At 8 weeks after sowing, growth of leaves
at the first and second node was remarkably
promoted by the chitosan soil treatment mixture
(Table 1), and leaves of the third node had
expanded, whereas no leaves appeared in the
other treatments. The seed treatment had no
effect at 8 weeks. At 11 weeks after sowing,
leaves of the fourth node had expanded only in
the chitosan-treated soil mixture. At 8 and 11
weeks after sowing, fresh and dry weights of
shoot and root were remarkably increased by
soil treatment with chitosan. Seed treatment
with lactic acid had some promotive effect, but
chitosan did not.
Soil treatment with chitosan hastened flowering
»15 d, whereas treatment of seeds with
lactic acid, with or without chitosan, hastened
it only 2 to 4 d (Table 2). At flowering, plants
grown in chitosan-treated soil had about two
more leaves than did plants in other treatments.
Leaf length and width at the fifth node
of plants grown in soil treated with chitosan
were greater than those of plants in the other
treatments. Shoots were also longer by »15
cm, while stem diameter did not differ among
the treatments. Thus, chitosan soil treatment