Mitigating Water Stress and Enhancing Aesthetic Quality in Off-Season Potted <i>Curcuma</i> cv. ‘Jasmine Pink’ via Potassium Silicate Under Deficit Irrigation
<i>Curcuma</i> spp. is a popular ornamental crop valued for its vibrant appearance and suitability for both regular and off-season production. As global emphasis on freshwater conservation increases and with a demand for compact potted plants, reducing water use while maintaining high ae...
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MDPI AG
2025-07-01
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| Series: | Horticulturae |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2311-7524/11/7/856 |
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| author | Vannak Sour Anoma Dongsansuk Supat Isarangkool Na Ayutthaya Soraya Ruamrungsri Panupon Hongpakdee |
| author_facet | Vannak Sour Anoma Dongsansuk Supat Isarangkool Na Ayutthaya Soraya Ruamrungsri Panupon Hongpakdee |
| author_sort | Vannak Sour |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | <i>Curcuma</i> spp. is a popular ornamental crop valued for its vibrant appearance and suitability for both regular and off-season production. As global emphasis on freshwater conservation increases and with a demand for compact potted plants, reducing water use while maintaining high aesthetic quality presents a key challenge for horticulturists. Potassium silicate (PS) has been proposed as a foliar spray to alleviate plant water stress. This study aimed to evaluate the effects of PS on growth, ornamental traits, and photosynthetic parameters of off-season potted <i>Curcuma</i> cv. ‘Jasmine Pink’ under deficit irrigation (DI). Plants were subjected to three treatments in a completely randomized design: 100% crop evapotranspiration (ETc), 50% ETc, and 50% ETc with 1000 ppm PS (weekly sprayed on leaves for 11 weeks). Both DI treatments (50% ETc and 50% ETc + PS) reduced plant height by 7.39% and 9.17%, leaf number by 16.99% and 7.03%, and total biomass by 21.13% and 20.58%, respectively, compared to 100% ETc. Notably, under DI, PS-treated plants maintained several parameters equivalent to the 100% ETc treatment, including flower bud emergence, blooming period, green bract number, effective quantum yield of PSII (ΔF/Fm′), and electron transport rate (ETR). In addition, PS application increased leaf area by 8.11% and compactness index by 9.80% relative to untreated plants. Photosynthetic rate, ΔF/Fm′, and ETR increased by 31.52%, 13.63%, and 9.93%, while non-photochemical quenching decreased by 16.51% under water-limited conditions. These findings demonstrate that integrating deficit irrigation with PS foliar application can enhance water use efficiency and maintain ornamental quality in off-season potted <i>Curcuma</i>, promoting sustainable water management in horticulture. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-7fd0c4dbb17c408eb8c38ef9a4ef6f33 |
| institution | Matheson Library |
| issn | 2311-7524 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-07-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Horticulturae |
| spelling | doaj-art-7fd0c4dbb17c408eb8c38ef9a4ef6f332025-07-25T13:24:40ZengMDPI AGHorticulturae2311-75242025-07-0111785610.3390/horticulturae11070856Mitigating Water Stress and Enhancing Aesthetic Quality in Off-Season Potted <i>Curcuma</i> cv. ‘Jasmine Pink’ via Potassium Silicate Under Deficit IrrigationVannak Sour0Anoma Dongsansuk1Supat Isarangkool Na Ayutthaya2Soraya Ruamrungsri3Panupon Hongpakdee4Department of Horticulture, Faculty of Agriculture, Khon Kaen University, Khon Kaen 40000, ThailandDepartment of Agronomy, Faculty of Agriculture, Khon Kaen University, Khon Kaen 40000, ThailandDepartment of Horticulture, Faculty of Agriculture, Khon Kaen University, Khon Kaen 40000, ThailandDepartment of Plant and Soil Science, Faculty of Agriculture, Chiang Mai University, Chiang Mai 50200, ThailandDepartment of Horticulture, Faculty of Agriculture, Khon Kaen University, Khon Kaen 40000, Thailand<i>Curcuma</i> spp. is a popular ornamental crop valued for its vibrant appearance and suitability for both regular and off-season production. As global emphasis on freshwater conservation increases and with a demand for compact potted plants, reducing water use while maintaining high aesthetic quality presents a key challenge for horticulturists. Potassium silicate (PS) has been proposed as a foliar spray to alleviate plant water stress. This study aimed to evaluate the effects of PS on growth, ornamental traits, and photosynthetic parameters of off-season potted <i>Curcuma</i> cv. ‘Jasmine Pink’ under deficit irrigation (DI). Plants were subjected to three treatments in a completely randomized design: 100% crop evapotranspiration (ETc), 50% ETc, and 50% ETc with 1000 ppm PS (weekly sprayed on leaves for 11 weeks). Both DI treatments (50% ETc and 50% ETc + PS) reduced plant height by 7.39% and 9.17%, leaf number by 16.99% and 7.03%, and total biomass by 21.13% and 20.58%, respectively, compared to 100% ETc. Notably, under DI, PS-treated plants maintained several parameters equivalent to the 100% ETc treatment, including flower bud emergence, blooming period, green bract number, effective quantum yield of PSII (ΔF/Fm′), and electron transport rate (ETR). In addition, PS application increased leaf area by 8.11% and compactness index by 9.80% relative to untreated plants. Photosynthetic rate, ΔF/Fm′, and ETR increased by 31.52%, 13.63%, and 9.93%, while non-photochemical quenching decreased by 16.51% under water-limited conditions. These findings demonstrate that integrating deficit irrigation with PS foliar application can enhance water use efficiency and maintain ornamental quality in off-season potted <i>Curcuma</i>, promoting sustainable water management in horticulture.https://www.mdpi.com/2311-7524/11/7/856water use efficiencywater managementcontainerized ornamental plantsiliconphotosynthetic parameters |
| spellingShingle | Vannak Sour Anoma Dongsansuk Supat Isarangkool Na Ayutthaya Soraya Ruamrungsri Panupon Hongpakdee Mitigating Water Stress and Enhancing Aesthetic Quality in Off-Season Potted <i>Curcuma</i> cv. ‘Jasmine Pink’ via Potassium Silicate Under Deficit Irrigation Horticulturae water use efficiency water management containerized ornamental plant silicon photosynthetic parameters |
| title | Mitigating Water Stress and Enhancing Aesthetic Quality in Off-Season Potted <i>Curcuma</i> cv. ‘Jasmine Pink’ via Potassium Silicate Under Deficit Irrigation |
| title_full | Mitigating Water Stress and Enhancing Aesthetic Quality in Off-Season Potted <i>Curcuma</i> cv. ‘Jasmine Pink’ via Potassium Silicate Under Deficit Irrigation |
| title_fullStr | Mitigating Water Stress and Enhancing Aesthetic Quality in Off-Season Potted <i>Curcuma</i> cv. ‘Jasmine Pink’ via Potassium Silicate Under Deficit Irrigation |
| title_full_unstemmed | Mitigating Water Stress and Enhancing Aesthetic Quality in Off-Season Potted <i>Curcuma</i> cv. ‘Jasmine Pink’ via Potassium Silicate Under Deficit Irrigation |
| title_short | Mitigating Water Stress and Enhancing Aesthetic Quality in Off-Season Potted <i>Curcuma</i> cv. ‘Jasmine Pink’ via Potassium Silicate Under Deficit Irrigation |
| title_sort | mitigating water stress and enhancing aesthetic quality in off season potted i curcuma i cv jasmine pink via potassium silicate under deficit irrigation |
| topic | water use efficiency water management containerized ornamental plant silicon photosynthetic parameters |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2311-7524/11/7/856 |
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