ORIGINAL RESEARCH article
Front. Plant Sci.
Sec. Plant Nutrition
Leaf elemental composition of Cleome gynandra L. as influenced by giant kelp extract and kraal manure application
Naledi Makhubalo 1
Chuene Victor Mashamaite 1,2
Alen Manyevere 1
1. University of Fort Hare, Alice, South Africa
2. Agricultural Research Council, Pretoria, South Africa
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Abstract
Cleome gynandra L. (spider plant) is a traditional leafy vegetable that contains minerals, vitamins, proteins, and phytochemical compounds. However, little is known about the effects of sole KM (kraal manure), GKE (giant kelp extract), and GKE + KM on affect spider plant leaf mineral composition. This study aimed to determine the effect of sole GKE, KM, and GKE + KM on leaf mineral composition. It is hypothesized that 1 mL/L GKE supplemented with 30 kg/345 m2 KM will influence leaf nutrient composition. This hypothesis was tested using a split-plot design across two growing seasons at the University of Fort Hare research farm, to assess treatment-specific effects on macro-and micronutrient accumulation in spider plant leaves.. The main plots comprised three amounts levels of KM (0, 30, and 60 kg/345 m2) and subplots comprised five levels of GKE (0, 1, 2, 3, and 4 mL/L), which wereeach replicated three times. A two-way analysis of variance test was performed using JMP Pro 18 statistical software package to determine the effects of various levels of GKE and KM application on leaf chemical parameters. Canonical correspondence analysis was done performed using R Studio version 4.1.2 (2024). Results showed that application of 30 kg/345 m2 KM in season 1 increased (p < 0.05) nitrogen, calcium, magnesium, potassium, sodium, iron, manganese, and zinc. Spider plant treated with 2 mL/L GKE showed an increaseincreased levels in of iron, manganese, and zinc in both summer seasons. Additionally, the combination of 2 mL/L GKE + 30 kg/345 m2 KM increased leaf nitrogen, iron, manganese, and zinc. This study confirms that GKE, KM, and GKE + KM play a significant role in leaf mineral uptake.
Summary
Keywords
biostimulants, indigenous leafy vegetables nutrients, nutrient accumulation, organic manure, Spider plant
Received
23 December 2025
Accepted
17 February 2026
Copyright
© 2026 Makhubalo, Mashamaite and Manyevere. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
*Correspondence: Chuene Victor Mashamaite
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