Document Type : Original Article
Authors
1
Soils and Water Use Dept., National Research Centre, Cairo, Egypt
2
Soils and Water Use Dept., National Research Centre (Cairo, Egypt)
Abstract
Nanofertilizers are innovative fertilizers introduced to the agricultural sector to enhance yield production and reduce the known negative impacts of excessive agrochemical use on the ecosystem. Integrating these fertilizers into a conventional farming system, combined with natural growth stimulants, may boost their efficiency and offer a promising approach to addressing poor soil quality in arid and semi-arid regions characterized by low nutrient availability, alkalinity, and reduced productivity. This field study was conducted for two seasons to assess the effectiveness of a combined foliar application of nitrogen-enriched humic acid (NH) and Zinc oxide nanoparticles (nZnO) on the agronomic parameters, quality and yield of cabbage. The experimental treatments include foliar application of two rates of NH (2 and 3 ml l-1), denoted 2NH and 3NH, combined with three fertilization levels of nZnO (25, 50 and 100 mg l-1), referred to as 25 nZnO, 50 nZnO, and 100 nZnO, along with a control treatment aligned in a randomized complete block design.
Enhancements of cabbage head weight recorded 46.7 - 53.9% than the control treatment by spraying of NH at 2 or 3 ml l-1 with nZnO at 25 mg l-1 and reached 80.3-92.5%, after raising nZnO to 50 mg l-1, respectively. Foliar application of 25 nZnO, 50 nZnO, and 100 nZnO increased cabbage yield by 39.3, 59.8 and 25.9% under 2NH relative to the control and 42.9, 62.5 and 28.6% under 3NH, respectively. Comparable results were exhibited from both seasons. Generally, the highest measured trait values were obtained from plants treated with 3NH+50 nZnO and 2NH+50 nZnO, followed by those treated with 3NH+25 nZnO and 2NH+25 nZnO. In contrast, the lowest enhancements were noted from those sprayed with 3NH+100 nZnO and 2NH+100 nZnO. The results showed that spraying nZnO fertilizers under any rate of NH improved the agronomic indices, biochemical constituents and elemental content of cabbage leaves.
The study highlighted that to ensure the resilience and sustainable application while maintaining environmental safety, the nZnO application rate must be carefully considered.
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