Influence of Foliar Nano and Organic Fertilizers on Some Growth Traits and Nitrate Aggregation in Swiss Chard (Beta vulgaris var. cicla L.)

Fertilization serves an essential function in improving crop growth during both the vegetative and reproductive phases. Contemporary trends have increasingly focused on the utilization of nano and organic fertilizers as a substitute for conventional fertilizers.

The current study was implemented at the experimentation field located in the University of Kufa during the growing season 2022–2023 to assess the effect of foliar applications with nano-fertilizer and organic fertilization on certain growth traits and nitrate accumulation in Swiss chard plants. A factorial experiment with three replicates following a completely randomized block design was carried out, where the first factor included three doses of the nano-fertilizer (0, 2, 4) ml.L^-1 while the second factor included three doses of organic fertilizer (0, 10, 20) g.L^-1.

Our results showed that foliar application of nano-fertilizer, organic fertilization and the interaction between them significantly affected growth and chemical characteristics. The highest averages were observed from the interaction between the nano-fertilizer at (4 ml.L^-1) and the organic fertilizer at (20 g.L^-1) regarding plant height, number of leaves, fresh and dry weights of the sheet, total chlorophyll in the leaves and vitamin C in the leaves, while a decrease in the nitrate content of the leaves. In contrast, the control treatment exhibited the lowest values for the most characteristics.