Effect of Adding Nano NPK Fertilizers and Foliar Application of Nano Zinc and Boron on the Concentration of NPK, Zn, and B in the Vegetative Parts of Potato (Solanum tuberosum L.) Plants

• Dr. Dunya Faeq Munaf

  Author

A field experiment was conducted on potato (Solanum tuberosum L.) cv. Burren during the spring season of 2019 at the Al-Jadriyah research station, Baghdad, Iraq (Latitude 33.27° N, Longitude 44.38° E, 34 m above sea level) in a calcareous silty loam soil. The study aimed to evaluate the efficiency of soil fertilization with NPK (nano and conventional) and the effect of foliar spraying with zinc and boron (nano and conventional), as well as their interaction, on the mineral content of the vegetative growth. The experiment was designed according to a Randomized Complete Block Design (RCBD) with three replicates in a factorial arrangement (3x3). Results showed that nano fertilization (both soil and foliar) significantly increased the concentrations of nitrogen (3.35%), phosphorus (0.33%), potassium (3.32%), zinc (65.56 mg.kg-¹), and boron (24.48 mg.kg^-1) compared to conventional and control treatments, yielding an average increase of 30%-50% in nutrient use efficiency. The interaction between nano soil application and nano foliar spraying achieved the highest quantitative values for all traits (3.52% N, 0.34% P, 3.40% K, 70.35 mg Zn.kg⁻¹, and 27.00 mg B.kg-1), confirming the efficiency of nanotechnology in improving the nutritional status of plants and overcoming nutrient fixation and precipitation challenges in calcareous soils.

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