INFLUENCE OF NANO SILICON AND SEAWEED EXTRACT APPLICATIONS ON GROWTH AND FRUITING OF YOUNG LIME TREES (Citrus aurantifolia Swingle) UNDER SANDY SOIL CONDITIONS

Abstract

A two-year experimental study was conducted during the 2021 and 2022 seasons on 3-year-old acid lime (Citrus aurantifolia Swingle) trees budded on Volkamer Lemon rootstock grown in sandy soil under a drip irrigation system in the El Nubaria region, Behera Governorate, Egypt. The study aims to investigate the effect of foliar spraying with three concentrations of both seaweed extract (0, 2, and 4 ml.L-1) and nano-silicon (0, 1, and 1.5 ml.l-1) on the growth and productivity of lime trees, which arranged in a randomized complete block design with three replicates for each treatment, and each replicate was represented by one tree. The obtained results showed that foliar sprays of seaweed extract combined with nano-silicon enhanced tree vigor, leaf mineral content, number of fruits per tree, total yield, and fruit quality. Combinations of nano-silicon (1 ml) and seaweed extract (4 ml) proved to be the most efficient treatment for enhancing most studied growth parameters during the experiment and achieved yield productivity of 23.09 and 15.31 % greater than the control. In conclusion, the above results showed that foliar application of nano-silicon with seaweed extract could have beneficial influences on growth and tree yield and improve the fruit quality of immature lime trees.

Keywords

• acid lime
• fruit quality
• nano silicon
• seaweed extract
• yield