 |
| Long | 13.3508 |
| Average room Temperature | NR (only min/max air-temp ranges given via Fig. 1, no single trial mean: min 20.5 to 9.4 C, max 38.8 to 14.7 C; range only) |
Results & Statistics
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| Measured Unit | g fw/plant; g dw/plant; g m-2 (yield); mmol m-2 s-1 (stomatal conductance); g fw L-1 H2O (PWU); g dw L-1 H2O (WUE); mg kg-1 fw (nitrate); CIELab units |
| Statistic Details | Two-way ANOVA (PGPR inoculant x nutrient solution); LSD test, p<=0.05, for mean separation |
| Statistically analysed | Y |
| Replicates (n) | 5 |
| HYD | 3131.6 g/m2 (yield) |
Experimental Remarks: TRIAL DEFINITION: T4 = Nutrient solution ‘50% Mineral + 50% Organic (50M50O)’ treatment, pooled (marginal mean) across the crossed PGPR inoculant factor (+/-, 5 pots each, 10 pots total feeding this row’s growth/yield/color values), per the paper’s own Table 1-3 presentation. Paired comparator = the other 5 NS-level rows in this same paper (all under identical pot/ebb-and-flow conditions); no hydroponic or aquaponic control exists outside this paper’s own soilless system. See note’s Extraction notes for the full justification of 6 rows (by NS level) rather than 12 (full PGPR x NS factorial). | No PGPR-split nitrate/DeltaE values are stated in running text for this treatment (only 100% M, 75% M+25% O nitrate splits and 100% M, 100% O DeltaE splits are given as numbers in text); the pooled Table 3 value is used, and the PGPR-split component is NOT recoverable without reading it off Fig. 2/Fig. 3 bar charts, which is not permitted. | NO COLUMN: stem fresh weight 1.4 g/plant; stem dry weight 0.12 g/plant (leaf-only values used for Plant fresh weight/Plant dry matter, see note’s judgment-call section); stomatal conductance 212.3 mmol/m2/s (Table 1); leaf area 141.7 cm2/plant, 19.8 cm2/leaf (Table 3); colorimetric L* 47.5, a* -19.0, b* 27.3, Chroma 31.6, Hue 127.9 deg, DeltaE 2.9 (Table 3); 56 days after sowing (direct-sown, no transplant). | NOT DERIVED, left NR: whole-plant (leaf+stem) fresh/dry weight totals (leaf and stem reported separately in Table 2, not summed). | UNIT CONVERSION ONLY: coordinates 38 deg 6’ 28” N / 13 deg 21’ 3” E -> decimal 38.1078/13.3508; EC reported by the paper in mS/cm, numerically identical to dS/m (same unit, different name), no conversion arithmetic needed.
moncadaUsePlantGrowthpromoting2021-T5
Water
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| Water volume in the system | 10 L (solution tank per treatment; tray/substrate pore-water volume not stated) |
| Water type | Nutrient solution: 25% mineral (Sonneveld-based) + 75% organic (Geolia liquid fertilizer, NPK 3-2-5.5) by nutrient content |
| WUE | 3.3 g dw/L H2O |
Plant
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| Plant | Basil (Ocimum basilicum), cv. Genovese |
| Details | Sown 15 Oct 2018 in 250 mL pots (commercial peat-based substrate, SER CA-V7 Special semine, pH 6.0, pre-charged with 800 g/m3 NPK 12-11-18); density 560 plants/m2 (4 plants/pot); harvested 56 days after sowing (11 Dec 2018), no transplant step (direct-sown). Treatment: 25% Mineral + 75% Organic (25M75O). |
| Plants/m2 | 560 |
| Plant height | 13.5 cm |
| Leaf count | 7.2 leaves/plant |
| Plant fresh weight | 3.8 g/plant (leaf fresh weight; stem fresh weight reported separately, see remarks) |
| Plant dry matter | 0.33 g/plant (leaf dry weight; stem dry weight reported separately, see remarks) |
| Tissue nitrate HYD | 157.0 mg/kg fw |
System & Setup
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| System type | Soilless pot culture, closed-loop ebb-and-flow sub-irrigation (substrate-based) |
| Media Details | 250 mL black polyethylene pots, commercial peat-based substrate (SER CA-V7 Special semine, pH 6.0, pre-charged 800 g/m3 NPK 12-11-18); tray 70x40x5 cm; 10 L NS tank |
| Climate control | N (Unheated greenhouse (stated directly); air temp/RH monitored via data logger, solar radiation via pyranometer; no active heating/cooling described.) |
