Top Fresh Weight Research Articles

Pengaruh Pemberian Pupuk Kotoran Walet Terhadap Pertumbuhan Bibit Kelapa Sawit (Elaeis Gueneensis Jacq) di Pre Nursery

This research was carried out in the koto Panjang Ikur village, Koto tangah District, Padang city, West Sumatra Provience. This research starts in January-April 2022. The objective of the study was to obtain a comparison of the best growing media from the application of swallow droppings fertilizer on the growth of oil palm (elaeis guineensis jacq) seedlings in the pre nursery. This experiment used a completely randomized design (RAL) with 4 treatments and 6 replications, so there were 24 experimental units. Each experimental units. Each experimental unit consisted of 6 polibags, so there were 144 polybags. The treatment is as follows : A = Top Soil, B = Top Soil : Swallow manure fertilizer (1:1), C = Top Soil : Swallow manure fertilizer (2:1). Observational data were analyzed statistically with variance (f test). If f count > from f table 5%, proceed with duncans new multiple range test (DNMRT) test at 5% significance level. Variables observed were seedling height. Number of leaves (midrib), tuber diameter, top fresh weight, top dry weight, root length, root fresh weiht, root dry weight, and visual observation. From the experimental results it was concluded that the application of swallow manure fertilizer had a very significantly different effect on the increase in seedling height, number of leaves . hump diameter, upper fresh weight, upper dry weight, root length, fresht root weight, and was not significantly different in weightdry roots. The ratio of Top Soil : Swallow manure fertilizer (1:2) is the best ratio for the growth of oil palm seedlings (elaeis guineensis jacq) in the pre nursery when compared to other treatments

Responses of avocado (Persea americana) to various doses of compost fertilizer and watering interval

Avocado is a multifunctional plant that can be utilized in all parts. The growth of avocado and its yield can be achieved by fulfilling requirements for the growth and maintenance of the plant well. Planting on dry land requires the addition of organic fertilizer and optimal water requirements to increase organic matter content and plant fertility. This research aims to obtain the optimal dosage of compost and watering intervals for the growth of avocado (Persea americana). The research was carried out in the Greenhouse Faculty of Agriculture, Universitas Sumatera Utara. This research used a factorial completely randomized design (F-CRD) with the addition of compost fertilizer doses (K0:0 kg, K1:0.5kg. K2: 1 kg. K3: 1.5 kg and K4: 2 kg) and watering intervals (A1: once a day. A2: once every three days. A3: once every five days and A4: once every seven days) with parameters of observation of height, diameter, top fresh weight, root fresh weight, top dry weight and root dry weight. The results showed that the interaction of compost and watering intervals significantly affected the height and diameter increase, root fresh weight, and root dry weight of avocado plants. The interaction of giving 1.5 kg of compost and watering intervals every day had the best effect on the growth and quality of avocado seedlings

Effect of Various LED Light Qualities, Including Wide Red Spectrum-LED, on the Growth and Quality of Mini Red Romaine Lettuce (cv. Breen).

Recently, LEDs with various light qualities have been used in closed plant factories, and they are known to have different effects on the growth and quality of crops. Therefore, this study was conducted to investigate the change in growth and quality in mini red romaine lettuce using LEDs with various light qualities. Wide red spectrum (WRS)-LEDs, blue (B)-LEDs, blue + red (BR)-LEDs, red (R)-LEDs, and white (W)-LEDs were used as the artificial light sources. Regarding growth, the R-LED treatment showed the most positive effect, but the leaf shape was not normal and the Hunter b* value was not suitable because it was higher than that of the other treatments. The Hunter a*, SPAD, and NDVI values of the B- and BR-LED treatments were effective, but this was not the case for those of the R- and W-LED treatments. The anthocyanin reflectance index 1 (ARI1) was 20 times higher in the B-LED treatment than in the R-LED treatment, and the ascorbic acid content was the highest in the WRS-LED treatment. In the sensory evaluation, bitterness and sweetness showed opposite tendencies. Regarding the overall preference, the BR-LED treatment received the highest score. Correlation analysis showed that the bitterness was closely correlated with the anthocyanin content and leaf color. Taken together, BR-LEDs provided a good top fresh weight, dark red leaves, and high anthocyanin and ascorbic acid contents, with the highest overall preference; therefore, BR-LEDs were the most suitable for the cultivation of mini red romaine lettuce.

