Abstract
Various plant extracts are being marketed claiming to enhance both crop yield and quality and being environmentally friendly. However, these claims are rarely documented by scientific data. In this study, we investigate the growth regulatory effect of Tea Seed Powder (TSP), a saponin-rich waste product from tea seed ( Camellia sp.) oil production. The product was tested in various concentrations on Lemna growth and as a soil and spray application on growth of pot grown beet, mustard, oat, and barley. Finally, two treatments, 0.2 g TSP/L dry soil and weekly sprays with TSP solutions corresponding to 1.5 g TSP/m 2 , were tested for effects on strawberry yield. The results showed significant growth-enhancing effects on the sterile Lemna of ≈20% above control, demonstrating that the growth increase was a plant physiological response to TSP rather than an indirect effect of TSP affecting pests and diseases or improving nutrient uptake. Soil-treated, pot-grown beet, oat, and barley plants showed significant biomass increases in the range of 27% to 41% above control at concentrations of ≈0.3 g TSP/L dry soil, whereas increases of 14% to 26% were observed in plants sprayed with 0.15 to 1.5 g TSP/m 2 . Sprayed strawberries had a 38% higher berry yield compared with control plants in 2008, whereas no difference in leaf number and area, number of runners, and inflorescences were detected. In 2009, there were no significant observable differences between sprayed plants and controls. Soil-treated strawberry plants, however, showed a decrease in leaf number in 2008 and in strawberry yield in 2009. The study concludes that TSP has pronounced and direct physiological effects on plants, which can both increase and decrease growth and yield depending on the applied dose. The growth-enhancing effect could be used commercially to improve crop yield; however, because TSP is also known to be very harmful to earthworms, possible environmental effects of the use of TSP in agriculture and horticulture must be considered before use.
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Claims 13
Claim · model-written summary
Tea Seed Powder significantly enhanced growth of sterile Lemna by about 20% above control.
- Treatment
- Tea Seed Powder (TSP)e1
- Outcome
- growthe0
- Direction
- increaseinferrede0
- Value
- ≈20%e0
- Comparator
- controle0
LemnaOrganisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“The results showed significant growth-enhancing effects on the sterile Lemna of ≈20% above control”
e1“we investigate the growth regulatory effect of Tea Seed Powder (TSP)”
Claim · model-written summary
Soil-applied TSP significantly increased biomass of pot-grown beet by 27% to 41% above control.
- Taxon
- beet
Beta vulgarise2 - Treatment
- ≈0.3 g TSP/L dry soile2
- Outcome
- biomasse2
- Direction
- increasese2
- Value
- 27% to 41%e2
- Comparator
- controle2
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e2“Soil-treated, pot-grown beet, oat, and barley plants showed significant biomass increases in the range of 27% to 41% above control at concentrations of ≈0.3 g TSP/L dry soil”
Claim · model-written summary
Soil-applied TSP significantly increased biomass of pot-grown oat by 27% to 41% above control.
- Taxon
- oat
Avena sativae2 - Treatment
- ≈0.3 g TSP/L dry soile2
- Outcome
- biomasse2
- Direction
- increasese2
- Value
- 27% to 41%e2
- Comparator
- controle2
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e2“Soil-treated, pot-grown beet, oat, and barley plants showed significant biomass increases in the range of 27% to 41% above control at concentrations of ≈0.3 g TSP/L dry soil”
Claim · model-written summary
Soil-applied TSP significantly increased biomass of pot-grown barley by 27% to 41% above control.
- Taxon
- barley
.jpg?width=60)
Hordeum vulgaree2 - Treatment
- ≈0.3 g TSP/L dry soile2
- Outcome
- biomasse2
- Direction
- increasese2
- Value
- 27% to 41%e2
- Comparator
- controle2
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
.jpg?width=500)
Verbatim
e2“Soil-treated, pot-grown beet, oat, and barley plants showed significant biomass increases in the range of 27% to 41% above control at concentrations of ≈0.3 g TSP/L dry soil”
Claim · model-written summary
Spray-applied TSP increased growth of pot-grown beet, mustard, oat and barley by 14% to 26%.
