Impact of soil application with humic acid and foliar spray of milagro bio-stimulant on vegetative growth and mineral nutrient uptake of Nonpareil almond young trees under Nubaria conditions

Abstract

Background: At present, agricultural production management techniques focus on greater commitment to environmental sustainability. As such, this study was carried out during two successive seasons (2018 and 2019) to investigate the impact of two natural bio-stimulant substances: humic acid (H) and milagro (M) on vegetative growth and nutritional status of Nonpareil almond young trees grown in Experimental Research Station of National Research Centre, Nubaria, El Behera governorate, Egypt. Three-year-old uniform trees were treated at the beginning of growth season by soil application of humic acid (H) and foliar spray of milagro (M) bio-stimulant. There were ten treatments as follows: control (untreated seedlings),10 g humic acid plus 10 ml/l milagro, 20 g humic acid plus 10 ml/l milagro, 30 g humic acid plus 10 ml/l milagro,10 g humic acid plus 20 ml/l milagro, 20 g humic acid plus 20 ml/ l milagro, 30 g humic acid plus 20 ml/l milagro, 10 g humic acid plus 30 ml/l milagro, 20 g humic acid plus 30 ml/l milagro, and 30 g humic acid plus 30 ml/l milagro. Results: The results showed that different treatments improved the vegetative growth of seedlings, stem length, diameter, number of branches and leaves, leaf area, leaf fresh and dry weight, and specific leaf dry weight as well as leaf chlorophylls and minerals content comparing with untreated young trees. Conclusions: Soil application of 30 g humic acid along with 30 ml/l milagro per young tree as foliar spray was the promising treatment as a new fertilization technique that is non-chemical, low-cost, and environmentally safe for improving growth and nutritional status of Nonpareil almond young trees under Nubaria conditions.

Response of Red Chili (Capsicum anuuum L.) to Humic Acid Application in Dryland

“…Improvement of soil properties by giving humic acid changes the architecture and dynamics of plant root growth, there is an increase in root size, branching and/or more root hair density, with a larger surface area (Canelass & Olivares, 2014). The results of this study were in line with those conducted by Sani (2014) and Abourayya et al (2020) that there was an increase in the plant height and number of plant branches due to the provision of humic acid. The increase in height and number of branches was due to an improvement in plant root growth which indirectly improved the ability of the roots to absorb soil mineral nutrients needed by the plants for growth, which increased the efficiency of photosynthesis, cell division and development.…”

Vegetative and Reproductive Responses Induced by Organo-Mineral Fertilizers on Young Trees of Almond cv. Tuono Grown in a Medium-High Density Plantation

“…Specifically, long shoot growth during the early years of orchard establishment is the main component of vegetative development in almonds [41]. Our results, indicating a slight positive effect of biostimulants on the increase in trunk diameter and shoot length, align with previous studies [25,30]. This increase in vegetative shoot growth can result in more buds that will support future production.…”

“…Although the effect of foliar-applied biostimulant substances on plant growth, yield, and fruit quality has been studied in various fruit tree species [16], the availability of information on this effect on almonds is relatively limited. Existing studies refer to research conducted in pots [25] or in fields using traditional low-density systems [26][27][28][29][30]. Notably, no research has been published on almond trees in the medium-high density (MHD; about 300 to 1000 trees/ha) and super-high density (SHD; resulting in more than 2000 trees/ha) systems.…”

“…In another study [29], the results indicate that certain treatments involving foliar fertilization with urea and humic acid at different concentrations lead to a significant increase in components of vegetative growth, including the length and diameter of the stem, leaf area, fresh weight, and dry weight. In an experimental test conducted in Egypt [30], the foliar application of humic acid and milagro enhanced the vegetative growth of the seedlings. This improvement was evident in the length of the stem, diameter, number of branches and leaves, leaf area, fresh and dry leaf weight, and specific weight of dry leaf.…”

Investigating the carcinogenic and non-carcinogenic health hazards of heavy metal ions in Spinacia oleracea grown in agricultural soil treated with biochar and humic acid

“…These substances are insoluble in acidic conditions, but their solubility increases with increasing pH, and as a result, they can increase the solubility, mobility, translocation, and bioavailability of HMs (Fox and Comerford 1990, Evangelou and Marsi 2001, Halim, Conte et al 2003, Marschner and Kalbitz 2003, Chen and Zhu 2006, Park, Kim et al 2013, Mani, Kumar et al 2015, Noroozisharaf and Kaviani 2018, Kleber and Lehmann 2019, Abourayya, Kaseem et al 2020, Li, Wang et al 2022. Probably, the acidic nature of humic substances plays an essential role in their reactivity and performance in alkaline soils.…”