Random forest analysis reveals taxa predictive of Prunus replant disease in peach root microbiomes

Successive plantings of Prunus species produce suboptimal growth and yield in many California soils due to a poorly understood soilborne disease complex, Prunus replant disease (PRD). We explored the hypothesis that PRD is mediated by microbial taxa in roots of Nemaguard peach, a rootstock for almond and other stone fruits. In a greenhouse bioassay, portions of 10 replant soils were treated with fumigation or pasteurization or left untreated as a control before being planted with peach seedlings. Ten weeks after planting, seedlings were considered PRD-affected if their top fresh weights in the control were significantly reduced, compared to the weights in pasteurization and fumigation treatments; plants with equivalent top weights in all treatments were considered to be non-affected. The roots were washed from the soil, frozen, extracted for total DNA, and used for metabarcoding of rRNA gene amplicons from bacteria, fungi, and oomycetes. High-throughput amplicon sequencing revealed that root microbial community shifts resulted from preplant treatments, and specific taxa were associated with PRD induction among controls. Random forest (RF) analysis discriminated effectively between PRD-affected and non-affected root communities. Among the 30 RF top-ranked amplicon sequence variant (ASV) predictors, 26 were bacteria, two were oomycetes, and two were fungi. Among them, only Streptomyces scabiei, Steroidobacter denitrificans, Streptomyces bobili, and Pythium mamillatum had root abundances ≥5% that were either associated positively (former two ASVs) or negatively (latter two) with PRD. Thus, our findings were consistent with microbial mediation of PRD in roots and suggested taxa that may be involved in the mediation.

Searching for Rotationable Vegetables for Paratylenchus projectus in Lettuce Greenhouse

The severe lettuce damage caused by Paratylenchus projectus was first reported in 2019 in Korea. To find high-value rotation crops for the control of P. projectus, nine vegetables, Brassica juncea (leaf mustard), B. rapa subsp. nipposinica (kyona), B. oleracea var. italica (broccoli), B. rapa subsp. chinensis (bok choy), B. oleracea var. viridis (kale), B. oleracea var. gongylodes (kohlrabi), Cichorium endivia (endive), C. intybus (chicory), Ipomoea aquatica (morning glory) were planted in d-10-cm clay pots in greenhouse. The growth of vegetables was compared between inoculated with 3,000 P. projectus per 100 cm3 of soil and non-inoculated. Treatments were replicated 10 times. After 100 days, the reduction of fresh top weight was 30.4% in C. intybus, 35.1% in I. aquatica, 36.9% in B. oleracea var. acephala, 40.5% in C. endivia, 42.1% in B. rapa, 47.5% in B. rapa subsp. nipposinica, 50.4% in B. oleracea var. gonglodes, 56.3% in B. oleracea var. italica, and 66.0% in B. juncea. Nematode multiplication rates (Pf/Pi) were lower in I. aquatica (0.64) and C. endivia (1.1), but higher in B. oleracea var. gongylodes (2.54). Considering these results, I. aquatica is suitable for the rotation crop with lettuce until better rotation crops developed.

Effect of nutrients management on yield attributes of fodder beet under sandy soil conditions.

The effect of chemical fertilizer (NK) and humic acid on top length, root length, root diameter, leaf area per plant, top fresh & dry weight and root fresh & dry weight of fodder beet (Beta vulgaris L. c.v voroshinger) was carried out in the Experimental Farm of Agriculture Faculty, South Valley University at Qena during the two seasons of 2016/2017 and 2017/2018 on sandy soil. A field experiment was conducted using a randomized complete block design in split- plots arrangement with three replications. Humic acid treatments were arranged in main plots while, fertilization treatments (NK) were allocated in sub-plots. The highest mean values of most previous traits were obtained from fodder beet plants which were supplemented by soil application of humic acid and 90kg N+100kg K2O /fed. (H1F9). Based on these results, it is recommended to adding humic acid on soil and fertilization with NK by 90 Kg N + 100 kg K2O per Feddan for fodder beet under similar soil and climate conditions.

Study of genetic variability of tuber yield and storage related traits in potato (Solanum tuberosum L.)

