Effects of Foliar Application of Ascorbic Acid and Organic Fertilizer on the Vegetative Growth of Jojoba Seedlings

• Ghalib Alabbasi Mohammed H. Obaid

  Author

The experiment was conducted at the Agricultural Research Station belonging to the College of Agriculture, University of Kufa, on April 5, 2025, on 6-month-old jojoba seedlings, aiming to study the effect of foliar spraying with ascorbic acid and the addition of organic fertilizer, as well as their interaction, on some vegetative growth indicators of jojoba seedlings. The experiment was carried out according to the complete randomized block design (R.C.B.D) as a factorial experiment with three replications and three seedlings per experimental unit. The first factor represented ascorbic acid at three concentrations (0, 0.5, 1) g/L, while the second factor represented organic fertilizer at three concentrations (0, 10, 20) g/L. The results indicated that foliar spray treatments with ascorbic acid had a significant effect on all studied traits compared to the control treatment. The concentration of 1 g L⁻¹ achieved the highest averages in seedling height, number of leaves, number of lateral branches, and the percentage of dry matter in the leaves. The treatment with organic fertilizer at a concentration of 20 g L⁻¹ showed a significant superiority in all studied traits compared to the control treatment. As for the binary interaction between the two study factors in affecting the studied traits, the interaction treatment (spraying ascorbic acid at a concentration of 1 g L⁻¹ + adding organic fertilizer at a concentration of 20 g L⁻¹) was significantly superior to the other treatments.

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