Effects of Different Sources of Iron Fertilizers on Fruit Yield and Quantity of Orange Trees

Document Type : Research Paper

Authors

1 -Member of the scientific board of Agricultural and Natural Resources Research Center of Mazandaran

2 Member of the scientific board of Agricultural and Natural Resources Research Center of Fars

3 Member of the scientific board of Soil and Water Research Institute, respectively.

Abstract

This four year study was conducted in an orange orchard in Jahrom Agricultural Research Station to compare the effectiveness of iron sulfate whith iron chelate, as two different sources of iron fertilizer. Fruit yield decreases drastically in citrus orchards of the region, when iron chelate is not applied. So, application of iron chelate is a regular practice in Jahrom orange orchards. The objective of this investigation was a long-term comparison of broadcasted and localized application of iron sulfate, along with fertigation of an iron chelate. As we follow a practical viewpoint, only fruit yield and quality were determined for each treatment. Results showed that application of 100 grams of iron chelate, yielded 22240 kilograms of fruit per hectare. Localized application of 500 grams of iron sulfate, diminished yield 18 percent, to 18291 kilograms per hectare. There was no significant difference between fruit yield in broadcasted and localized application of iron sulfate treatments, results that differed from the findings of similar researches. This may be due to continuous application of organic matter to the soil and the development of tree roots near the soil surface as a consequence of drip irrigation. The iron fertilizer sources did not show any significant effect on fruit quality parameters including crust thickness, acidity, vitamin C and total dissolved salts.

Keywords

References

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Iranian Journal of Soil Research
Volume 20, Issue 1
May 2006
Pages 11-15

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