The experiment was conducted in Randomized Block Design (RBD) with three replications at Potato Research Station, Sardarkrushinagar Dantiwada Agricultural University, Deesa during rabi 2017-18. The crop was harvested at 90 days after planting. The analysis of variance revealed that mean sum of squares due to genotypes were found highly significant for all the traits. This is proved that the existence of tremendous variability in the experimental material for different traits. However, from tuber yield point of view, MS/9-2196, J/7-37, K. Ganga and K. Anand were elite genotypes based on per se performance. The genotypes, K. Lauvkar, K. Sindhuri and DSP-7 exhibited low physiological weight loss, while genotypes, K. Surya, MS/12-655 and K. Ganga had low loss due to rottage on weight basis. Thus, these genotypes may be considered as good for storage ability at room temperature storage condition. The high heritability along with high genetic advance in plant height, leaf area, fresh weight of tops per plant, number of tuber per plant, tuber yield per plant, average tuber weight, physiological weight loss, loss due to rottage on weight basis, loss due to rottage on number basis and total weight loss, suggested that genotypic variation for the characters is probably attributed to high additive genetic effect and selection would be rewarding based on phenotypic performance.

Pengaruh Nilai EC Berbagai Pupuk Cair Majemuk Terhadap Pertumbuhan Vegetatif Kangkung Darat Pada Soilless Culture

<p>Ground water spinach is one of the vegetable plants that has high economic and nutritional value. Soilless culture becomes an alternative in soilless crop cultivation by using substrate or water media. The purpose of this study was to determine the value of Electrical Conductivity (EC) of compound liquid fertilizer on vegetative growth and to found the best type of compound liquid fertilizer for ground water spinach. The research was conducted in the experimental garden of Faculty of Agriculture and Business, Universitas Kristen Satya Wacana, Salatiga, Central Java, with an altitude 500 meters above sea level. The study was conducted in June - July 2018. The study used an experimental method with a Randomized Block Design (RBD), consisting of 5 treatments with four types of fertilizers and one control (without fertilizer), each treatment was repeated 5 times. The types of fertilizers tested were AB mix (Inorganic), Hortigro A (Inorganic), Multitonic (Organic), and Supermes (Organic). The results showed that fertilization caused an increase in the EC value of hydroponic solutions. AB mix fertilizer (inorganic) with EC 1,58-2,32 mS / cm gives the best results on plant height (30.01 cm), number of leaves (8.1 strands), leaf area (13.16 cm2), diameter stems (5.63 mm), and top fresh weight (388.85 g).</p>

Efficacy of chemical and biological nematicides in the management of Meloidogyne paranaensis in Coffea arabica

Coffee crop is of high importance to the Brazilian agriculture, but plant-parasitic nematodes, especially the root-knot nematode Meloidogyne paranaensis, can reduce the productivities of coffee plants. The management of nematodes in coffee is done mainly with the use of resistant plants and chemical and biological nematicides, mainly in large-scale farms. Nevertheless, there is scarce information about the efficacy of available nematicides and new molecules in the control of root-knot nematodes in coffee. Thus, the objective of the present work was to evaluate the efficacy, under greenhouse conditions, of four chemical (cadusafos, carbofuran, fluopyram, and fluensulfone) and two biological (Purpureocillium lilacinum and Trichoderma harzianum) nematicides and one organo-mineral compost in the control of M. paranaensis, the main nematode species for Paraná coffee production. For this, coffee plants of the cultivar Mundo Novo with four to five pairs of leaves were transplanted to 3.6 L-capacity plastic pots and inoculated with 1,000 eggs of M. paranaensis; noninoculated plants were used as control. Nematicide treatments at the recommended dosages by manufacturers were done soon after the transplant and inoculation or 60 days after. Evaluations were done 120 days after the inoculation on the basis of nematode reproduction factor (RF) and number of nematodes per gram of root (Nema/g). Additionally, the development of plants was measured by the variables plant height, fresh top weight, and fresh root weight. The results showed that the best nematicides to reduce nematode population were fluensulfone and fluopyram, with 99% and 100% reduction of the nematode RF, respectively. Carbofuran and cadusafos, although controlled the nematode, caused phytotoxicity to coffee plants. Biological nematicides were not effective in the reduction of the nematode population, but the application of P. lilacinum provided better development of plants. These results have high relevance, as they demonstrated the effect of chemical molecules and biological agents, both in M. paranaensis-infected plants and in noninfected plants; with this information, growers can choose products with a higher nematicidal effect and that allow better plant development for use in infested fields.

