Abstract
In recent years, to improve sustainable production in horticultural crops, many new types of strategies have been developed, including organo-mineral fertilization to complement chemical fertilizers in order to enhance the nutritional status of plants and sustainability of the agroecosystems. This study was performed on a young pomegranate orchard of the “Wonderful” cultivar during the 2018 and 2019 seasons. The purpose was to evaluate the effects of three foliar applications (at the red ball, fruit setting, and fruit development stages) of four commercial organo-mineral fertilizers (Hendophyt®, Ergostim XL®, Siapton® 10L, and Allibio Rad®) on vegetative growth, yield, and several other physico-chemical parameters of the fruits, throughout each season. The results obtained showed several differences between the two years. The annual trunk growth of trees under all compared treatments showed significantly lower values in 2018 (average 9.7 mm) than in 2019 (average 11.8 mm). At the end of the two-year period, the biostimulant treatments resulted in significantly larger trunk diameters (average 43.6 mm) than the control (39.6 mm). Only in 2018, significantly higher number of fruits per tree, number of arils per fruit, edible part, and juice yield were obtained under biostimulant treatments compared with the control. No differences among treatments were observed for any color parameters or physico-chemical traits in the fruits for either year. In 2019, fruit morpho-pomological properties tended to be lower than in 2018, while in contrast, total phenol content and antioxidant activity were higher. The warmer and windier weather conditions of 2019 probably led to greater plant stress conditions, with a reduction in fruit size and an increase in the bioactive compounds of juice. In conclusion, due to the various positive results, foliar organo-mineral fertilizers could be recommended to improve the performance of pomegranate Wondeful cv. under similar conditions.
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