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

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

Mineral composition	Value (g · 100 g⁻¹)	Nutrient composition	Value (g · 100 g⁻¹)	Phytochemical extract	Value (g · 100 g⁻¹)
Nitrogen	3.03	Carbohydrate	57.01	Anthraquinone	11.68
Calcium	2.09	Protein	18.92	Tannins	9.36
Potassium	1.62	Fibre	9.31	Terpenoids	4.84
Sulphur	0.85	Ash	7.95	Flavonoid	3.56
Magnesium	0.48	Moisture	4.09	Steroids	3.21
Phosphorous	0.44	Fats	2.74	Alkaloids	3.07
Iron	0.03			Saponins	1.46
Copper	0.01			Carotenoids	1.16
Zinc	0.005			Cardiac glycoside	0.36
				Anthocyanin	0.06

Table 2.

Chemical constituents of palm pollen grains extract (PPGE) (Taha et al., 2020).

Component	Unit	Value	Component	Unit	Value
Moisture	g · 100 g⁻¹	28.90 ± 1.64	Zinc (Zn)	g · kg⁻¹	2.72 ± 0.12
Ash		6.20 ± 0.42	Copper (Cu)		3.03 ± 0.16
Protein		31.00 ± 1.52	Sodium (Na)		0.52 ± 0.02
Total free amino acids		30.20 ± 1.16	Soluble phenols		0.72 ± 0.03
Free proline		0.34 ± 0.01	Total flavonoids		0.61 ± 0.02
Soluble sugars	g · kg⁻¹	14.20 ± 0.31	Total carotenoids		14.20 ± 0.24
Phosphorus (P)		9.04 ± 0.54	Vitamin C (ascorbic acid)		1.06 ± 0.01
Calcium (Ca)		2.49 ± 0.13	Vitamin A	IU · kg⁻¹	747 ± 12.40
Magnesium (Mg)		3.42 ± 0.18	Vitamin E		335 ± 5.42
Potassium (K)		8.63 ± 0.49	DPPH (antioxidant activity)	%
Sulphur (S)		6.16 ± 0.32	Phytohormones
Molybdenum (Mo)		2.94 ± 0.16	Indole-3-acetic acid	mg · kg⁻¹	85.20 ± 1.38
Boron (B)		2.98 ± 0.14	Gibberellins		4.92 ± 0.03
Iron (Fe)		4.55 ± 0.20	Cytokinins		6.74 ± 0.05
Manganese (Mn)		2.92 ± 0.17

1 Values are means (n = 5) ± SE.

1 DPPH, 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl; SE, standard error.

Table 3.

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
Soil layer depth (cm)	Sand	Silt	Clay	Texture	Bulk density (g · cm⁻³)	F.C 1 (%, wt/wt)	P.W.P 2 (%, wt/wt)	A.W 3 (%, wt/wt)
0–20	79.17	15.62	5.21	Sandy	6.76	3.7	1.85	1.85
20–40	89.58	7.29	3.13	Sandy	6.89	3.2	1.60	1.60
40–60	83.33	12.50	4.17	Sandy	6.85	3.0	1.50	1.50
Mean	84.02	11.81	4.17	Sandy	15.93	3.3	1.65	1.65
Chemical soil characteristics

Soil layer depth (cm)			Soluble cations (mEq · L⁻¹)				Soluble anions (mEq · L⁻¹)
Soil layer depth (cm)	pH4 1:2.5	EC dSm⁻¹	Ca²⁺	Mg²⁺	Na⁺	K⁺	CO₃^2–	HCO₃^–	Cl^–	SO₄^2–
0–20	6.50	2432 ppm	50 ppm	102 ppm	155 ppm	80 ppm	---------	70.2 ppm	81.7 ppm	160.8 ppm
20–40	6.66	2176 ppm	90 ppm	78 ppm	120 ppm	60 ppm	--------	73.2 ppm	113.6 ppm	112.8 ppm
40–60	6.70	2432 ppm	90 ppm	84 ppm	140 ppm	70 ppm	--------	67.2 ppm	92.3 ppm	136.8 ppm
Mean	6.62	2346 ppm	77 ppm	88 ppm	138 ppm	70 ppm	--------	70.2 ppm	95.9 ppm	136.8 ppm

1 F.C. 1, soil field capacity; P.W.P. 2, permanent wilting point; A.W. 3, available soil water, EC, electrical conductivity.

Table 4.

