Effect of Phosphorus Fertilization and Zinc Spraying on Productivity of Sesame (Sesamum indicum L.)

Abstract

The research was carried out during the years 2023/2024 in Ain Al-Bayda Village, Lattakia, Syria to study the effect of phosphorus fertilization and zinc spraying on productivity of sesame by five different levels of phosphorus fertilization (0, 40, 60, 80, 100) kg P2O/ha, and four concentrations of zinc spraying (0, 30, 60, 90) mg Zn2SO4/l. The experiment was carried out according to a completely randomized plot design with a one-time split plot design and three replicates for each treatment. The main plots included phosphorus fertilization, while the secondary plots included zinc spraying. The results showed that the phosphorus fertilization level of 100 kg P2O5/ha was significantly superior to all other fertilization levels by the highest average for all traits, as it gave the highest value for number of capsules per plant (92.75 capsules/plant), length of the capsule (2.97 cm), number of seeds per capsule (78.53 seeds/capsule), weight of 1000 seeds (3.98 g) and seed yield (1253.60 kg/ha). The zinc spray concentration of 90 mg Zn2SO4/l gave the highest value for number of capsules per plant (75.27 capsules/plant), weight of 1000 seeds (3.77 g) and seed productivity (1046 kg/ha), while the zinc spray concentration of 60 mg Zn2SO4/l gave the highest value for number of seeds per capsule (72.85 seeds/capsule) and length of the capsule (2.68 cm). The intervention of 100 kg P2O5/ha x 90 mg Zn2SO4/l achieved the highest value for number of capsules per plant (96.22 capsules/plant), weight of 1000 seeds (4.13 g) and seed productivity (1357.30 kg/ha), while the intervention of 100 kg P2O5/ha x 60 mg Zn2SO4/l achieved the highest value for the two characteristics of number of seeds per capsule (79.63 seeds/capsule) and length of the capsule (3.03 cm).