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Effect of biostimulants on growth and flowering of Tagetes erecta L. Cover

Effect of biostimulants on growth and flowering of Tagetes erecta L.

Folia Horticulturae
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Open Access
|Oct 2025

Figures & Tables

Figure 1.

Effect of BSs treatments on flowering behaviours of Tagetes erecta. SPL: 0.1 g · L−1, MLE: 3%, CHI: 0.1 g · L−1 and PGPE: 0.1 g · L−1. BSs, biostimulants; CHI, chitosan; DF, duration of flowering; FR, flowering rate%; control (Tap water); MLE, Moringa leaves extract; NDFBI, number of days to the first flower bud initiation; NDOFF, number of days for the opening of first flower; PGPE, pollen grains date palm extract; SPL, Spirulina.
Effect of BSs treatments on flowering behaviours of Tagetes erecta. SPL: 0.1 g · L−1, MLE: 3%, CHI: 0.1 g · L−1 and PGPE: 0.1 g · L−1. BSs, biostimulants; CHI, chitosan; DF, duration of flowering; FR, flowering rate%; control (Tap water); MLE, Moringa leaves extract; NDFBI, number of days to the first flower bud initiation; NDOFF, number of days for the opening of first flower; PGPE, pollen grains date palm extract; SPL, Spirulina.

Figure 2.

Effect of biostimulant treatments on flowering index of Tagetes erecta. Control (tap water), SPL: 0.1 g · L−1, MLE: 3%, CHI: 0.1 g · L−1 and PGPE: 0.1 g · L−1. Flower opening stage (full opening; half-opening and bud). CHI, Chitosan; MLE, Moringa leaves extract; PGPE, pollen grains date palm extract; SPL, Spirulina.
Effect of biostimulant treatments on flowering index of Tagetes erecta. Control (tap water), SPL: 0.1 g · L−1, MLE: 3%, CHI: 0.1 g · L−1 and PGPE: 0.1 g · L−1. Flower opening stage (full opening; half-opening and bud). CHI, Chitosan; MLE, Moringa leaves extract; PGPE, pollen grains date palm extract; SPL, Spirulina.

Figure 3.

Progressive Tagetes erecta and flower development stages at the field experiment.
Progressive Tagetes erecta and flower development stages at the field experiment.

Figure 4.

Tagetes erecta flower at the end of the experiment treated with BSs. BSs, biostimulants; CHI, chitosan; MLE, Moringa leaves extract; SPL, Spirulina.
Tagetes erecta flower at the end of the experiment treated with BSs. BSs, biostimulants; CHI, chitosan; MLE, Moringa leaves extract; SPL, Spirulina.

Figure 5.

Effect of BSs treatments on RRE, % of Tagetes erecta. Control (tap water), SPL: 0.1 g · L−1, MLE, 3%, CHI: 0.1 g · L−1 and PGPE: 0.1 g · L−1. BSs, biostimulants; CHI, chitosan; MLE, Moringa leaves extract; PGPE, pollen grains date palm extract; RRE, relative root elongation; SPL, Spirulina.
Effect of BSs treatments on RRE, % of Tagetes erecta. Control (tap water), SPL: 0.1 g · L−1, MLE, 3%, CHI: 0.1 g · L−1 and PGPE: 0.1 g · L−1. BSs, biostimulants; CHI, chitosan; MLE, Moringa leaves extract; PGPE, pollen grains date palm extract; RRE, relative root elongation; SPL, Spirulina.

The quantitative phytochemical result, proximate composition and mineral composition of the aqueous fresh leaves extract of Moringa oleifera (Nweze and Nwafor, 2014)_

Mineral compositionValue (g · 100 g−1)Nutrient compositionValue (g · 100 g−1)Phytochemical extractValue (g · 100 g−1)
Nitrogen3.03Carbohydrate57.01Anthraquinone11.68
Calcium2.09Protein18.92Tannins9.36
Potassium1.62Fibre9.31Terpenoids4.84
Sulphur0.85Ash7.95Flavonoid3.56
Magnesium0.48Moisture4.09Steroids3.21
Phosphorous0.44Fats2.74Alkaloids3.07
Iron0.03 Saponins1.46
Copper0.01 Carotenoids1.16
Zinc0.005 Cardiac glycoside0.36
Anthocyanin0.06

Average values of some physical and chemical soil properties for the experimental site as mean values of the two growing seasons_

Soil layer depth (cm)Particle size distribution (%) Soil-water constant
SandSiltClayTextureBulk density (g · cm−3)F.C 1 (%, wt/wt)P.W.P 2 (%, wt/wt)A.W 3 (%, wt/wt)
0–2079.1715.625.21Sandy6.763.71.851.85
20–4089.587.293.13Sandy6.893.21.601.60
40–6083.3312.504.17Sandy6.853.01.501.50
Mean84.0211.814.17Sandy15.933.31.651.65
Chemical soil characteristics

