Effect of Organic Fertilizer on Growth and Nutritional Value of Gnetum gnemon var. Tenerum

Abstract

The use of organic fertilizers is useful for growing vegetables and ensuring safety for consumers. Gnetum gnemon is a popular local vegetable grown in Chumphon province. The objectives of this research were to test the effect of organic fertilizers on growth of Gnetum gnemon and to study the nutritional value of Gnetum gnemon. The experiment was conducted using a Completely Random Design (CRD) and divided into 4 treatments with 10 replications, including the following: T1) no organic fertilizer (control), T2) organic fertilizer (chicken compost) 300 g/plant, T3) organic fertilizer (150 g of chicken compost + 150 g of bat compost) and T4) dust organic fertilizer (enrich the plant formula) (organic way^®) (0.1 g/plant) for 56 days. The resulted showed that all treatments were not significantly different when comparing among plant height, canopy width and the number of young leaves at the 95% confidence level. For Nutritional values and active substances in Gnetum gnemon, the resulted indicated that powder organic fertilizers (organic way®) treatment had the highest antioxidant value (1,658.34 mmoles TE) compared to other treatments. However, this treatment showed the lowest total polyphenol content. The results suggested that the application of organic fertilizers is effective in enhancing the nutritional values and active substances of Gnetum gnemon. This data may be used as a guideline for developing the taste and nutritional value of Gnetum gnemon.