Effect of some Micro-nutrients, Silicon and GA3 Spraying on Yield and Fruit Quality of Pomegranate

Abstract

Little is known about the response of pomegranate to the foliar application with nutrients and gibberellic acid. A randomized complete block design (RCBD) experiment was conducted on 40-years old Manfalouty pomegranate trees grown on Upper Egypt. The study aims to investigate the effect of foliar application with gibberellic acid (GA 3), potassium silicate (PS), zinc sulphate (ZS) and fetrilon compi (FC) which is a mixture of micronutrients on fruiting of pomegranate trees. All the tested treatments significantly (P< 0.05) improved the yield and fruit quality and reduced the fruit cracking percentage. GA 3 and FC spraying induced a 15 and 11% increase in the fruit yield and minimized the cracking percentage by 47 and 61% compared to the control treatment, respectively. It is recommended to spray Manfalouty pomegranate trees with micronu-trients, potassium silicate, or zinc sulphate twice at mid of June and August to enhance the pomegranate yield and quality.