Malaysian Wood Vinegar as Potential Vegetative Booster

Abstract

The increment of awareness on food safety and environmental pollution caused by synthetic vegetative chemical agents leads the consumers and farmers to look for a safer and natural product as an alternative. Currently, the farmer in Malaysia mainly depends on the vegetative chemical agents imported from overseas. Therefore, the potential of the local vegetative agent is keen to be revealed. Wood vinegar is recognised as a safe natural vegetative agent with various effect. In this research, the booster effect of wood vinegar on the growth of Brassica rapa was investigated. Wood vinegar was obtained from Forest Bio Energy Sdn. Bhd. at Jeli District, Kelantan. The crude wood vinegar was aged for six months, and the clear wood vinegar above the tar layer was collected. The basic properties of wood vinegar, including pH, acidity, total polyphenol content, heavy metal content and bacteria count were analysed. Wood vinegar solution with five different dilution concentration (1:100, 1:250, 1:500, 1:750 and 1:1000) and one blank (distilled water as control) was prepared. The wood vinegar solutions were sprayed on the Brassica rapa with interval seven days for three weeks, begin from the day after transplanting (DATP). Soil pH, leaf area index, number of leaf, length of stem, fresh weight and length of root were examined. The physical properties analysis indicated that the wood vinegar is rich in acetic acid and total polyphenol content with low heavy metal content. The vitality result indicated that wood vinegar solution able to improve the growth of Brassica rapa. However, the high concentration of wood vinegar showed an adverse effect. The wood vinegar solution with 1:750 dilution exhibited the best performance in the promoting growth of brassica rapa in leaf area, leaf number, fresh weight and length of root and 1:1000 dilution for promoting the growth of stem.