Abstract
Rootzone pH affects nutrient availability for plants. Hydroponic leafy greens are grown in nutrient solutions with pH 5.5 to 6.5. Lower pH may inhibit plant growth, whereas pathogenic oomycete growth and reproduction may be mitigated. General understanding of pH effects on nutrient availability suggests likely toxicity and deficiency of specific micronutrients. We hypothesized that if adjustments are made to the micronutrient concentrations in solution, plants will grow in lower-than-conventional pH without nutrient disorders, while oomycete disease incidence and severity may be reduced. To develop a new nutrient solution management strategy, we examined pH of 4.0, 4.5, 5.0, and 5.5 with or without micronutrient adjustments for growing two cultivars of basil plants Dolce Fresca and Nufar in a greenhouse hydroponic deep-water culture (DWC) system. Micronutrient adjustments included reduced concentrations of copper, zinc, manganese, and boron by one-half and doubled molybdenum concentration. Plants harvested 20 to 28 days after transplanting did not show significant effects of pH or the micronutrient adjustment. Phosphorus, calcium, magnesium, sulfur, boron, manganese, and zinc concentrations in leaves significantly declined, while potassium and aluminum concentrations increased with decreasing pH. However, these changes and therefore micronutrient adjustments did not affect basil plant growth significantly. ‘Nufar’ basil plants were then grown in a growth chamber DWC system at pH 4.0 or a conventional 5.5 with and without inoculation of Pythium aphanidermatum zoospores. Fourteen days after inoculation, P. aphanidermatum oospore production was confirmed only for the inoculated plants in pH 5.5 solution, where a significant reduction of plant growth was observed. The results of the present study indicate that maintaining nutrient solution pH at 4.0 can effectively suppress the severity of root rot caused by P. aphanidermatum initiated by zoospore inoculation without influencing basil growth.
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Claims 9
Claim · model-written summary
Neither pH nor micronutrient adjustments significantly affected basil growth in the 20 to 28-day harvest.
- Taxon
- Basil
Ocimum basilicumt0 - Treatment
- pH or the micronutrient adjustmente1
- Outcome
- basil plant growthe4
- Direction
- did not affecte4
Not reportedComparator
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
t0“Basil (Ocimum basilicum L.)”
e1“Plants harvested 20 to 28 days after transplanting did not show significant effects of pH or the micronutrient adjustment”
e4“However, these changes and therefore micronutrient adjustments did not affect basil plant growth significantly”
Claim · model-written summary
Lower pH decreased leaf phosphorus, calcium and magnesium concentrations in basil.
- Taxon
- basilOcimum basilicumt0
- Organ / stage
- leavese2
- Treatment
- decreasing pHe2
- Outcome
- Phosphorus, calcium, magnesiume2
- Direction
- declinede2
Not reportedComparator
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
t0“Basil (Ocimum basilicum L.)”
e2“Phosphorus, calcium, magnesium, sulfur, boron, manganese, and zinc concentrations in leaves significantly declined, while potassium and aluminum concentrations increased with decreasing pH”
Claim · model-written summary
Lower pH decreased leaf sulfur, boron and manganese concentrations in basil.
- Taxon
- basilOcimum basilicumt0
- Organ / stage
- leavese2
- Treatment
- decreasing pHe2
- Outcome
- sulfur, boron, manganesee2
- Direction
- declinede2
Not reportedComparator
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
t0“Basil (Ocimum basilicum L.)”
e2“Phosphorus, calcium, magnesium, sulfur, boron, manganese, and zinc concentrations in leaves significantly declined, while potassium and aluminum concentrations increased with decreasing pH”
Claim · model-written summary
Lower pH decreased leaf zinc concentration in basil.
- Taxon
- basilOcimum basilicumt0
- Organ / stage
- leavese2
- Treatment
- decreasing pHe2
- Outcome
- zince2
- Direction
- declinede2
Not reportedComparator
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
t0“Basil (Ocimum basilicum L.)”
e2“Phosphorus, calcium, magnesium, sulfur, boron, manganese, and zinc concentrations in leaves significantly declined, while potassium and aluminum concentrations increased with decreasing pH”
Claim · model-written summary
Lower pH increased leaf potassium and aluminum concentrations in basil.
- Taxon
- basilOcimum basilicumt0
- Organ / stage
- leavese2
- Treatment
- decreasing pHe2
- Outcome
- potassium and aluminum concentrationse2
- Direction
- increasede2
Not reportedComparator
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
t0“Basil (Ocimum basilicum L.)”
e2“Phosphorus, calcium, magnesium, sulfur, boron, manganese, and zinc concentrations in leaves significantly declined, while potassium and aluminum concentrations increased with decreasing pH”
Claim · model-written summary
Pythium aphanidermatum oospore production was confirmed only in inoculated basil plants at pH 5.5.
- Taxon
- basilOcimum basilicumt0
- Treatment
- inoculatede5
- Interactor
- P. aphanidermatumPythium aphanidermatume5pathogen
- Outcome
- oospore productione5
- Qualifier
- in pH 5.5 solutione5
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
t0“Basil (Ocimum basilicum L.)”
e5“Fourteen days after inoculation, P. aphanidermatum oospore production was confirmed only for the inoculated plants in pH 5.5 solution, where a significant reduction of plant growth was observed”
Claim · model-written summary
Inoculated basil plants at pH 5.5 showed a significant reduction of plant growth.
- Taxon
- basilOcimum basilicumt0
- Treatment
- inoculatede5
- Interactor
- P. aphanidermatumPythium aphanidermatume5pathogen
- Outcome
- plant growthe5
- Direction
- reductione5
- Qualifier
- in pH 5.5 solutione5
Not reportedComparator
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
t0“Basil (Ocimum basilicum L.)”
e5“Fourteen days after inoculation, P. aphanidermatum oospore production was confirmed only for the inoculated plants in pH 5.5 solution, where a significant reduction of plant growth was observed”
Claim · model-written summary
Maintaining nutrient solution pH at 4.0 suppressed the severity of Pythium root rot initiated by zoospore inoculation.
- Taxon
- basilOcimum basilicumt0
- Treatment
- maintaining nutrient solution pH at 4.0e6
- Interactor
- P. aphanidermatumPythium aphanidermatume6pathogen
- Outcome
- the severity of root rote6
- Direction
- suppresse6
Not reportedComparator
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
t0“Basil (Ocimum basilicum L.)”
e6“The results of the present study indicate that maintaining nutrient solution pH at 4.0 can effectively suppress the severity of root rot caused by P. aphanidermatum initiated by zoospore inoculation without influencing basil growth”
Claim · model-written summary
Maintaining nutrient solution pH at 4.0 did not influence basil growth.
- Taxon
- basilOcimum basilicumt0
- Treatment
- maintaining nutrient solution pH at 4.0e6
- Outcome
- basil growthe6
- Direction
- no_changeinferrede6
Not reportedComparator
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
t0“Basil (Ocimum basilicum L.)”
e6“The results of the present study indicate that maintaining nutrient solution pH at 4.0 can effectively suppress the severity of root rot caused by P. aphanidermatum initiated by zoospore inoculation without influencing basil growth”
The same questions in other papers
fertilization · growth · Ocimum basilicum (basil)Positive and negative results
7 papers in the same direction as this paper · 65 in the opposite direction
- negative
- positive
- positive
69 papers more in this group
See all 73 papers →micronutrient · growth · Ocimum basilicum (basil)Results agree
1 paper in the same direction as this paper
- no effect
Claims are grouped by organism, treatment and what was measured or targeted. A paper counts as positive when any of its claims in the group is positive.