Abstract

MINERAL CONTENT IN THE GEL OF ALOE VERA CULTIVATED IN DIFFERENT FERTILIZER SUPPLEMENTED SOILS

Kamakshi Dehariya* and Arun Kakkar

ABSTRACT

Study was conducted to explore the mineral content of the gel extracted from Aloe vera cultivated in sandy soil supplemented with different fertilizers in relation to control. The physico-chemical characteristics of the soil were determined by the standard method. The N, P, K, Ca, Cu, Fe, Mg, Na and Zn content of the fertilizer treated soils were higher than that of control. The mineral and water content of the dry gel was determined by the method of AOAC. The water content in the mucilaginous gel of the control plant was lowest as compared to fertilizer treated plants. The mineral content was higher in gel extracted from organic and bio- fertilizer treated Aloe plants. The minerals in terms of decreasing content in the dry gel include P ˃ N ˃ K ˃ Mg ˃ Ca ˃ Na ˃ Fe ˃ Cu ˃ Zn. Results indicate there is nosignificant difference amongst the mineral content of the organic and bio- fertilizer treated plants. There was a significance decrease in the mineral content of the gel of the plants cultivated in the inorganic fertilizer supplemented soil.

Keywords: Aloe vera, gel, mineral content, fertilizer, supplemented soil.