Independent or Combinational Application of Sheep Manure and Litter from Indigenous Field Vegetation of Quercus sp. Influences Nutrient Uptake, Photosynthesis, Intrinsic Water Use Efficiency, and Foliar Sugar Concentrations in Olive Plants (Olea europaea L., cv. “Koroneiki”)

Abstract

The recent energy crisis has increased the cost of fertilization for olive growers. This is why alternative nutrient sources, such as manures and other organic materials, could be used to sustain olive production within the framework of sustainable agriculture, by decreasing chemical fertilization inputs. A greenhouse pot experiment was established with a marl soil substrate that was modified with three amendments (sheep manure, or SM; litter from evergreen broadleaf species, or EBLS, such as Quercus sp.; their combination, i.e., SM + EBLS) and a control soil (no application of amendments) to investigate their influence on the nutrition, physiology, and leaf sugar concentrations of olive plants. Plant growth was not significantly affected by the amendments, while the lowest leaf N, K, and Zn concentrations were determined in the control soil. Significantly higher photosynthetic rate was determined in the SM + EBLS, compared to SM. Significantly higher intercellular CO2 was found in the EBLS and SM + EBLS, while significantly higher intrinsic water use efficiency (WUEi) was found in the SM + EBLS and the control. Significantly higher translocated sugar content was recorded in the SM + EBLS compared to the control. Overall, it was concluded that the optimum treatment was SM + EBLS, i.e., the combinational application of SM and EBLS. However, multi-year research under field conditions is necessary to draw more stable conclusions about the beneficial role of organic amendments on the nutrition and physiology of olive trees.

The Effect of Tillage Systems, Type of Organic Fertilizer and the Level of Binary Addition of Nitrogen and Phosphorus on the Growth and Yield of Clover in Gypsum Soil

“…From the results of Table (5), it is noted that the addition of animal (O1) and vegetable (O2) organic fertilizers gave an average ounce content of chlorophyll amounted to (1.78 and 1.56) gm L -1 respectively, it is clear from the table that O1 was significantly superior to O2 with a percentage increase of (14.10) %, this is consistent with [25] who found that adding sheep manure at a rate of 30 tons hectare-1 gave the highest chlorophyll content compared to compost. Sheep manure also outperforms compost in intrinsic water use efficiency (WUEI) which provides information about the efficiency of plant water use in terms of carbon dioxide uptake and low transpiration losses, which is defined as the ratio between the rate of photosynthesis and stomatal drainage [26] and this is consistent with [27] who found that sheep manure affected WUEI in olive plants. When studying the effect of the levels of binary fertilization on the content of leaves of chlorophyll, the results showed that there were significant differences, as the level of dual fertilization (M2), which gave a value of (1.99) gm L -1 , exceeded the level of the first and second fertilization (M0 and M1), which amounted to Their values are (1.24 and 1.77) gm L -1 respectively, this is due to the fact that the addition of nitrogen with phosphorus together in a band form increases the efficiency of phosphate fertilizers, which reflects positively on the characteristics of the plant [28].…”

Response of Pomegranate Trees to Herd Manure Addition and Spraying with Fulvic Acid and Brassinolide

“…It has a great ability to chelate other elements despite its small molecular weight. It has a great ability to penetrate cell membrane, and it is highly soluble in acidic and alkaline media [16]. Its color is light yellow to brown.…”

Fruit Crops Physiology and Nutrition

“…Therefore, the authors state that more research is needed. (b) To assess the suitability of alternative nutrient sources/substrates for potted olives [15].…”