Document Type : Full Research Paper
Authors
1 Assistant professor of Date Palm and Tropical Fruits Research Center, Horticultural Sciences Research Institute, Agricultural Research, Education and Extension Organization (AREEO), Ahvaz, Iran.
2 Assistant professor of Date Palm and Tropical Fruits Research Center, Horticultural Sciences Research Institute, Agricultural Research, Education and Extension Organization (AREEO), Ahvaz,, Iran.
3 Hamadan
Abstract
Abstract
Introduction: Date palm (Phoenix dactylifera) is one of the most important horticultural products in arid and semi-arid regions of Iran. In the recent years salinity stress negatively affected date fruit quality. The silicon is one of the useful nutrients that plays an important role in the growth and development of plants. Silicon reduces the adverse effects of abiotic stresses such as drought and salinity by affecting the leaf and stem growth, and other plant mechanisms. Therefore, the aim of this research is to investigate the effect of foliar application of silicon on some qualitative characteristics and nutrient elements contents of date fruit that grown under high soil salinity conditions.
Materials and Methods: This research was conducted in a randomized complete block design with 7 treatments and 3 replicates in two consecutive years. Silicon foliar spray treatments contains, without application of foliar spraying (T1), foliar spraying with a concentration of 0.1% in two stages (T2), foliar spraying with a concentration of 0.1% in three stages (T3), foliar spraying with a concentration of 0.2% in two stages (T4), foliar spraying with a concentration of 0.2% in three stages (T5), foliar spraying with a concentration of 0.3% in two stages (T6) and foliar spraying with a concentration of 0.3% in three stages (T7). Fruit quality characteristics including total soluble solids (TSS), acidity (TA), pH and total sugar percentage and concentration of fruit nutrients were measured and statistically analyzed.
Results and Discussion: Foliar application of silicon fertilizer significantly increased TSS of ‘Barhee’ date fruits while it decreased pH of fruit juice. Fruit acidity and total sugar were not affected significantly by foliar application of silicon. The application of silicon significantly increased the contents of potassium, calcium, iron and zinc in date fruit, but it had no significant effect on the concentration of phosphorus in the fruit. Overall, foliar application of silicon fertilizer with a concentration of 0.3% in two stages (three weeks before pollination and at the end of the Hababook stage) improved quality characteristics and the nutrient elements of ‘Barhee’ date fruit under high soil salinity conditions.
Keywords: Acidity, Iron, Potassium, Total soluble solids, Total sugar
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