The influence of two broccoli hybrids, seedling age, and foliar application of garlic extract on quantitative and qualitative yield characteristics.

Abstract

The experiment was conducted during the agricultural seasons of 2021-2022 and 2022-2023 in the field belonging to the Agricultural Research Station at the University of Basra's College of Agriculture in Karima Ali (30.5616698 , 47.7517014). The objective was to study the effect of two broccoli hybrids (Matsuri and 2004), three seedling ages (30, 45, and 60 days), and five concentrations of garlic water extract (10, 20 mL L^-1 of local garlic variety and 10, 20 mL L^-1 of Chinese garlic variety), along with a control treatment (0). A total of 30 experimental treatments were implemented as a split-plot design with two replications using a complete randomized block design. Matsuri  hybrid exhibited statistically significant superiority over the 2004 hybrid in total productivity and the percentage of nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium in the leaves, as well as the chlorophyll content in the leaves for both seasons. Additionally, the 30-day-old seedling treatment showed significant superiority in the studied traits for both seasons. Furthermore, the foliar application treatment demonstrated superiority with increasing concentration, where the 20 mL ^L-1 concentration of Chinese garlic extract significantly outperformed in all studied traits during both seasons.