Enhancing the Quality and Quantity of Date Palm (Phoenix Dactylifera) by Micronutrients under Calcareous Soils with a High pH Level

Abstract

Date palm is an important fruit for many human populations, especially in arid and semiarid regions. In addition, the fibers of the plant have the capability to remove various pollutants such as dyes, heavy metal ions, and phosphates. In the present study, micronutrients were used for enhancing various features pertaining to qualitative and quantitative aspects in date plants under the aforementioned soil. Six micronutrient levels were used as treatments, i.e. control (without micronutrients), zinc sulfate (ZnSO4), copper sulfate (CuSO4), sulfur (S), manganese sulfate (MnSO4), and iron chelate (Fe). According to the results of the combined analysis, the effects of micronutrients were significant on fruit yield (FY), 10 seeds mass (TSM), fruit diameter (FD), fruit length (FL), seed diameter (SD), and sucrose (P < .05). The results demonstrated that iron (Fe) significantly enhanced the FY, FD, FL, TSM in comparison with the control. Based on the cluster analysis, the Fe treatment separated from the other treatments, indicating the extent of difference that this treatment had on the plants in comparison with other treatments. Finally, the results suggested that the application of Fe could improve several features of date palm fruits, especially the FY in the said soils.

Keywords

• 果实产量
• 铁
• 生产
• 土壤条件