RECOMMENDATIONS IN USING FERMENTED EXTRACTS

 Fermented Seaweed Extract Vs. Fermented Malunggay Extract for Container-Growing Chili Plants (Capsicum Frutescens): A Comparative Study

            In rapidly growing cities, urban gardening provided residents with access to fruits and vegetables, as well as green spaces. However, urban gardening faces challenges due to increased pollution, such as slow plant growth. Using chemical fertilizers in such sustainable agriculture will result in soil contamination and contaminated vegetation.  There is a growing awareness of organic fertilizers as alternative fertilizers, and many are being tested for their nutrient content to enhance plant growth. Seaweed extracts and malunggay extracts, both fermented, are thought to be useful as organic liquid fertilizers.

               Due to certain studies showing that fermentation technology may boost the macro- and micronutrient components of fertilizers, the fermentation of organic materials has generated a lot of attention. Fermented fertilizer, also known as the effluents created by the fermentation or digestion of organic waste from biodigesters, can be used as an alternative to chemical fertilizer as an organic fertilizer to grow high-quality crops. Based on several research, fermented seaweed may be an important bioresource for fertilizers that can increase yields from agriculture and lower the need for artificial fertilizers. Also, due to its high mineral and vitamin content, malunggay (Moringa Oliefere), leaf is increasingly receiving interest as an organic liquid fertilizer.  

            This study used Fermented Seaweed Extract (FSE) and Fermented Malunggay Extract (FME) to analyze whether their effectivity in chili plants differs. The fermented liquid fertilizers were applied to different experimental groups; control groups of chili plants were also planted as a base to determine if there was a change in the experimental group plants. The experiment was done for fifty-six days to have a visible result for a change in chili plants. The coverage of this research was both quantitative and qualitative data. The qualitative data was the chili plants' appearance or their nutrient deficiencies throughout the study. On the other hand, the quantitative data were the height, number of leaves, and growth rate of the chili plants. The following parameters were gathered every two days for fifty-six days. The gathered quantitative data was then run through the statistical analysis to determine if there is a difference between the liquid fertilizers. 

How to Use the Fermented Extracts?

            The experiment involved the fermentation of seaweed and malunggay leaves in a mixture of molasses with a 1:1 ratio for a duration of one week. In addition, chili seeds were planted in a plastic basin filled with soil for germination. A mixed soil was also prepared for the experiment. The plastic basin containing chili seeds was placed in a location that receives adequate light for plant growth. After the chili seeds developed four leaves, they were transferred to both the control and experimental groups. The plants were watered only when the topsoil appeared dry at 8:00 AM due to the rainy season during the experimentation. Data was collected every day at 4:00 PM, starting from the time the four-leafed chili plants were transported. For experimental group one, a tablespoon of the fermented seaweed and malunggay leaves mixture was added to a liter of water to create FSE. For experimental group two, a tablespoon of the same mixture was mixed with one liter of water to form FME. Finally, for experimental group three, FSE and FME were mixed in equal amounts (half a tablespoon each) with one liter of water. All liquid fertilizer mixtures were used once a week, with 100 ml of the mixture applied to each plant. Data was collected throughout the experiment to facilitate analysis.

        To collect data for the research, both qualitative observations and quantitative measurements were used. Tables, graphs, and figures were utilized to present the data. Microsoft Excel was used to compute the quantitative data and facilitate analysis. The statistical methods used were the two-tailed T-test for paired two-sample means and Analysis of Variance (ANOVA): the one-way test. The T-test was applied to determine if there was a significant difference between the control group and experimental groups' quantitative data. If the T-value was greater than the two-tail critical value, the null hypothesis was rejected. Conversely, if the T-value was lower than the critical value, the null hypothesis was accepted. ANOVA was used to determine if there was a significant difference between FSE and FME. The null hypothesis was rejected if the P-value was less than the alpha level (0.05). These results were used to develop chapter four, which provides an explanation of the research findings.
 

Recommendations

                

                Looking back at chapter two (2), it was stated there that chili plants were one of the types of plants that needed as much sunlight as possible. Also, it was mentioned that the chili plants were sensitive. Too much water can drown the roots of the plants and make the leaves turn yellow to brown, or worst case fall off. The chili plants were also prone to pest infestation like ants and aphids due to their sap with nutrients. Lack of too many nutrients and high or low sun exposure due to bad weather or rainy season was also a factor in the chili plants to have a nutrient deficiency. The result of the qualitative parameters was connected to these, as it has already been mentioned that the experiment started during the rainy season. Due to heavy rains, low sunlight exposure, and the fact that the area where the plants were placed is not fully covered area, almost all of the chili plants showed nutrient deficiency. The chili plants also have ants that chew the stem and leaves, and aphids that suck the sap and nutrients of the plants causing the other plants to lose leaves and others resulting in slow growth. All of these factors caused the chili plants to have nutrient deficiencies.

                These recommendations are made with the intention of helping readers plant chili plants in containers more successfully. These are all based on the study's results and findings.

- If the plants are put in an open space, cover them. Animals like cats or others might ruin the crop.

- Only water plants if it is light rain; otherwise, avoid watering them.

- Use a larger container or seed bed if you don't intend to move the plants.

- Fermenting seaweed and malunggay for a longer period of time might be favorable since the extracts will take in more nutrients as a result of the extended fermentation.

- Consider comparing fermented extracts of seaweed and malunggay with other liquid fertilizers.

- Try running the same experiment on a different plant.