The Effect of Intercropping Wheat Under Olive Trees on The Productivity and Quality of Olive Fruits

Document Type : Original Article

Authors

1 Desert Research Center, Cairo, Egypt

2 Desert Research Center

3 Agronomy Unit, Plant Production Department, Desert Research Center, Egypt

Abstract

This trial was carried out on olive trees grown in the private orchard, Siwa oasis, Matrouh governorate, Egypt, during 2017, 2018 seasons. Trees were planted at 5x5 meters apart in sandy soil and irrigated by a flood system from agricultural drainage canal. This study aimed at studying the effect of olive–wheat in intercropping system and the application of humic acid on tree growth, yield and fruit quality of "Manzanillo" olive. The experiment was designed as a randomized complete block design with five replicates for each treatment and each replicate was represented by one tree. The results showed that vegetative growth i.e. tree dimensions, shoot growth, leaf characteristics, blooming and yield recorded the highest values in intercropping olive fertilized (30g) humic acid with wheat crop fertilized (4kg) humic acid/fed treatment. Furthermore intercropped olive with wheat produced less vegetative growth, blooming and yields of Manzanillo olive trees as compared with monoculture. Moreover, high level treatment of humic acid increased vegetative growth, blooming and yield of Manzanillo olive trees as compared with non-humic acid treatment in both seasons. The intercropping Manzanillo of olive trees treated with humic acid with wheat plants fertilized with humic acid system could be valuable for sustainable farming a source of income to the farmers in this region.
 

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