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

Months		Temp (C°)			RH (%)	WS (m · s⁻¹)	Ep (mm · day⁻¹)	RF (mm · month⁻¹)
Months		Min.	Max.	Mean	RH (%)	WS (m · s⁻¹)	Ep (mm · day⁻¹)	RF (mm · month⁻¹)
2022	April	23.32	15.43	18.93	71.34	4.10	5.50	0.00
	May	26.77	18.95	22.50	67.16	4.30	6.60	0.00
	June	30.27	23.17	26.35	65.58	3.22	7.85	0.00
	July	31.67	24.75	27.94	64.28	4.20	8.25	0.01
	August	31.74	25.80	28.32	65.50	4.17	7.57	0.00
Mean 2022		28.75	21.62	24.81	66.77	4.00	7.15	0.00
2023	April	23.95	16.31	19.68	62.70	4.38	5.69	0.26
	May	26.53	19.08	22.36	64.97	4.52	6.43	0.02
	June	29.83	22.51	25.76	65.91	4.32	7.39	0.07
	July	33.34	25.58	29.04	64.06	4.20	8.46	0.00
	August	31.92	25.88	28.51	65.79	4.00	7.57	0.00
Mean 2023		29.11	21.87	25.07	64.69	4.28	7.11	0.07

1 RH, relative humidity; WS, wind speed; Ep, evaporation; RF, rainfall.

Table 5.

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

Treatment	Plant height (cm)		Main branches number		Fresh weight of plant (g · plant⁻¹)		Dry weight of plant (g · plant⁻¹)
Treatment	2022	2023	2022	2023	2022	2023	2022	2023
Control	58.43 ± 1.67 c	44.23 ±2.11 d	12.67 ± 0.58 c	11.33 ± 1.53 b	174.11 ± 9.71 c	136.89 ± 11.5 c	30.10 ± 2.37 b	28.86 ± 1.66 d
SPL	65.40 ±2.20 be	58.93 ± 1.70 c	14.67 ± 0.58 b	14.67 ±0.58 a	282.27 ± 12.6 b	216.61 ± 1.14 b	50.76 ±2.31 a	44.66 ± 1.91 be
MLE	69.27 ± 1.66 b	59.03 ± 1.85 c	16.67 ±0.58 a	17.00 ± 1.00 a	364.79 ± 30.8 a	275.49 ± 9.6 a	51.07 ± 1.27 a	42.21 ± 0.96 c
CHI	77.33 ± 1.76 a	72.90 ±1.35 a	16.33 ±0.58 a	15.67 ±0.58 a	297.76 ± 12.06 b	261.20 ± 17.1 a	54.21 ± 1.38 a	50.85 ±2.17 a
PGPE	72.47 ± 1.57 b	66.87 ± 0.23 b	14.33 ± 0.58 b	16.67 ±0.58 a	306.26 ±6.01 b	214.84 ± 2.6 b	53.73 ± 1.85 a	47.07 ± 1.91 ab

1 Values are means (M) ± SD of triplicate trails. In the columns M ± SD, having the same superscript letters are not significantly different at the 5% level. Values within the same column and followed by different letters are significantly different according to the Tukey test (p ≤ 0.05). Control (tap water), SPL: 0.1 g · L⁻¹, MLE: 3%, CHI: 0.1 g · L⁻¹ and PGPE: 0.1 g · L⁻¹.

1 BSs, biostimulants; CHI, chitosan; MLE, Moringa leaves extract; PGPE, pollen grains date palm extract; SD, standard deviation; SPL, Spirulina.

Table 6.

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.

Treatment	Number of flowers per plant		Diameter of flower (cm)		Weight of flower (g)
Treatment	2022	2023	2022	2023	2022	2023
Control	14.67 ± 2.08 c	14.00 ± 0.0 c	5.06 ± 0.76 d	4.99 ± 0.18 b	3.38 ± 0.22 d	5.38 ± 0.85 d
SPL	29.33 ± 0.58 ab	32.00 ± 2.0 b	5.64 ± 0.07 c	5.49 ± 0.21 b	5.30 ± 0.16 b	7.31 ± 0.06 b
MLE	33.00 ± 2.00 a	38.33 ± 0.58 a	5.65 ± 0.11 c	5.49 ± 0.29 b	5.50 ± 0.16 ab	7.49 ± 0.06 ab
CHI	25.33 ± 1.53 b	29.33 ± 0.58 b	6.69 ± 0.10 a	6.46 ± 0.34 a	5.82 ± 0.15 a	7.67 ± 0.09 a
PGPE	27.67 ± 1.53 b	31.00 ± 1.0 b	6.30 ± 0.13 b	6.33 ± 0.25 a	4.62 ± 0.23 c	6.60 ± 0.09 c

1 BSs, biostimulants; CHI, chitosan; MLE, Moringa leaves extract; PGPE, pollen grains date palm extract; SD, standard deviation; 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*.

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*.

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

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

Table 7.

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.

