Effect of Organic Manure and Humic Acid on Productivity and Fruit Quality of Cactus Pear

Abstract

field experiment was conducted during 2018 and 2019 seasons on El-shamia cactus pear plants orchard about eight years old, grown in sandy soil under drip irrigation system from a well located in Abu Ghaleb area, "Cairo-Alexandria desert road" about 50 km from Cairo, Egypt. The aim of study was the evaluation of the effect of cattle manure soil application rates; i.e. 20, 30 and 40 kg/plant and humic acid at 3 rates; i.e. 0, 10 and 20 g/plant as well as their interactions on growth, cladodes nutrients content, yield and fruit quality and investment ratio of cactus pear plants. Resulted showed that increasing cattle manure rates induced a progressive enhancement of the growth, cladodes nutrients content, yield and fruit quality. Moreover, humic acid at 20 g/plant surpassed the other two tested rates in enhancing the previously mentioned studied traits. Furthermore, cattle manure and humic acid as well as their combinations had positive effects on net profit and investment ratio. Finally, it is preferable to apply cattle manure at 40 kg/plant combined with humic acid at 20 g/plant to enhance growth, yield and fruit quality as well as cladodes nutrients content of El-shamia cactus pear. Besides, cattle manure at 30 kg/plant combined with humic acid at 20 g/plant attained the highest value of total revenue per feddan, net profit per feddan and investment ratio. The effects of cattle manure and humic acid as well as their combinations were cumulative and the second season was better than the first season in productivity and net profit as well as investment ratio.