Effect of Magnetic Iron and Potassium Humate on Some Flowering and Fruiting Characteristics of "Aggizi" Olive Trees Grown under Salt Stress Conditions in South Sinai

Document Type : Original Article

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Abstract

 The use of soil amelioration agents is an important physiological method that improves plant tolerance to salt stress. The aim of this research is to examine the soil application of magnetic iron (MI) and/or potassium humate (KH) to mitigate the effect of salinity on the flowering and fruiting characteristics of ’Aggizi’ olive trees. Ten-year-old trees grown in sandy loam soil were treated with four levels of MI (0, 500, 750 and 1000 g / tree) and KH (0, 50, 75 and 100 g / tree) as a single dose during soil preparation on 1 December in both seasons. The result showed that the individual application of each anti-salt stress substance improved the flowering and fruiting characteristics and resulted in the higher number of inflorescence per shoot, fruit set percentage, fruit weight, fruit diameters, flesh thickness and tree yield compared to the control plants. The dual interaction of MI with KH was significant for all of the studied attributes. The interaction of the highest levels of MI (750 or 1000 g per tree) and KH (75 or 100 g per tree) improved the flowering and fruiting characteristics of “Aggizi “olive trees. These results suggest that anti-salt stress substances may be useful methods for use in arid and semi-arid regions to enhance salt tolerance in olives.

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