Do Effective Microorganisms and Supermagro Fertilizers Improve Gladiolus Quality?

Abstract

In this study, we evaluated the response of different gladiolus cultivars (Traderhorn, Joyeuse Entrée, and Purple Flora) to Effective Microorganisms (EM) and Supermagro fertilizers under the hypothesis that a combined EM+Supermagro fertilizer raises gladiolus floral stem and corm production to commercial standards of quality. The field experiment had a randomized block design in a 3 × 3 factorial arrangement totaling to 9 treatments in 3 replications. Of the 10 plants per plot, 6 each were evaluated for this study. Gladiolus stem and corm quality was assessed via analysis of variance and the means compared using Tukey's test at 5% error probability. The plants that received EM+Supermagro had a 15% higher final corm number compared to plants that received the chemical fertilizer with NPK+Urea. For final corm fresh mass (g), plants with NPK+Urea exhibited higher post-harvest values, with the Joyeuse Entrée cultivar producing the most and newer corms. Commercial floral stem quality parameters such as stem and tassel length and stem perimeter were met with both EM+Supermagro/NPK+Urea use and without fertilization, though EM+Supermagro especially improved floral stems and gladiolus corms. These parameters indicated that EM+Supermagro biofertilizer use assures national (stem) and international (corm) gladiolus quality standards, making it compatible with sustainable gladiolus production. EM+Supermagro fertilizer further serves as a social technology that favors small and medium producers due to its reduced input costs; it is also useful in the development of organic agriculture, one of the main agricultural demands in the modern day.