3.3. Effects of HLS on plant growth
The positive effects of HLS were also observed on the
whole plant growth. The biometric factors of harvested
maize are presented in Table 3. After two months of experiments,
treated plants exhibited a significant increase in
total biomass, about 66% more fresh weight and 85% more
dry weight. These effects were related to the increase of the
fresh and dry weight of each plant organ. HLS primarily
enhance the production of shoot, then leaf and root biomass.
The most significant growth was recorded for shoot
dry weight and corresponded to a twofold increase in plant
shoot biomass. The formation of flowers was noticed only
in treated plants. Furthermore, the humic treatment presented
positive effect on shoot and root length with a significant
increase of 72% and 25%, respectively.