| Nutrient supplemented | Y (Half of the 5 pots in this NS treatment (PGPR+ subgroup) received 0.15 g/L TNC BactorrS13 at sowing + first fertigation (1.3x10^8 CFU/g of 13 Bacillus/Paenibacillus spp., plus humic acids, cytokinins, auxins, gibberellins, amino acids, and Ascophyllum nodosum-derived trace elements); the other half (PGPR-) received none. This row’s growth/yield/color values are NS-level marginal means pooled across both PGPR subgroups (PGPR main effect ns for every variable except leaf nitrate content, p<0.01 interaction, and DeltaE, p<0.05 interaction) — see Experimental Remarks for the PGPR-split values stated in running text for this treatment, if any.) |
| Equipment | Data logger (Testo mod. 608-H1) for greenhouse air temp/RH; pyranometer (SR30-L, Campbell Scientific) for solar radiation; diffusion leaf porometer (AP4, Delta-T Devices) for stomatal conductance; colorimeter (Minolta Chroma Meter CR-400C) for L*/a*/b*; flatbed scanner (Epson Photo 4180, 300 dpi) + ImageJ v1.52a for leaf area; thermo-ventilated oven (65C, 48h) for dry weight; Merck RQflex10 reflectometer for leaf nitrate. |
| Control Parameters | Closed-loop ebb-and-flow sub-irrigation: NS flooded to 2 cm height in tray, held 15 min, drained back to 10 L tank, reused; tank refilled with fresh NS when consumed volume exceeded 20%. NS pH 6.8 (100% M) to 6.3 (100% O, NO COLUMN: intermediate blends not individually stated). EC 2.3 (100% M) to 2.7 (100% O) mS/cm, increase <10% over the trial; pH ‘almost constant’. |
| Combination | Basil (Ocimum basilicum cv. Genovese) in soilless pots; PGPR inoculation (Bacillus spp. biostimulant, TNC BactorrS13) crossed with 6 mineral(M):organic(O) nutrient-solution ratios (Control/100M/75M25O/50M50O/25M75O/100O); no fish/aquaponic component anywhere in this paper. |
Site
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| Region | Europe |
| Country | Italy |
| Lat | 38.1078 |
| Long | 13.3508 |
| Average room Temperature | NR (only min/max air-temp ranges given via Fig. 1, no single trial mean: min 20.5 to 9.4 C, max 38.8 to 14.7 C; range only) |
Results & Statistics
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| Measured Unit | g fw/plant; g dw/plant; g m-2 (yield); mmol m-2 s-1 (stomatal conductance); g fw L-1 H2O (PWU); g dw L-1 H2O (WUE); mg kg-1 fw (nitrate); CIELab units |
| Statistic Details | Two-way ANOVA (PGPR inoculant x nutrient solution); LSD test, p<=0.05, for mean separation |
| Statistically analysed | Y |
| Replicates (n) | 5 |
| HYD | 2913.6 g/m2 (yield) |
Experimental Remarks: TRIAL DEFINITION: T5 = Nutrient solution ‘25% Mineral + 75% Organic (25M75O)’ treatment, pooled (marginal mean) across the crossed PGPR inoculant factor (+/-, 5 pots each, 10 pots total feeding this row’s growth/yield/color values), per the paper’s own Table 1-3 presentation. Paired comparator = the other 5 NS-level rows in this same paper (all under identical pot/ebb-and-flow conditions); no hydroponic or aquaponic control exists outside this paper’s own soilless system. See note’s Extraction notes for the full justification of 6 rows (by NS level) rather than 12 (full PGPR x NS factorial). | No PGPR-split nitrate/DeltaE values are stated in running text for this treatment; the pooled Table 3 value is used (see T4 remark). | NO COLUMN: stem fresh weight 1.3 g/plant; stem dry weight 0.11 g/plant (leaf-only values used for Plant fresh weight/Plant dry matter, see note’s judgment-call section); stomatal conductance 191.0 mmol/m2/s (Table 1); leaf area 141.5 cm2/plant, 19.0 cm2/leaf (Table 3); colorimetric L* 48.6, a* -19.6, b* 29.6, Chroma 33.8, Hue 126.3 deg, DeltaE 5.5 (Table 3); 56 days after sowing (direct-sown, no transplant). | NOT DERIVED, left NR: whole-plant (leaf+stem) fresh/dry weight totals (leaf and stem reported separately in Table 2, not summed). | UNIT CONVERSION ONLY: coordinates 38 deg 6’ 28” N / 13 deg 21’ 3” E -> decimal 38.1078/13.3508; EC reported by the paper in mS/cm, numerically identical to dS/m (same unit, different name), no conversion arithmetic needed.