Effect of BSs treatments on the number of flowers per plant, diameter of flower (cm) and weight of flower (g) of Tagetes erecta during the 2022 and 2023 seasons_

TreatmentNumber of flowers per plantDiameter of flower (cm)Weight of flower (g)
202220232022202320222023
Control14.67 ± 2.08 c14.00 ± 0.0 c5.06 ± 0.76 d4.99 ± 0.18 b3.38 ± 0.22 d5.38 ± 0.85 d
SPL29.33 ± 0.58 ab32.00 ± 2.0 b5.64 ± 0.07 c5.49 ± 0.21 b5.30 ± 0.16 b7.31 ± 0.06 b
MLE33.00 ± 2.00 a38.33 ± 0.58 a5.65 ± 0.11 c5.49 ± 0.29 b5.50 ± 0.16 ab7.49 ± 0.06 ab
CHI25.33 ± 1.53 b29.33 ± 0.58 b6.69 ± 0.10 a6.46 ± 0.34 a5.82 ± 0.15 a7.67 ± 0.09 a
PGPE27.67 ± 1.53 b31.00 ± 1.0 b6.30 ± 0.13 b6.33 ± 0.25 a4.62 ± 0.23 c6.60 ± 0.09 c

Some agro-meteorological data for the Damietta region (31° 25′ N Latitude, 31° 49′ E Longitude), during the 2022 and 2023 seasons_

MonthsTemp (C°)RH (%)WS (m · s−1)Ep (mm · day−1)RF (mm · month−1)
Min.Max.Mean
2022April23.3215.4318.9371.344.105.500.00
May26.7718.9522.5067.164.306.600.00
June30.2723.1726.3565.583.227.850.00
July31.6724.7527.9464.284.208.250.01
August31.7425.8028.3265.504.177.570.00
Mean 202228.7521.6224.8166.774.007.150.00
2023April23.9516.3119.6862.704.385.690.26
May26.5319.0822.3664.974.526.430.02
June29.8322.5125.7665.914.327.390.07
July33.3425.5829.0464.064.208.460.00
August31.9225.8828.5165.794.007.570.00
Mean 202329.1121.8725.0764.694.287.110.07

Effect of BSs treatments on vegetative growth parameters of Tagetes erecta during the two seasons_ 2022 and 2023

TreatmentPlant height (cm)Main branches numberFresh weight of plant (g · plant−1)Dry weight of plant (g · plant−1)
20222023202220232022202320222023
Control58.43 ± 1.67 c44.23 ±2.11 d12.67 ± 0.58 c11.33 ± 1.53 b174.11 ± 9.71 c136.89 ± 11.5 c30.10 ± 2.37 b28.86 ± 1.66 d
SPL65.40 ±2.20 be58.93 ± 1.70 c14.67 ± 0.58 b14.67 ±0.58 a282.27 ± 12.6 b216.61 ± 1.14 b50.76 ±2.31 a44.66 ± 1.91 be
MLE69.27 ± 1.66 b59.03 ± 1.85 c16.67 ±0.58 a17.00 ± 1.00 a364.79 ± 30.8 a275.49 ± 9.6 a51.07 ± 1.27 a42.21 ± 0.96 c
CHI77.33 ± 1.76 a72.90 ±1.35 a16.33 ±0.58 a15.67 ±0.58 a297.76 ± 12.06 b261.20 ± 17.1 a54.21 ± 1.38 a50.85 ±2.17 a
PGPE72.47 ± 1.57 b66.87 ± 0.23 b14.33 ± 0.58 b16.67 ±0.58 a306.26 ±6.01 b214.84 ± 2.6 b53.73 ± 1.85 a47.07 ± 1.91 ab

Effect of BSs treatments on root parameters of Tagetes erecta during the two seasons, 2022 and 2023_

TreatmentRoot length (cm)Roots fresh weight (g · plant−1)Roots dry weight (g · plant−1)RRE (%)
20222023202220232022202320222023
Control12.83 ± 0.76 c9.00 ± 0.00 d12.08 ± 0.57 d12.39 ± 0.92 d2.42 ± 0.29 b3.52 ±0.41 c--
SPL14.93 ±0.21 b14.96 ±0.41 b24.52 ± 1.02 b19.17 ± 0.92 c6.53 ±0.13 a4.95 ± 0.36 b14.0739.84
MLE15.13 ± 0.45 b14.76 ± 0.25 be16.56 ± 0.85 c17.15 ± 0.62 c3.62 ± 0.40 b5.03 ± 0.73 b15.2039.02
CHI17.67 ± 0.72 a13.67 ± 0.47 c15.25 ±0.91 c29.61 ± 1.2 a6.27 ± 1.04 a7.53 ±0.13 a27.3934.16
PGPE18.50 ±0.78 a18.47 ± 0.76 a31.55 ±0.79 a24.41 ± 1.2 b6.35 ±0.73 a7.12 ±0.26 a30.6551.27

