Enhancing Fruit Yield and Citrus Quality through Integrated Application of Organic Fertilizers and Zinc

Author(s) : Muhammad Ashraf , Sher Muhammad Shahzad, Muhammad Atif Irshad, Syed Ayyaz Javed, Muhammad Asif and Rizwana Kausar

Digital object identifier:

https://doi.org/10.52587/JAF040202

Abstract:

Maximization of citrus fruit yield and enhancing their quality are ambitious objectives for citrus growers and scientist across the globe. This study explores the synergistic potential of organic manures and zinc to achieve these objectives. This integrated approach represents a sustainable and environmentally friendly strategy for citrus cultivation. For this, a study was conducted with different treatments of zinc and farm yard manure. The trial was conducted using randomized complete block design with five repeats. Results showed that the highest fruit yield (58.23 kg plant-1 ), fruit weight (169.40 g fruit-1), fruit diameter (72.80 mm), juice content (46.64%), TSS (10.87 ˚Brix), citric acid (645.22 mg 100 mL-1 ), ascorbic acid (593.45 mg 100 mL-1 ), total sugar content (7.05%), Zn content in leaf (19.46 mg kg-1), photosynthetic rate (14.68 µmol m-2 s-1), transpiration rate (3.95 mmol m-2 s-1 ), WUE (3.72 µmol CO2 mmol-1 H2O), stomata conductance (0.465 mmol m-2 s -1) and total chlorophyll (4.41 mg g-1) were obtained by application of T8: (Zn @ 50 g plant-1 + FYM @ 25 kg plant-1 + PM @ 10 kg plant-1). On the basis of our results, it is concluded that integrated use of Zn coupled with organic manures was the most effective combination of fertilization for improving physiological functioning and ionic metabolism, yield contributing attributes and fruit quality of citrus.