Verbatim
e2“Soil-treated, pot-grown beet, oat, and barley plants showed significant biomass increases in the range of 27% to 41% above control at concentrations of ≈0.3 g TSP/L dry soil”
e3“whereas increases of 14% to 26% were observed in plants sprayed with 0.15 to 1.5 g TSP/m 2”
e4“as a soil and spray application on growth of pot grown beet, mustard, oat, and barley”
Claim · model-written summary
Sprayed strawberries had a 38% higher berry yield than control plants in 2008.
- Taxon
- strawberries
_single2.jpg?width=60)
Fragaria ×ananassae4 - Treatment
- Sprayede4
- Outcome
- berry yielde4
- Direction
- highere4
- Value
- 38%e4
- Comparator
- control plantse4
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
_single2.jpg?width=500)
Verbatim
e4“Sprayed strawberries had a 38% higher berry yield compared with control plants in 2008”
Claim · model-written summary
Sprayed strawberries showed no difference in leaf number and leaf area compared with control plants.
- Taxon
- strawberriesFragaria ×ananassae4
- Treatment
- Sprayede4
- Outcome
- leaf number and areae5
- Direction
- no differencee5
- Comparator
- control plantse4
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e4“Sprayed strawberries had a 38% higher berry yield compared with control plants in 2008”
e5“no difference in leaf number and area, number of runners, and inflorescences were detected”
Claim · model-written summary
Sprayed strawberries showed no difference in number of runners and inflorescences compared with control plants.
- Taxon
- strawberriesFragaria ×ananassae4
- Treatment
- Sprayede4
- Outcome
- number of runners, and inflorescencese5
- Direction
- no differencee5
- Comparator
- control plantse4
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e4“Sprayed strawberries had a 38% higher berry yield compared with control plants in 2008”
e5“no difference in leaf number and area, number of runners, and inflorescences were detected”
Claim · model-written summary
In 2009 sprayed strawberries showed no significant observable differences from controls.
- Taxon
- strawberriesFragaria ×ananassae4
- Treatment
- Sprayede4
- Outcome
- observable differencese6
- Direction
- no_changeinferrede6
- Qualifier
- In 2009e6
- Comparator
- controlse6
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e4“Sprayed strawberries had a 38% higher berry yield compared with control plants in 2008”
e6“In 2009, there were no significant observable differences between sprayed plants and controls”
Claim · model-written summary
Soil-treated strawberry plants showed a decrease in leaf number in 2008.
- Taxon
- strawberry plantsFragaria ×ananassae7
- Treatment
- Soil-treatede7
- Outcome
- leaf numbere7
- Direction
- decreasee7
- Qualifier
- in 2008e7
Not reportedComparator
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e7“Soil-treated strawberry plants, however, showed a decrease in leaf number in 2008 and in strawberry yield in 2009”
Claim · model-written summary
Soil-treated strawberry plants showed a decrease in yield in 2009.
- Taxon
- strawberry plantsFragaria ×ananassae7
- Treatment
- Soil-treatede7
- Outcome
- strawberry yielde7
- Direction
- decreasee7
- Qualifier
- in 2009e7
Not reportedComparator
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e7“Soil-treated strawberry plants, however, showed a decrease in leaf number in 2008 and in strawberry yield in 2009”
Claim · model-written summary
The authors suggest the growth-enhancing effect of TSP could be used commercially to improve crop yield.
Verbatim
e0“The growth-enhancing effect could be used commercially to improve crop yield”
Claim · model-written summary
The growth increase is a plant physiological response to TSP rather than an indirect effect on pests, diseases or nutrient uptake.
- Outcome
- growth increasee1
- Qualifier
- a plant physiological response to TSP rather than an indirect effecte1
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“The results showed significant growth-enhancing effects on the sterile Lemna of ≈20% above control”
e1“demonstrating that the growth increase was a plant physiological response to TSP rather than an indirect effect of TSP affecting pests and diseases or improving nutrient uptake”
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Claims are grouped by organism, treatment and what was measured or targeted. A paper counts as positive when any of its claims in the group is positive.