moncadaUsePlantGrowthpromoting2021-T6
Water
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| Water volume in the system | 10 L (solution tank per treatment; tray/substrate pore-water volume not stated) |
| Water type | 100% organic nutrient solution: 8 g/L commercial liquid organic fertilizer (Geolia, NPK 3-2-5.5, 3% total organic N from beet marc/sugar cane/organic fish flour/wheat residues) in irrigation water, delivering 240/160/440 mg/L N/P2O5/K2O |
| WUE | 3.2 g dw/L H2O |
| EC | 2.7 dS/m |
Plant
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| Plant | Basil (Ocimum basilicum), cv. Genovese |
| Details | Sown 15 Oct 2018 in 250 mL pots (commercial peat-based substrate, SER CA-V7 Special semine, pH 6.0, pre-charged with 800 g/m3 NPK 12-11-18); density 560 plants/m2 (4 plants/pot); harvested 56 days after sowing (11 Dec 2018), no transplant step (direct-sown). Treatment: 100% Organic (O) nutrient solution. |
| Plants/m2 | 560 |
| Plant height | 12.7 cm |
| Leaf count | 6.7 leaves/plant |
| Plant fresh weight | 3.8 g/plant (leaf fresh weight; stem fresh weight reported separately, see remarks) |
| Plant dry matter | 0.31 g/plant (leaf dry weight; stem dry weight reported separately, see remarks) |
| Tissue nitrate HYD | 146.7 mg/kg fw |
System & Setup
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| System type | Soilless pot culture, closed-loop ebb-and-flow sub-irrigation (substrate-based) |
| Media Details | 250 mL black polyethylene pots, commercial peat-based substrate (SER CA-V7 Special semine, pH 6.0, pre-charged 800 g/m3 NPK 12-11-18); tray 70x40x5 cm; 10 L NS tank |
| Climate control | N (Unheated greenhouse (stated directly); air temp/RH monitored via data logger, solar radiation via pyranometer; no active heating/cooling described.) |
| Nutrient supplemented | Y (Half of the 5 pots in this NS treatment (PGPR+ subgroup) received 0.15 g/L TNC BactorrS13 at sowing + first fertigation (1.3x10^8 CFU/g of 13 Bacillus/Paenibacillus spp., plus humic acids, cytokinins, auxins, gibberellins, amino acids, and Ascophyllum nodosum-derived trace elements); the other half (PGPR-) received none. This row’s growth/yield/color values are NS-level marginal means pooled across both PGPR subgroups (PGPR main effect ns for every variable except leaf nitrate content, p<0.01 interaction, and DeltaE, p<0.05 interaction) — see Experimental Remarks for the PGPR-split values stated in running text for this treatment, if any.) |
| Equipment | Data logger (Testo mod. 608-H1) for greenhouse air temp/RH; pyranometer (SR30-L, Campbell Scientific) for solar radiation; diffusion leaf porometer (AP4, Delta-T Devices) for stomatal conductance; colorimeter (Minolta Chroma Meter CR-400C) for L*/a*/b*; flatbed scanner (Epson Photo 4180, 300 dpi) + ImageJ v1.52a for leaf area; thermo-ventilated oven (65C, 48h) for dry weight; Merck RQflex10 reflectometer for leaf nitrate. |
