Influence of Humic Acid on Seedling Growth of Papaya (Carica papaya) cv. CO 7

The experiment was conducted to determine the effect of humic acidon thegrowthof papaya seedlings in the nursery stage. Seedlings were treated with humic acid as soil application (2 and 4ml), foliar application (0.1 and 0.2%) and combination of both at 15 and 30 days after seedling emergence. Results revealed that soil application of 4ml of humic acid combined with 0.2% foliar spray of humic was significant difference in papaya plant height, stem girth, no. of leaves, leaf area, dry weight of shoot and roots. Besides maximum total chlorophyll, total phenols content in leaves, phosphate activity in roots and microbial population activity in the root rhizosphere. This study confirmed thathumic acids, ifapplied at 15 and 30days of seedling emergence, can induce significant increase of quantitative parameters in papaya and can find appositive application in an organic and sustainable horticulture. Humic acid is a commercial product that contains many elements which improve the soil fertility and increase the availability of nutrient elements.