Efecto de una mezcla bioestimulante orgánica sobre el cultivo de apio (Apium graveolens L.) en Tacna, Perú

Agriculture is a necessary conventional activity that provides food for humankind; however, it is susceptible to generating significant negative environmental impacts due to high water consumption, soil erosion, and the indiscriminate use of chemical fertilizers and pesticides. This study proposes the use of vermicompost leachate and fish hydrolysate, bovine blood, and lettuce enriched with plant ash as biostimulants to improve the development of celery (Apium graveolens L.) in the city of Tacna, a coastal desert city in southern Peru. A completely randomized block design was used with 5 treatments (0, 30, 35, 40, and 45 mL of organic biostimulant mixture enriched with plant ash per liter of water), 4 blocks (experimental plots), and 10 replicates. After applying the different treatments (excluding the control group), the average number of leaves in the celery crop ranged from 27.65 to 34.25, the height of the celery crop ranged from 46.03 to 51.16 cm, and the marketable weight of the celery crop ranged from 0.74 to 1.18 kg. The results confirm that there are significant differences between the treatments and experimental blocks (p < 0.05) regarding the number of leaves, height, and marketable weight for celery.