| Control Parameters | Closed-loop ebb-and-flow sub-irrigation: NS flooded to 2 cm height in tray, held 15 min, drained back to 10 L tank, reused; tank refilled with fresh NS when consumed volume exceeded 20%. NS pH 6.8 (100% M) to 6.3 (100% O, NO COLUMN: intermediate blends not individually stated). EC 2.3 (100% M) to 2.7 (100% O) mS/cm, increase <10% over the trial; pH ‘almost constant’. |
| Combination | Basil (Ocimum basilicum cv. Genovese) in soilless pots; PGPR inoculation (Bacillus spp. biostimulant, TNC BactorrS13) crossed with 6 mineral(M):organic(O) nutrient-solution ratios (Control/100M/75M25O/50M50O/25M75O/100O); no fish/aquaponic component anywhere in this paper. |
Site
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| Region | Europe |
| Country | Italy |
| Lat | 38.1078 |
| Long | 13.3508 |
| Average room Temperature | NR (only min/max air-temp ranges given via Fig. 1, no single trial mean: min 20.5 to 9.4 C, max 38.8 to 14.7 C; range only) |
Results & Statistics
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| Measured Unit | g fw/plant; g dw/plant; g m-2 (yield); mmol m-2 s-1 (stomatal conductance); g fw L-1 H2O (PWU); g dw L-1 H2O (WUE); mg kg-1 fw (nitrate); CIELab units |
| Statistic Details | Two-way ANOVA (PGPR inoculant x nutrient solution); LSD test, p<=0.05, for mean separation |
| Statistically analysed | Y |
| Replicates (n) | 5 |
| HYD | 2847.8 g/m2 (yield) |
Experimental Remarks: TRIAL DEFINITION: T6 = Nutrient solution ‘100% Organic (O) nutrient solution’ treatment, pooled (marginal mean) across the crossed PGPR inoculant factor (+/-, 5 pots each, 10 pots total feeding this row’s growth/yield/color values), per the paper’s own Table 1-3 presentation. Paired comparator = the other 5 NS-level rows in this same paper (all under identical pot/ebb-and-flow conditions); no hydroponic or aquaponic control exists outside this paper’s own soilless system. See note’s Extraction notes for the full justification of 6 rows (by NS level) rather than 12 (full PGPR x NS factorial). | PGPR x NS interaction DeltaE split stated in running text (p.4, Fig. 2): non-inoculated plants DeltaE 8.8; PGPR-inoculated plants DeltaE 6.7; average (7.75, rounds to the paper’s own 7.7) matches this row’s pooled Table 3 value. No nitrate PGPR-split value is stated in text for this treatment (only 100% M and 75% M+25% O nitrate splits are given as numbers); the pooled Table 3 value (146.7) is used here. | NO COLUMN: stem fresh weight 1.3 g/plant; stem dry weight 0.09 g/plant (leaf-only values used for Plant fresh weight/Plant dry matter, see note’s judgment-call section); stomatal conductance 171.4 mmol/m2/s (Table 1); leaf area 136.2 cm2/plant, 21.1 cm2/leaf (Table 3); colorimetric L* 50.6, a* -19.7, b* 31.0, Chroma 35.0, Hue 125.1 deg, DeltaE 7.7 (Table 3); 56 days after sowing (direct-sown, no transplant). | NOT DERIVED, left NR: whole-plant (leaf+stem) fresh/dry weight totals (leaf and stem reported separately in Table 2, not summed). | UNIT CONVERSION ONLY: coordinates 38 deg 6’ 28” N / 13 deg 21’ 3” E -> decimal 38.1078/13.3508; EC reported by the paper in mS/cm, numerically identical to dS/m (same unit, different name), no conversion arithmetic needed.