The research presented in this thesis was undertaken with the purpose of investigating
the biostimulative effect of microalgae extract. on soybean (Glycine max (L.) Merr.)
in two segments. The first segment was existing field fertilizer experiment at the
Laboratory Field of the Biotechnical faculty in Ljubljana, where soybean was foliar
treated with a solution of methanolic microalgae extract. Plant height, chlorophyll
content, nodulation, leaf area index and yield of treated and control plots were
measured. The second part of the experiment was conducted under laboratory
conditions, where the effect of different concentrations of microalgae on soybean
germination and root parameters was investigated. Both experiments - under
controlled conditions and at the Laboratory field, showed that selected extract had no
statistically significant effect on soybean growth for the vast majority of parameters
considered. The microalgae extract had a stimulating effect only on the number of
root tips at a concentration of 0.5 g/L. The other parameters of the experiment under
controlled conditions (germination rate, length, area and diameter of roots) were not
statistically significantly affected. At the Laboratory field experiment, there was no
statistically significant effect of the bioeffector. Fertilisation with NPK had a greater
effect on soybean growth than the bioeffector, as reflected in higher chlorophyll
content, plant height and nodule mass on the fertilised part. Unlike the vast majority
of scientific studies, carried out on different plant species, the method of work used
in our study did not confirm the effectiveness of microalgae on soybean growth
parameters.
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