Effect of foliar spray with iron and zinc on the growth and yield of strawberry plants

Abstract

The present investigation was carried out during the 2023-2024 season in unheated polyhouse belong to The Department of Horticulture and Landscape Design, which is part of the College of Agriculture and Forestry at the University of Mosul, is located in Nineveh Governorate., to study the effect of foliar spray with iron and zinc on the growth and yield of strawberry plant (Fragaria × ananassa Duch.) cv. Albion. The experiment was laid out in Randomized Complete Block Design (RCBD) with two factors (iron and zinc) as foliar spray, four concentrations of Fe (0,10,20, 30 mg Fe L^-1)by using Fe-EDDHA(6% Fe) and three concentrations of Zn(0,150,200 mg Zn L^-1)by using ZnEDTA(12% Zn), each alone or with each other, with the experiment was conducted with three replicates and eight plants per experimental unit.. The plants were sprayed three times with iron and zinc. Results showed that the that foliar spray of iron at the three concentrations (10, 20 and 30 mg L^-1) significantly increased all the studied traits (leaves chlorophyll, number of leaves per plant, leaf area, number of runners, number of fruits, fruit weight, length and width of the fruit and plant yield), as compared with control, while the concentration of 30 mg L^-1 gave the highest means of all traits, However, the foliar spray of zinc at 150 and 200 mg L^-1 concentrations led to a significant increase in all studied traits compared to the control treatment, but 200 mg Zn L^-1 was significantly superior and gave the highest values in all traits. All the attributes studied were significantly affected by the interaction between iron and zinc, and the best values of all studied parameters had been executed with the treatment of 30 mg Fe L^-1 + 200 mg Zn L^-1.