Palmira, ago. 03 de 2012 - Agencia de Noticias UN- UN-Palmira researchers have, for the first time, identified a process which allows adequate fertilization in order to increase productivity from marigold crops.

According to a national survey on herbs and medicinal plants in Colombia, performed by the Alexander von Humboldt Research Institute, marigold (Calendula officinalis L.), better known as the “pot marigold”, is used by 72% of the laboratories around the country, and is also the largest selling flower with 26.9% market share.  

Despite the size of this medicinal plant market, up to now crop management has been quite inadequate. Farmers fertilize without doing any species assessments, nor getting any professional advice.  

Yuly Samanta García, a UN-Palmira researcher and Agricultural Sciences master’s degree candidate, is performing a research project in order to decrease production costs by more rationally applying both industrial and organic fertilizers. This research has made significant contributions, and for the first time, has identified the nutritional requirements of the species. 

“In our preliminary results we’ve discovered that the extraction of the assessed nutrients at three months produces maximum blossoming, and that potassium is the most highly concentrated nutrient in all of the plant’s structures and phenological stages”, says the student. 

Production wise, to yield one kilo of dried marigold matter under ideal conditions, the plant extract has 32.9 g/kg of nitrogen, 11.8 g/kg phosphorous, and 115.3 g/kg potassium, or 21% N, 7% P, and 72% k.  

“There were statistical differences in phenological stages with respect to nutrient extraction. There are statistically significant differences for three month old plants, regarding phosphorus and potassium content, while for nitrogen there were no differences in any phenological stage”, said the researcher.

With this, in addition to preliminary information, in order to carry out fertilization programs in the Province of Valle del Cauca researches are performing other experiments which will enable the testing of other treatments, and their effects on the plants. 

Therefore, the researchers, have formulated an experiment at the UN-Palmira campus. They applied 20 fertilizer irrigation treatments in nutrient solutions during each phenological stage and later assessed the results. Preliminary results have allowed for the discovery of two effective treatments for greater dry matter yield and flower size. 

“In relation to flower size, we found two treatments which are nutritionally balanced, providing the plant adequate nutrition during the precocity stage”, said the student. 

Professor Manuel Sánchez, director of the UN-Palmira Medicinal Plant Research Group (GIPM, for its Spanish acronym) says that this research will not only contribute to the adequate nutritional management of the plant, but will also contribute to the progress of the agricultural sector in general.

“Nutrition, either organic or conventional, plays an important role in the productivity of agro-systems. This provides better cost-benefit relationships for the producer ”, says Sánchez.

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