Influences of Seaweed Extract and Potassium Nitrate Foliar Application on Yield and Fruit Quality of Date Palms (Phoenix dactylifera L. cv. Sukary)

This study was carried out during 2012 and 2013 seasons on date palms cv. Sukary, to study the effect of seaweed extracts and KNO3 spray (1 and 2%) on fruit yield and quality characters. Five spraying treatments were applied as follow: KNO3 at 1% and 2%, seaweed extracts at 1% and 2%, and the control (water). Results showed that both seaweed extracts and KNO3 at 2% level improved fruit yield and quality of Sukary dates. Spraying of 2% seaweed extracts resulted in the highest bunch weight, fruit yield, fruit and flesh weight, soluble solids content and reducing and total sugars content. On the other hand, spraying of 2% KNO3 showed the highest fruit volume, fruit diameter and fruit moisture. This study indicated that seaweed extracts improved fruit yield and quality as compared to KNO3. In addition, seaweed extracts are more favorable to the consumer rather than chemical spray with KNO3.

کلیدواژه ها:

KNO3 ، Organic source ، Safe products ، Date Palm ، Saudi Arabia