Effect of potassium fertilizer, either KNO3, K2SO4 or KCl, in a saline fertigation solution on the growth of Medjool date palm plants pot-grown in river sand or river sand/calcium carbonate

A pot trial was carried out to assess the effect of three fertigation nutrient mixtures on the growth of Medjool date palm plants. The plants were grown either in river sand or in a 20% calcium carbonate - 80% river sand mixture to approximate desert soil conditions. Each fertigation solution comprised all of the elements required for healthy growth. The source of potassium of each solution differed. The fertilizer sources for the nutrients besides potassium were the same. The nitrate to ammonium ratio was markedly greater in the solution made up using KNO(3). The concentration of each element in each solution was identical, except for a relatively small increase in the SO(4)(2-) concentration in the solution made up with K2SO(4) and a relatively small increase in Cl- concentration in the solution make up with KCl. These differences were unavoidable, being a consequence of the K source used. In addition, an equal amount of NaCl was added to each solution to render the solutions saline. The plants were fertigated three times a week. Growth was assessed in terms of plant height on a number of dates after planting, and top leaf-stem fresh weight, root fresh weight, number of compound leaves, or number of primary roots when the plants were lifted from the pots, two years after planting. The plants grew better in the sand-calcium carbonate mixture. No interaction was apparent with respect to medium type and fertigation solution. The plants fertigated with the solution made up with KNO(3) grew better than those fertigated with the solution made up with KCl or K2SO(4). They were of greatest height and showed prominence in the other growth parameters assessed. A difference in growth relating to whether KCl or K2SO(4) was the K source was not clearly apparent. It was concluded that the growth of Medjool date palm plants could be expected to be better when nitrate predominates over ammonium in applying fertilizers. To maximize nitrate in a fertigation solution or fertilizer mix, the obvious option available is to use KNO(3) as the K source in endeavoring to match solution nutrient concentrations with date palm nutrient demand. The use of nitric acid can also be considered.

Effect of Intercropping Three Faba Bean Varieties with Sugar Beet Plants on Piercing Sucking Insect Pests and Associated Natural Enemies Under Ridge Space and Seedling Rates in Relation Crop Yield.

Field experiment were conducted at Gemmiza Agricultural research Station, El Gharbia Governorate, Egypt, in 2014/2015and 2015/2016 seasons to study the effect of intercropping faba bean (Vicia faba L.) with sugar beet (Beta vulgaris L.) at different ridge width 60, 90 and 120 cm and seedling rats on the population densities of piercing sucking insect pests and their effect on the productivity of both crops and estimate the economic return. Results was indicated that the intercropping of broad bean at 60cm ridge space with sugar beet harbored the lowest piercing sucking pest infestations. However, Giza 3 improve at 120 cm ridge space was received the highest infestation. On the other hand, Giza 716 was infested by highest infestation at 37.5% seed rates when intercropping with sugar beet. The lost infestation was recorded on sugar beet + Giza 3 improve with 12.5% seed rates. Statistical analysis was showed the intercropping faba been with sugar beet on different ridge width significantly affected on sugar beet yield and yield components. Increasing sugar beet root length and purity % by planting on 60 cm ridge width, compared to 90 and 120 cm. On the other hand, root diameter, root fresh weight, top fresh weight, root yield/fed, top yield/fed T.S.S and sucrose were significantly increased by increasing ridge width from 60 to 120 cm. The effect of ridge width on faba bean traits revealed that increasing ridge width from 60 cm to 120 cm reduced plant height only of faba bean. On the other hand, number of pods/ plant, seeds/plant, weight of 100 seeds and grain yield /fed ardab were increased by increasing ridge width from 60 cm to 120 cm , while Protein content% was not affected by ridge width. Increasing seeding rates from 12.5 % to 37.5 % increased plant height and straw yield/ fed. The differences among faba bean varieties indicated that only plant height and number of seeds/ plant were affected by faba bean varieties. On the other hand, all the other characters were affected by faba bean varieties. highest values of Land equivalent ratio (LER), Farmer,s benefit (Total return of intercropping culture , Net profit fed-1 ) and Monetary advantage index (MAI) compared with other treatments . It could be concluded that intercropping 100 % sugar beet + 37.5 % faba bean Giza 3 improve cultivar (52500 plants / fed) on ridge width 120 cm gave the greatest values for all treatments which gave the maximum yield benefits and least competition between component crops compared with other treatments .

