Efecto del tratamiento de semillas con gel de Aloe vera sobre la calidad fisiológica de plántulas de Zea mays L.
Effect of Aloe vera gel seed treatment on the physiological quality of Zea mays L. seedlings
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.70598/nhma7999cv30pKeywords:
plant biostimulants, T. harzianum, Bacillus spp, microorganismsAbstract
The use of bioinputs in combination with plant biostimulants is a sustainable strategy for improving early seedling growth in agricultural systems. In this study, Aloe vera gel was evaluated as a natural seed-treatment matrix and plant biostimulant, applied either alone or in combination with T. harzianum and Bacillus spp. The aim was to assess its effect on the early growth of maize seedlings under controlled laboratory conditions. The experiment was conducted using a completely randomized 2×2×2 factorial design with eight treatments and four replications, including the treatment without Aloe vera, without T. harzianum and without Bacillus spp. as the factorial reference cell. Evaluations included vigor, germination, seedling growth and biomass. The overall treatment comparison showed significant differences in vigor (p = 0.0498), seedling height (p = 0.0018), root length (p < 0.001) and shoot height (p = 0.0078), whereas final germination, dry weight and fresh weight did not differ significantly among treatments. Because vigor and germination are count responses, both variables were reanalyzed using binomial and quasibinomial generalized linear models. The quasibinomial model confirmed a positive effect of Aloe vera on vigor (p = 0.0118), whereas interactions with microbial inputs were interpreted as trends of response modulation rather than conclusive antagonistic effects. In conclusion, sabila gel showed a favorable effect mainly on vigor and early seedling growth in maize; however, its role as an adhesive agent should be considered potential, since coating adhesion and microbial recovery after drying were not directly measured.
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