Document Type : Research Paper
Authors
1 Department of Production Engineering and Plant Genetic, Faculty of Agriculture ,Shahid Chamran University of Ahvaz, Ahvaz. Iran.
2 Plant Production Engineering and Genetics Department. Faculty of Agriculture. Shahid Chamran University of Ahvaz.َ Ahvaz,, Iran.
3 Forests and Pastures Research Department of Khuzestan Agricultural and Natural Resources Research and Education Center, Ahvaz,, Iran.
Abstract
Objective: The aim of this investigation was to assess how the simultaneous use of NPK and organic fertilizers influences the yield attributes and quantitative traits of sour tea plants during the season spanning 2022 to 2023 at the research farm of the Khuzestan Agricultural Research and Natural Resources Center situated in Ahvaz city.
Methods: The experiment followed a split plot design based on complete randomized blocks with three replications. The experimental treatments consisted of four levels of chemical fertilizers (N0-P0-K0, N75-P50-K50, N150-P75-K75, and N225-P100-K100) and four levels of organic fertilizers (no use, humic acid, vermicompost, and humic acid + vermicompost).
The dimensions of each plot are 3 x 3 meters and four rows of cultivation were done in each plot. The distance between the cultivation rows was considered to be 75 cm. All phosphorus and potassium chemical fertilizers and one-third of nitrogen from triple superphosphate, potassium sulfate, and urea fertilizer sources were used in the experimental blocks as a basic plan, and two-thirds of the nitrogen fertilizer required by the plant in two growth stages of 4 to 5 leaves and before the appearance of buds in a net amount per hectare. It was consumed from the source of urea.
Results: The results of analysis of variance showed that the main effect of chemical fertilizer, organic fertilizer and the interaction effect of chemical fertilizer × organic fertilizer are significant for all the traits measured in this experiment in sour tea. Due to the significant interaction effect, mean comparison for treatment combinations was performed based on the LSD test at the 5% probability level. The treatment combination N100-P100-K225 along with humic acid + vermicompost had the highest value for all traits except the percentage of seed oil among the treatment combinations, which with the treatment combination N150-P75-K75 along with humic acid + vermicompost for weight traits Dryness of shoot, number of seeds per boll, weight of 1000 seeds, weight of sepals per boll, antioxidant capacity of sepals and biological performance did not show any significant difference. The lowest values for all measured traits were observed in the treatment combination N0-P0-K0 + no use of organic fertilizer.
Conclusion: The simultaneous application of chemical and organic fertilizers improved and increased the yield traits and quantitative characteristics of tea in field conditions. The results of this study indicated that the change in the measured traits was effectively related to the increase in NPK fertilizer levels, and the change in organic fertilizer levels had less effect on the studied traits. However, nowadays, due to the harmful effects of chemical fertilizers, the tendency to use organic fertilizers has been noticed.
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