Reduction of leaf lettuce tipburn using an indicator cultivar

Tipburn is a physiological disorder caused by a calcium (Ca) deficiency that occurs mainly in leafy vegetables, such as lettuce, resulting in a reduced commercial value. To prevent tipburn injury, a sensitive cultivar was tested as an indicator for early symptom detection. An indicator cultivar began to develop tipburn two days earlier than the target cultivar. This allowed for the rescue of the target cultivar by the addition of extra Ca. The yield rate was improved from 4% to 70% with the use of an indicator cultivar in the hydroponic cultures. The top fresh weight of the target cultivar when using an indicator cultivar decreased compared with control plants, but increased compared with negative control plants lacking Ca in the culture. Water contents and root lengths were not affected by the use of an indicator cultivar and additional Ca. These results were consistent with other target cultivars under excess ammonium conditions. This system may be used against tipburn incidence without additional costs and equipment in plant factories.

Effects of Single-Row Transplantation on Improving Strawberry Growth and Marketable Yield

This study shows how the growth of the top part of plants cultivated using the single-row strawberry method, with 12 cm plant spacing, as well as that of plants cultivated through conventional planting, is characterized by the presence of many leaves in the first flower cluster harvest. The leaf area and crown diameter were the largest in the 12 cm spacing method. The hight top fresh weight (59.2 g) was detected wen the 12 cm spacing method was used followed by conventional planting and, 9 cm and 6 cm spacing method. The K and Ca contents in the first flower cluster were the highest when the 12 cm spacing method (2.0% and 2.1%, respectively) and conventional planting, (0.42% and 0.86%, respectively) were used, and these values were significantly higher than the K and Ca contents obtained using the other two methods. The N, P, Mg, Fe, and B contents show no significant differences across the planting methods. The sugar content of the first flower cluster fruits was the highest when the 12 cm spacing method was used, while the sugar content of the fourth flower cluster fruits was highest after conventional planting. Firmness was the highest in the first, third, and fourth flower clusters after conventional planting, while no significant differences were observed for the 6 cm, 9 cm, and 12 cm spacing methods. A yield of 25 g or above during November to December was observed to be the highest when the 12 cm spacing method was used, while a yield of 10-16 g was the highest when both the 9 cm and 12 cm spacing methods werw used. The yield of products in January-April was the highest when the 12 cm spacing and conventional planting methods were used, and total product yield was also the highest for these methods. A significant portion of non-marketable products (39 g) was obtained when the conventional planting method was used.

SUGAR BEET YIELD AND QUALITY AS AFFACTED BY WATER REGIME BEFOR HARVEST, DENSITY AND SOME CULTIVARS IN NEW RECLAIMED SOILS.

Field experimental was carried out at Kalabsho - El-Dakhlia Governorate, Egypt,  in 2013/14 and 2014/2015 winter growing seasons. To study effect of last regime irrigation before harvest by 15 and 30 days and spacing hills 15, 20 and 25 cm between plants in addition to three cultivars (Sultan, Farida and Samba) on sugar beet yield and quality under reclaimed soils in Kalabsho location. Split-Split plot design were used in both season. Main plots allocated with regime irrigation befor harvest, sub-plots were take with hill spacing between plants whearas, cultivars were arranged in sub-sub plots. Main results were obtained can summarized as folllow: Wih decreasing the gap between last irrigation and harvest to 15 days caused to gave significant increase in value of top fresh weight and root yields, this was true in both seasons (0.361and 0.283 kg/plant) and (25.59 and 26.00 ton/fed.) respectivety. On the other direction,with increasing the gab between last irrigation and harvest untill 30 days resulting in significant differences among mean values of root fresh weight kg/plant,sugar yield ton/fed.,sucrose %,total soluble solids and purity percentages in both seasons. These trends due to,with elonation the period before harvest with out water supply reduced water content in roots through 30 days compared to 15 days befor harvest which was notenough to exhibited any enjourity to plants, or decreasing in water root content. Planting sugar beet seeds at 20 cm. between hills progressive than other distance (15 and 25 cm.) for most important characters,root,top fresh weight, sucrose and purity %. On the other hand space 15 cm. between hills gave the highest values of top fresh weight,root yield, sugar yield and sucrose % in the first season. Cultivar,Farida gave the highest values of root fresh weight,root yields,sugar yields,sucrose % and T.ss % in the first season and purity in the second season. Significant interaction effects were found between main three factors under study illustrated that spacing hill 20 cm. between plants,preventation irrigation befor harvest by 30 days with used Farida cultivare gave the highest values for most important characters under study.

