EFFECT OF IRRIGATION INTERVALS, ANTITRANSPIRANTS, COMPOST AND HUMIC ACID ON GROWTH AND YIELD OF SWEET POTATO

Document Type : Original Article

Authors

1 Soil, Water and Environ. Res. Inst., Agric. Res. Cent., Egypt

2 Vegetable Res. Dept., Hort. Res. Inst., Agric. Res. Cent., Egypt

3 Hort. Res. Inst., Agric. Res. Cent. (ARC), Giza, Egypt

Abstract

A filed experiment was carried out during two summer successive seasons of 2016
and 2017 at the Experimental Farm, El-Gemmeiza, Agric Res. Station, ARC, Gharbya Governorate (Middle
Delta) Egypt, to study the effect of irrigation intervals, antitranspirant agents, soil amendments and
their interactions on growth, productivity and tuber root quality of sweet potato (Buregard cv.) under
Nile Delta zone conditions. The most important findings could be summarized as follows: higher
values of growth traits, except number of branches/plant in 2nd season and shoot fresh weight in the 1st
season, shoot N, P and total leaves chlorophyll contents, marketable and total yields, as well average
tuber root weight were obtained due to interaction between irrigating at 12 day interval and the
combined of compost + humic acid as a soil amendment. Total carbohydrates, dry matter (DM), N and
K percentages were higher due to irrigating at 24- day interval as interacted with the combined of
compost + humic acid as soil amendment, whereas total carbohydrates (%) was higher with the
interaction of 24- day irrigation interval and compost treatment (3 ton/fad.). After harvest, higher
available N, P and K besides pH and EC values were obtained under soil amendment of compost+
humic acid as interacted with either 12 or 24- day irrigation regimes, however, differences were
insignificant.

Keywords