RESPONSE OF Pelargonium graveolens L. PLANTS TO TREATMENTS OF IRRIGATION, CHEMICAL, ORGANIC AND BIO-FERTILIZATION UNDER SANDY SOIL CONDITIONS.

Abstract

The field work was carried out at the Experimental Farm of Horticultural Research Station in El-Quassassin, Ismailia Governorate, Egypt, during the two successive seasons of 2009-2011 and 2010-2012, to investigate the effect of drip irrigation treatments (1, 2 and 3 times/week, 2 hours every time) and fertilization treatments (ammonium sulphate (20.5 N %) at 300 kg/fed., calcium superphosphate (15.5 P2O5 %) at 300 kg/fed. and potassium sulphate (48 K2O %) at 100 kg/fed., humic acid at 280 g/fed., effective microorganisms (EM1) at 5 liters/fed. and active dry yeast at 6 g/L.) and their interactions on the vegetative growth parameters (plant height, number of branches and fresh weight of herb/plant), yield of herb (fresh herb yield/fed./cut and fresh herb yield/fed./year), essential oil contents (essential oil percentage, content(ml.)/plant, oil yield (L.)/fed./cut and oil yield (L.)/fed./year) and the chemical compositions (N, P, K and carbohydrates %) of Pelargonium graveolens L. plant. The results showed that, the treatment of irrigation 3 times every week gave the highest values of all vegetative growth parameters, essential oil contents and chemical composition (N, P and carbohydrates %) followed by 2 times/week, during 4 cuts in the two seasons. Fertilizing with recommended NPK gave the highest results of all vegetative growth parameters, yield of herb, essential oil contents and chemical composition (N, P and K %), followed by humic acid, throughout the four cuts in both seasons. The combined treatment of irrigation 3 times/week + NPK resulted in the highest values of vegetative growth parameters, yield of herb, essential oil contents and chemical composition (N, P and carbohydrates %) followed by the interaction treatment of irrigation 3 times/week + humic acid fertilizer, during 4 cuts in the two seasons. From the results of this study, we observed that, the highest values of vegetative growth parameters, herb yield, essential oil contents obtained in the third cut followed by the fourth cut in the second year of season, while the least results found in the first and second cuts, in the first year of season, these findings repeated in the two seasons.