In organic production, the challenge is to ensure the appropriate quality of the seedlings, in particular to guarantee a sufficient supply of nutrients. One solution to ensure a sufficient amount of fertilizer is to use a natural (organic) nitrogen source, which is available in liquid form and can be added by irrigating the seedlings. We conducted an experiment with cabbage (Brassica oleracea var. capitata L.) seedlings and lettuce (Lactuca staiva L.) seedlings. Four plates with seedlings were used for control and soaked only in water, the other four plates in water with added amino acids (AA, as Delfan solution). When the seedlings had reached a size suitable for transplantation (i.e. sales size), we measured the number of developed leaves, root development, height of seedlings, fresh weight, chlorophyll content, leaf surface and mass of dry matter. Lettuce seedlings soaked in water with AA (14,6 cm) were higher than control seedlings (13,0 cm), in cabbage seedlings no differences were not obvious. Differences in leaf number were not shown in either lettuce or cabbage. Root systems of control seedlings and seedlings that were fertilized with AA belonged to the class of well-developed root systems. The fresh weight of cabbage was 3,03 g higher of seedlings fertilized with AA, and 0,25 g for lettuce seedlings. The leaf area of seedlings fertilized with AA was also larger than that of control seedlings. The AA fertilized seedlings contained more chlorophyll than the control seedlings, for lettuce by 4,34 % and cabbage by 3,67 %. It was also shown that fertilized seedlings used more water.
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