The growth performance of pechay (Brassica rapa L. subsp. chinensis) as affected by different levels of organic foliar fertilizer

Abstract

Pechay is one of the most common plants that is easily grown, and only requires sunlight and water to develop. It has a short duration of harvesting of 30-45 days after sowing. It contributes an excellent source of income for farmers due to its high demand in food industries. In 2019 the production of pechay dropped to 47.30 thousand metric tons from 49.66 thousand metric tons in the previous year. Meanwhile, the production of cabbage from the same genus went up to 128.05 thousand metric tons from 120.66 thousand metric tons in the preceding year. This leads to the increase of market value of cabbage leaving the market value of pechay in low range. For this reason, the researchers look for a way to elevate the production of pechay with the aid of foliar fertilizer. In this study, the researchers applied different levels of a specific organic foliar fertilizer, such as 5mL, 10mL, and 15mL, to pechay. The experiment intends to determine the significant effects on the growth performance of pechay as affected by the different levels of concentration of a specific organic foliar fertilizer in terms of the number of leaves, length of leaves, height, weight, and survival percentage. After four weeks of observation, the result shows that treatment with a 15mL mixture yielded the highest mean. However, when tested in ANOVA, it presents no significant effect.