Treatment	Yield of flower per plant (g)		Yield of flower per ha (t · ha⁻¹)		Yield increasing (%)
Treatment	2022	2023	2022	2023	2022	2023
Control	49.32 ± 3.63 c	75.37 ± 1.19 d	2.74 ± 0.2 c	4.19 ± 0.07 d	–	–
SPL	155.52 ± 7.5 ab	234.05 ± 15.31 b	8.64 ± 0.4 ab	13.30 ± 0.9 b	68.29	67.79
MLE	181.71 ± 16.13 a	287.01 ± 6.29 a	10.10 ± 0.8 a	15.96 ± 0.3 a	72.86	73.74
CHI	147.52 ± 8.69 b	224.90 ± 6.06 bc	8.20 ± 0.5 b	12.50 ± 0.3 bc	66.56	66.49
PGPE	128.05 ± 13.3 b	204.62 ± 8.04 c	7.12 ± 0.7 b	11.38 ± 0.4 c	61.48	63.17

1 Values are means (M) ± SD of three replicates. Within the columns M ± SD, having the same superscript letters are not significantly different at the 5% level. Values within the same column and followed by different letters are significantly different according to the Tukey’s test (p ≤ 0.05). Control (tap water), SPL: 0.1 g · L⁻¹, MLE: 3%, CHI: 0.1 g · L⁻¹ and PGPE: 0.1 g · L⁻¹.

1 BSs, biostimulants; CHI, chitosan; MLE, Moringa leaves extract; PGPE, pollen grains date palm extract; SD, standard deviation; SPL, Spirulina.

Table 8.

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

Treatment	Root length (cm)		Roots fresh weight (g · plant⁻¹)		Roots dry weight (g · plant⁻¹)		RRE (%)
Treatment	2022	2023	2022	2023	2022	2023	2022	2023
Control	12.83 ± 0.76 c	9.00 ± 0.00 d	12.08 ± 0.57 d	12.39 ± 0.92 d	2.42 ± 0.29 b	3.52 ±0.41 c	-	-
SPL	14.93 ±0.21 b	14.96 ±0.41 b	24.52 ± 1.02 b	19.17 ± 0.92 c	6.53 ±0.13 a	4.95 ± 0.36 b	14.07	39.84
MLE	15.13 ± 0.45 b	14.76 ± 0.25 be	16.56 ± 0.85 c	17.15 ± 0.62 c	3.62 ± 0.40 b	5.03 ± 0.73 b	15.20	39.02
CHI	17.67 ± 0.72 a	13.67 ± 0.47 c	15.25 ±0.91 c	29.61 ± 1.2 a	6.27 ± 1.04 a	7.53 ±0.13 a	27.39	34.16
PGPE	18.50 ±0.78 a	18.47 ± 0.76 a	31.55 ±0.79 a	24.41 ± 1.2 b	6.35 ±0.73 a	7.12 ±0.26 a	30.65	51.27

1 Values are means (M) ± SD of three replicates. Within the columns M ± SD, having the same superscript letters are not significantly different at the 5% level. Values within the same column and followed by different letters are significantly different according to the Tukey’s test (p ≤ 0.05). Control (Tap water), SPL: 0.1 g · L⁻¹), MLE: 3%, CHI: 0.1 g · L⁻¹ and PGPE: 0.1 g · L⁻¹.

1 BSs, biostimulants; CHI, chitosan; MLE: Moringa leaves extract; PGPE, pollen grains date palm extract; RRE, Relative root elongation; SD, standard deviation; 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*.

Table 9.

Correlation of properties of Tagetes erecta affected by BSs foliar application.

Attributes	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11
1. Plant height	1
2. No. of branches	0.661**	1
3. Plant fresh weight	0.670**	0.821**	1
4. Plant dry weight	0.840**	0.745**	0.844**	1
5. No. flower per plant	0.540**	0.842**	0.929**	0.804**	1
6. Flower diameter	0.944**	0.615*	0.497	0.621*	0.376	1
7. Weight of flower	0.744**	0.865**	0.807**	0.923**	0.832**	0.635*	1
8. Flower yield per plant	0.618*	0.807**	0.929**	0.896**	0.377	0.451	0.915**	1
9. Flower yield per ha	0.618*	0.807**	0.929**	0.896**	0.377	0.451	0.915**	1.000**	1
10. Root length	0.868**	0.416	0.534*	0.792**	0.425	0.896**	0.792*	0.515*	0.430	1
11. Root fresh weight	0.296	-0.066	0.354	0.549*	0.466	0.349	0.549*	0.140	0.299	0.616*	1
12. Root dry weight	0.634*	0.316	0.364	0.760**	0.428	0.729**	0.760**	0.565*	0.445	0.738**	0.664**

1 BSs, biostimulants.

1* p ≤ 0.05;

1** p ≤ 0.01.

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DOI: https://doi.org/10.2478/fhort-2025-0016 | Journal eISSN: 2083-5965 | Journal ISSN: 0867-1761

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Language: English

Page range: 209 - 226

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 issues per year

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© 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.

Volume 37 (2025): Issue 2 (December 2025)

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

Figures & Tables

Table 1.

Table 2.

Table 3.

Table 4.

Table 5.

Table 6.

Figure 1.

Figure 2.

Figure 3.

Figure 4.

Table 7.

Table 8.

Figure 5.

Table 9.

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