Influence of Plant Density and Fertilization Treatments on Growth and Productivity of Caraway (Carum carvi, L.) Plants

Abstract

The present investigation was conducted during two consecutive seasons 2019/2020 and 2020/2021 in the experimental farm of Horticultural Research Station at Sids, Beni-Suef Governorate. Such study aimed to investigate the response of caraway plants to plant density and some fertilization treatments in terms of vegetative growth (plant height, stem diameter, number of branches and herb dry weight), yield parameters (number of umbels and fruit yield per plant & per fed.), oil yield productivity (oil% and yield per plant & per feddan) and NPK%. The examined plant density treatments included three planting distances (60, 40 and 20 cm) while, fertilization treatments included five rates of each of NPK, Vermicompost powder (VC1, 2) at 200, 300 Kg/fed, Vermicompost liquid (VCL1, 2) at 100, 150 liter/fed. The experiment was arranged in a split-plot design. The best values of fruit and oil yield/ fed were obtained due to planting caraway plants to high plant density. Concerning fertilization treatments, all of the prementioned growth, fruit and oil yield traits were considerably augmented due to NPK followed by VCL2, VC2 while VCL1, VC1 gave the least values. In regard to the interaction gave between the, two involved factors, the highest fruit and oil yield values were given by fertilizing caraway plants with the NPK with planting distances of 20 (cm) between each hill. It is advisable, from the economical and environmental point of view, to fertilize caraway plants with VCL at 150 liter/fed or VC at 300 Kg/fed to improving caraway plants productivity.