EFFECT OF CLUTURE MEDIA AND MINERAL NPK FERTILIZATION ON THE PRODUCTION OF F. benjamina AND F. hawaii TRANSPLANTS UNDER GREEN HOUSE CONDITIONS

This experiment was conducted at the Experimental Station of Vegetable and Floriculture Department, Faculty of Agriculture, Mansoura University under green house conditions during the two successive seasons of 2010 and 2011 to study the effect of different culture media and levels of mineral NPK fertilization and their interaction on vegetative growth and chemical composition of Ficus benjamina and Ficus hawaii transplants grown in pots.
Four culture media were tested (peat, peat moss + perlite, peat moss + sand and peat moss + perlite +sand). Each medium received three levels of NPK fertilizer (0, 2 or 4 g/pot).
                Regarding the effect of culture media, the obtained results indicated that Ficus benjamina transplants grown in the medium of peat moss+perlite+sand induced the highest values for plant height (cm), number of leaves per plant and number of branches per plant in the first season, while in the second one, the values of these characters were higher when the transplants grown in the medium of peat and perlite. NPK concentrations (%) in the leaves increased in both seasons when F. benjamina transplants grown in the culture medium of peat moss+perlite+sand, while the highest values of total chlorophyll content (mg/g fresh weight) in leaves were recorded in the transplants grown in the medium of peat and sand in both seasons. For Ficus hawaii, the highest data for plant height (cm), number of leaves and number of branches per plant were recorded when the transplants were grown in the culture medium of peat+perlite+sand in the first season, while in the second one, the best results in plant height and number of leaves/plant were recorded by the transplants grown in peat+sand medium, while the medium of peat+perlite gave the highest number of branches/plant. The highest values of N, P and K (%) as well as total chlorophyll content were recorded when F. hawaii transplants grown in the culture medium of peat moss+perlite+sand in both seasons.
Concerning the effect of NPK fertilization on F. benjamina transplants, data showed that in the first season the addition of NPK at the rate of 2 g/pot increased plant height and number of leaves and branches per plant. In the second season, the previous parameters were the highest by the application of 4 g/pot. For Ficus hawaii, the highest value for plant height was obtained when 4 g/pot NPK was applied, while fertilization with 2 g/pot was more effective in increasing number of leaves and branches per plant in the first season. In the second one the application of 4 g/pot recorded the highest values in all vegetative measurements. The highest values of N, P and K (%) as well as total chlorophyll content (mg/g fresh weight) were belonged to F. benjamina and F. hawaii transplants fertilized with 4 g/pot in both seasons.
The interaction between culture media and NPK treatments were the most effective on the previous parameters. Vegetative growth characters (expressed as plant height, number of leaves and branches per plant) of F. benjamina transplants were improved as a result for planting in peat moss+perlite+sand medium and fertilization with 2 g/pot NPK in the first season, while in the second one that was true when the transplants were planted in peat+perlite medium and received 4 g/pot NPK. In case of Ficus hawaii, the transplants grown in peat moss+perlite+sand medium gave the best results in plant height, number of leaves and branches per plant when received 4 g/pot NPK in the first season. In the second one, the transplants fertilized with 4 g/pot NPK showed the best results in plant height and number of leaves per plant when grown in peat moss+sand medium and the highest value in number of branches per plant when grown in peat moss+perlite+sand medium. The superiority in N, P and K percentages as well as total chlorophyll content (mg/g fresh weight) for both plant species in both seasons was for the interaction treatment of moss+perlite+sand culture medium plus fertilization with 4 g/pot NPK.
According to the aforementioned results, it could be recommended under conditions of the present research to use peat moss+perlite+sand (1:1:1 by volume) as a culture medium for Ficus benjamina and Ficus hawaii transplants in combination with NPK fertilizer (20:20:20) at the rate of 2 or 4 g/plant.