Effect of substrate and humic acid on some morphophysiological traits and water consumption of Carpobrotus edulis L. in a green roof system

Subject Areas : Genetic

Maliheh  Rabbani Kheir Khah ¹ (Departmenr of Horticulture, Faculty of Agriculture, Ferdowsi University of Mashhad, Mashhad, Iran.)
Fatemeh  Kazemi ² (Department of Horticulture and Landscape, Faculty of Agriculture, Ferdowsi University of Mashhad, Mashhad, Iran.)

Received: 2021-11-03 Accepted : 2021-12-28 Published : 2022-06-22

Keywords: bentonite, water requirement, plant coverage, water consumption efficiency, green roof system,

Abstract :

The health of plants in green roof conditions depends to a large extent on the supply of water required by plants. The composition of the substrate is effective in maintaining the moisture and making it available to the plant, and one of the solutions to reduce water consumption in the green roof is improving the substrate. In this study, water requirement and some morphophysiological traits of Carpobrotus edulis L. were studied under substrate and humic acid treatment. The research was conducted in green roof box conditions as a factorial experiment based on a randomized complete block design with three replications from May to September 2020 in Mashhad. The first factor was substrate including Substrate 1 (soil 20% + 20% Leica + 20% perlite + mineral pumice + 20% leaf soil), Substrate 2 (substrate 1 + 6% by weight of bentonite), Substrate 3 (substrate 1+ 12% by weight of bentonite), soilless Substrate 4 (27% mineral pumice + 27% Leica + 27% perlite + 20% leaf soil), Substrate 5 (substrate 4 + 6% by weight bentonite), and Substrate 6 (substrate 4+ 12% by weight of bentonite). The second factor was the concentration of humic acid (0, 100, and 200 mg L-1) applied as fertigation every 15 days. Soil-containing substrates performed significantly better than soilless substrates and the highest coverage, root length, and volume of green roof plants were observed in substrate 3 (containing soil and 12% by weight of bentonite). The highest leaf water and chlorophyll contents and the lowest relative saturation deficit, carotenoids, phenols, and leaf carbohydrates were observed in Substrate 3, which show the physiological stability of the plant under stress conditions, was evident in substrate 3. Application of 200 mg/L humic acid was associated with the best growth and physiological performance of plants. A substrate rich in moisture and nutrients, including 20% Soil + 20% Leica + 20% perlite +20% mineral pumice + 12% w bentonite + 200 mg/L humic acid resulted in the plants with optimal water consumption. The presence of soil and mineral superabsorbent (bentonite) in the green roof substrate is especially important in terms of moisture retention, and of course, the supplementary nutrition of plants in the green roof also improves their performance in the green roof.

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