Effect of Foliar Application of Different Fertilizers on Growth and Leaf Nutrients Content of Lime Citrus aurantifolia L.) Plants Grown Under Nursery Conditions

The effect of foliar application of Fetrilon-Combi2, Compound Cryst and Foliar-X fertilizers on growth characteristics and leafnutrients content of lime plants grown under nursery conditions wasinvestigated. Foliar fertilizers were sprayed every 15 days during thestudy period of 7 months. The growth parameters were evaluated interms of plant height, stem diameter, number of leaves, leaf size,growth index, and fresh and dry weights of different parts of the plant(leaves, stems and roots). Leaf N, P, K, Ca, Mg, Fe, Zn, Mn and Cucontents were determined at the termination of the experiment.The results revealed that all foliar fertilizers gave greater values ofall measured growth parameters than the control. Application ofFoliar-X resulted in the highest values of most growth parameters, followedby Compound Cryst and Fetrilon-Combi2 fertilizers, respectively.Significantly higher leaf- N, P, K, and Ca contents weredetected in the plants sprayed with Foliar-X and Compound Crystcompared to the Fetrilon-Combi2-sprayed plants and control. Higherleaf- Zn, and Mn contents were found in the plants sprayed with Fetrilon-Combi2 than the other two foliar fertilizers tested. Leaf-Mg, Feand Cu contents showed no significant differences among the treatments.