THE ROLE OF HUMIC AND AMINO ACIDS IN IMPROVING GROWTH AND QUALITY OF PASPALUM TURF

A field experiment was conducted at the nursery of Hort. Res. Inst., ARC., Giza, Egypt during 2014 and 2015 seasons to study the effect of spraying with humic acid at 0, 5 and 10 ml/l and adding mixture of amino acids as soil drench at 0, 1 and 2 g/pot individually or in combinations on growth, covering rate (%) and chemical composition of seashore paspalum (Paspalum vaginatum, Swartz.) plants grown in 40-cm-diameter plastic pots filled with sand medium. The obtained results showed that all treatments caused improvement in plant height, covering rate, number of plants/pot and herb fresh and dry weights compared with control, also, chemical results of chlorophyll a, b and carotenoids content in the leaves and total sugars content in the herb. The best treatments used resulted from the combining between humic acid at 10 ml/l and mixture of amino acids at 2 g/pot which recorded the highest means. Hence, in order to get the best growth and quality of paspalum plants, it could be recommended to spray with humic acid at 10 ml/l and adding a mixture of amino acids as soil drench at 2 g/pot six times with one month interval.