Effect Of Potassium Nitrate On Yield And Quality Of 'Dhakki' Date Palm

Fruit quality improvement of date palm has always been an issue that can be resolved by using different approaches, and one of them is the application of chemical fertilizers. Potassium is the least used nutrients by the growers in this part of the world although it is a major nutrient necessary to improve the yield and fruit quality of date palm. Keeping in view the importance of potassium, the objective of the present research was performed to investigate the role of potassium in improving yield and quality of 'Dhakki' date palm. For this purpose, seven different treatments were used for the experiment including:(i) Control (distilled water spray); (ii) KNO3 at 1%; (iii) KNO3 at 1% + urea at 2%; (iv) KNO3 at 2%; (v) KNO3 at 2% + urea at 2%; (vi) KNO3 at 3%; (vii) KNO3 at 3% + urea at 2%. The application of KNO3 was performed at 'Kimri' stage of fruit development. The randomized complete block design was used including three replications. Pre and post-harvest physicochemical parameters were evaluated that included fruit drop, fruit length, diameter, fruit weight, percent pulp, bunch weight, total soluble solids, reducing, non-reducing and total sugars in the fruits. The results revealed that during both seasons of study, KNO3 alone and mixed with urea significantly showed better results however the application of KNO3 at 2% is found to be more effective in minimizing fruit drop (46.99% and 50.05%) and enhancing other variables i.e. fruit length (54.41mm and 53.46mm), diameter (43.15mm and 41.31mm), fruit weight (13.69g and 13.53g), percent pulp (90.99% and 93.59%), bunch weight (8.21kg and 8.11 kg) and total soluble solids (76.07 and 76.83 degrees Brix) during both seasons of study hence resulting in improved yield and fruit quality of 'Dhakki' date palm.