Chemical constituents of palm pollen grains extract (PPGE) (Taha et al_, 2020)_

ComponentUnitValueComponentUnitValue
Moistureg · 100 g−128.90 ± 1.64Zinc (Zn)g · kg−12.72 ± 0.12
Ash 6.20 ± 0.42Copper (Cu) 3.03 ± 0.16
Protein 31.00 ± 1.52Sodium (Na) 0.52 ± 0.02
Total free amino acids 30.20 ± 1.16Soluble phenols 0.72 ± 0.03
Free proline 0.34 ± 0.01Total flavonoids 0.61 ± 0.02
Soluble sugarsg · kg−114.20 ± 0.31Total carotenoids 14.20 ± 0.24
Phosphorus (P) 9.04 ± 0.54Vitamin C (ascorbic acid) 1.06 ± 0.01
Calcium (Ca) 2.49 ± 0.13Vitamin AIU · kg−1747 ± 12.40
Magnesium (Mg) 3.42 ± 0.18Vitamin E 335 ± 5.42
Potassium (K) 8.63 ± 0.49DPPH (antioxidant activity)%
Sulphur (S) 6.16 ± 0.32Phytohormones
Molybdenum (Mo) 2.94 ± 0.16Indole-3-acetic acidmg · kg−185.20 ± 1.38
Boron (B) 2.98 ± 0.14Gibberellins 4.92 ± 0.03
Iron (Fe) 4.55 ± 0.20Cytokinins 6.74 ± 0.05
Manganese (Mn) 2.92 ± 0.17

Effect of BSs treatments on yield of flower per plant (g) and per ha (t · ha−1), and percentage yield increase of Tagetes erecta during 2022 and 2023 seasons_

TreatmentYield of flower per plant (g)Yield of flower per ha (t · ha−1)Yield increasing (%)
202220232022202320222023
Control49.32 ± 3.63 c75.37 ± 1.19 d2.74 ± 0.2 c4.19 ± 0.07 d––
SPL155.52 ± 7.5 ab234.05 ± 15.31 b8.64 ± 0.4 ab13.30 ± 0.9 b68.2967.79
MLE181.71 ± 16.13 a287.01 ± 6.29 a10.10 ± 0.8 a15.96 ± 0.3 a72.8673.74
CHI147.52 ± 8.69 b224.90 ± 6.06 bc8.20 ± 0.5 b12.50 ± 0.3 bc66.5666.49
PGPE128.05 ± 13.3 b204.62 ± 8.04 c7.12 ± 0.7 b11.38 ± 0.4 c61.4863.17

Correlation of properties of Tagetes erecta affected by BSs foliar application_

Attributes1234567891011
1. Plant height1
2. No. of branches0.661**1
3. Plant fresh weight0.670**0.821**1
4. Plant dry weight0.840**0.745**0.844**1
5. No. flower per plant0.540**0.842**0.929**0.804**1
6. Flower diameter0.944**0.615*0.4970.621*0.3761
7. Weight of flower0.744**0.865**0.807**0.923**0.832**0.635*1
8. Flower yield per plant0.618*0.807**0.929**0.896**0.3770.4510.915**1
9. Flower yield per ha0.618*0.807**0.929**0.896**0.3770.4510.915**1.000**1
10. Root length0.868**0.4160.534*0.792**0.4250.896**0.792*0.515*0.4301
11. Root fresh weight0.296-0.0660.3540.549*0.4660.3490.549*0.1400.2990.616*1
12. Root dry weight0.634*0.3160.3640.760**0.4280.729**0.760**0.565*0.4450.738**0.664**
DOI: https://doi.org/10.2478/fhort-2025-0016 | Journal eISSN: 2083-5965 | Journal ISSN: 0867-1761
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Language: English
Submitted on: Mar 3, 2025
Accepted on: Jul 27, 2025
Published on: Oct 10, 2025
Published by: Polish Society for Horticultural Sciences (PSHS)
In partnership with: Paradigm Publishing Services
Publication frequency: 2 times per year
Keywords:
bio-growth promoter,
flowering index,
flowering rate,
hormonal activity,
marigold,
vegetative growth
Related subjects:
Life sciences,
Plant science,
Zoology,
Ecology,
Life sciences, other

© 2025 Nahed M. Rashed, E. A. El-Boraie, R. Kh. Darwesh, Zainab A. S. Soliman, published by Polish Society for Horticultural Sciences (PSHS)
This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 3.0 License.

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