Estimation of heterosis for tuber yield and its components in potato (Solanum tuberosum L.)

An experiment was conducted to estimate heterosis for tuber yield and its components under early harvest crop (75 day after planting) and medium harvest crop (90 day after planting) of potato in 32 crosses using line × tester (8 × 4) matting design. The results revealed that mean squares due to parents vs. hybrids were highly significant for all the characters, plant height (cm), number of stems per plant, fresh weight of tops per plant (g), number of tubers per plant, tuber yield per plant (g), average tuber weight (g), harvest index (%), tuber dry matter (%), chip colour index (1-10 scale), reducing sugar (%) and total soluble solids (%). The hybrids viz. , MS/95-117 × TPS 13 (26.92 %) and Kufri Laukar × Kufri Chipsona 1 (13.03 %) in 75 days harvest condition and hybrids viz. , MS/95-117 × TPS 13 (23.24 %), MS/ 95-117 × Kufri Chipsona 2 (22.29 %) and Kufri Jyoti × Kufri Chipsona 1 (12.50 %) in 90 days harvest condition exhibited significant positive heterobeltiosis for tuber yield per plant. This indicated that magnitude of heterosis varied within as well as between characters.

Host suitability studies and reporting of resistance to root-knot nematode (<i>Meloidogyne incognita</i>)

Efficient and improved agripreneurship cannot be attained if measures are not put in place to curtail crop losses due to nematode damage. This research was conducted to look at the level of resistance and susceptibility of selected annual crops to guide agripreneurs on what crops to adopt for planting in meloidogyne infested soils and in crop rotation as a method of cultural control. Five crops namely were randomly selected from different crop families and soillorganic manure medium in a 3:1 ratio was used as the planting medium. Nematode inoculum containing about 1000 larvae of the root knot nematode Meloidogyne incognita in 30ml of nematode slurry was used to inoculate the test crops with the control left un-inoculated. Data were collected on plant height, fresh root weight, fresh top weight and number of galls/plant. The data were analyzed using genstat and the mean separation done using Fisher’s least significant difference. The results showed that maize was resistant to the inoculum and a good control crop in nematode infested soils while the other four test crops (water-melon, green beans, tomato and green amaranthus) showed varying degrees of susceptibilities from the effect of the inoculum on all the parameters measured. Maize being immune to the inoculum can be used in rotation programmes as a cultural control crop in M. incognita infested plots to reduce the pest’s population and boost the yield of the follow-up crop. Keywords : Infestation, Nematode inoculum, Meloidogyne incognita, Resistance and Susceptibility,

Damage functions and thermal requirements of Meloidogyne javanica and Meloidogyne incognita on watermelon

ABSTRACTThe relationship between the initial (Pi) and final (Pf) population densities of Meloidogyne javanica and yield of watermelon, Citrullus lanatus, cv. Sugar Baby were determined in pot and field experiments. In the pots, the maximum reproduction rate of the nematode was 14, and the equilibrium density was 49 400 eggs/100 cm3 of soil. Yield data represented as fresh top weight fitted the Seinhorst damage function (P < 0.001, R2 = 0.7), and the minimum relative yield (m) was 0.65 at Pi ≥ 3200 eggs/100 cm3 of soil and the tolerance limit (T) 74 eggs/100 cm3. In the field experiments (2011 and 2012), the maximum reproduction rate was 73 and 70, and the equilibrium density 32 and 35 second‐stage juveniles (J2)/100 cm3 soil. Yield data represented as fruit weight fitted the Seinhorst damage function in 2011 (P < 0.001, R2 = 0.92) and the m‐ and T‐values were 0.63 and 20 J2/100 cm3 of soil, respectively. Meloidogyne incognita and M. javanica needed similar length of time for development to egg‐laying females and life cycle completion at 24.4°C.

