Effects of Spraying with Urea and Seaweed Extract (Tecamin Algae) on Growth and Chemical Content of Date Palm Tree Cv. Zahdi

Abstract

The following study was conducted in a private date palm orchard in the area of AlFurat, district of Heet throughout the season of 2019-2020 on 20-year-old date palm trees, Zahdi cultivar. The purpose was to study the effects of spraying the Urea compound with concentrations of (0, 1 and 2 g L-1) as well as seaweed extract (Tecamin Algae) with (0, 2 and 4 g L-1) of concentration on the growth and chemical content of the trees. 27 date palms were randomly selected. A factorial experiment with RCBD design was carried out such that it includes 9 treatments with 3 replicas for each treatment. Each tree was treated as one experimental unit. The results demonstrated that treatments of Urea spraying, especially with 2 g L-1 concentration, contributed to achieving the best results for response measurements (Leaf Area, Total Chlorophyll, Total Carbohydrates in the Leaflets, Nitrogen, and Phosphorous), which were (2.61 m2, 10.65 mg g-1, 7.46%, 1.69% and 0.40%), respectively. The content of phosphorous in the leaflets was not significantly affected when sprayed with Urea. On the other hand, seaweed extract spraying had a significant effect on all the response measurements. The 4 ml L-1 concentration gave the highest figures for our responses (total chlorophyll 10.38 mg g-1, Carbohydrates 7.52%, Nitrogen 1.65%, Phosphorus 0.37% and Potassium 0.67%). The concentration of (2 ml L-1) gave the largest area of the leaf at 2.63 m2.