Effect of biofertilization and foliar application of moringa extract on growth and chemical characteristics of two eggplant cultivars

• Mohanad Khalid Hameed Rasheed Ahlam Ahmed Hussein

  Author

   The experiment was conducted at the Research Station of the Department of Horticulture and Landscape Engineering, College of Agriculture, University of Diyala, during the 2025 growing season to investigate the effect of biofertilizer application and foliar spraying with aqueous moringa extract on the growth and yield of two eggplant hybrids grown under protected cultivation. The experiment included 12 treatments: two eggplant hybrids (Nasr and Wissam) as the first factor, application of Bacillus mucilaginosus at 10 mL compared with the control as the second factor, and foliar spraying with aqueous moringa extract at concentrations of 0, 20, and 40% as the third factor. The experiment was arranged as a factorial trial using a randomized complete block design (RCBD) with a split-split plot system. Results showed that hybrid V1 significantly excelled in plant height (80.60 cm) and anthocyanin content (95.83 mg 100 g⁻¹), while hybrid V2 recorded a higher number of lateral branches (5.033 branch plant⁻¹). No significant differences were observed between hybrids in total leaf area and fiber percentage. The biofertilizer treatment significantly improved plant height (81.07 cm), number of lateral branches (5.311 branch plant⁻¹), total leaf area (411.6 dm² plant⁻¹), fiber content (2.881%), and anthocyanin content (103.1 mg 100 g⁻¹). Foliar application of moringa extract showed superior performance, achieving the highest values in plant height (85.63 cm), number of lateral branches (5.766 branch plant⁻¹), total leaf area (502.1 dm² plant⁻¹), anthocyanin content (114.6 mg 100 g⁻¹), and fiber percentage (2.957%).

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