PRODUCTIVITY AND QUALITY OF SUGAR BEET AS INFLUENCED BY NITROGEN FERTILIZER AND SOME MICRONUTRIENTS

Two field experiments were conducted during 2008/2009 and 2009/2010 seasons at Sakha Research Station, Kafr EL-Shaikh Governorate to study the influence of three nitrogen rates (75, 100 and 125%) of recommended rate (RR=80Kg N/fed), sprayed with Zn, Mn and Fe individually or in mixture, on some chemical composition, juice quality and yield of sugar beet plants. Decreasing N dressing up to 60 Kg N/fed (75% of RR) significantly decreased photosynthetic pigments (chlorophyll a, b and carotenoids) at the age of 120 days from sowing in the two seasons, also a reduction in sucrose% and some technological parameters such as sugar extractable (SEX), sugar losses to molasses (SLM) and sugar coefficient (Sco), yield component (root length, diameter and fresh weight of tops in the two seasons have been recorded. Yields of roots and sugar, uptake of N, Mn and Zn had the same trend. On the other hand, increasing N dressing up to 100 Kg N /fed (125% of RR) significantly increased photosynthetic pigments i.e. chlorophyll a,b and carotenoids at the age 120 days from sowing in the two seasons, Na, K and α- amino N as impurities, sugar loss to molasses (SLM), yields of roots and sugar but juice purity was significantly decreased. Foliar spray with Mn, Zn and Fe individually or in mixture significantly increased chlorophyll a, b and carotenoids in both samples in the two seasons. Sucrose% and impurities as K and αamino N were significantly increased but juice purity was significantly decreased. Root length, diameter, fresh weight of roots and tops, sugar yield were significantly affected. Foliar spray with Zn, Mn and Fe significantly increased their uptake and N uptake. Foliar spray with the mixture of Zn, Mn and Fe exhibited the best treatment, where it gave the highest values of most traits under study. The interaction between N at the high rate and the mixture of Zn, Mn and Fe was the superior treatment where, it gave the highest values for chl a, b and carotenoids, K, α- amino N, juice purity and N uptake.

Host-pathogen interaction of root-knot nematode Meloidogyne incognita on pepper in the southeast of Spain

The feeder roots of pepper plants (cv. California Wonder) in Campo de Cartagena (southeast Spain) were found to be severely infected by Meloidogyne incognita. Morphometric traits, differential host test and DNA analysis based on PCR were used to characterize the nematode. Naturally and artificially infected pepper plants showed severe yellowing and stunting, with heavily deformed and damaged root systems. Root galls were spherical and commonly contained more than one female and egg masses with eggs. Typical giant cells with a granular cytoplasm and many hypertrophied nuclei were observed in histological preparations. The relationship between initial nematode population density (Pi) and pepper plant growth was tested in greenhouse experiments with inoculum levels that varied from 0 to 64 eggs and second-stage juveniles (J2) ml−1 soil. A Seinhorst model was fitted to plant height and top fresh weight data of inoculated and non-inoculated plants. The tolerance limit with respect to plant height and fresh top weight of pepper to M. incognita was estimated as 0.85 eggs and J2 ml−1 soil. The minimum relative values (m) for plant height and top fresh weight were 0.15 and 0.16, respectively, at Pi ≥ 64 eggs and J2 ml−1 soil. The maximum nematode reproduction rate (Pf/Pi) was 315.4 at an initial population density (Pi) of 4 eggs and J2 ml−1 soil. The obtained results could be used as a base to establish field experiments that allow strategies to prevent surpassing the threshold of nematodes in fields that are infested.

THE EFFECT OF CHARCOAL AMENDMENT ON THE LETTUCE GROWTH AND NO3-N DISCHARGE FROM THE SOIL MEDIUM

ISHS IV International Symposium on Ecologically Sound Fertilization Strategies for Field Vegetable Production THE EFFECT OF CHARCOAL AMENDMENT ON THE LETTUCE GROWTH AND NO3-N DISCHARGE FROM THE SOIL MEDIUM