Effect of Irrigation with Acidified Water and Phosphorous, Iron and Zinc on Nutrients Concentration, Growth and Yield of Cabbage

Abstract

To investigate the impact of acidified water and phosphorous, iron, and zinc on the concentration of nutrients, growth, and yield of Cabbage (Brassica Oleracea L.), a field experiment was conducted in an agricultural field (Research Station F) at the College of Agricultural Engineering Sciences at the University of Baghdad in Iraq during the autumn season of 2021. On a bed of silty loam, The experiment used a randomized complete block design (RCBD) factorial with three replicates, with the main panels corresponding to acidified water (Sulphuric acid H2SO4) at concentrations of 0 and 2 ml L-1, added with irrigation water using the drip irrigation system. There were five treatments: no fertilizer added, fertilizer added at zero, fifty, seventy-five, and one hundred percent of the fertilizer recommended (65 kg P h-1) fertilizer added at ten kilograms of iron per hour and five kilograms of zinc per hour, and no fertilizer applied. Results showed that sulfuric acid, phosphorus, iron, and zinc applications, as well as their interactions, significantly impacted leaf phosphorus, iron, and zinc concentrations, chlorophyll content, dry weight, and yield. However, the interference between the addition of sulfuric acid, phosphorus, iron, and zinc to the soil (2 ml L-1 + 65 kg P h-1 +10 kg Fe h-1 + 5 kg Zn h-1) resulted in the highest leaf phosphorus,