Effect of Foliar Application by Nano and Non-Nano NPK Fertilizers on Growth, Yield and Quality of Two Lettuce (Lactuca sativa L.) Cultivars Under Plastic House Conditions

Abstract

 The experiment was conducted during the fall agricultural season 2021-2022 under a plastic house at the Department of Horticulture, College of Agriculture Engineering Science university of Duhok, Kurdistan region, Iraq. The experiment was carried out in a split-split plot system using a randomized complete block design (R.C.B.D), which included 54 treatments resulting from the combination of two cultivars of lettuce, three levels of non-nano NPK, namely (0 g, 2 g, 4 g) per liter of the recommended amount, and three levels of Nano-NPK (0 g, 2 g, 4 g) per liter of the recommended amount for three replicates, to study the effect of spraying with nano and non-nano-NPK on lettuce productivity, growth, and yield of two lettuce cultivar (Fajr and Rawaa). The results showed that the Fajr cultivar was superior to the Rawaa cultivar in (head weight, total yield, marketable yield, number of leaves per plant, chlorophyll content, nitrogen percentage, phosphor percentage, and potassium percentage), The spraying with non-nano-NPK did not show any significant difference in most of all parameters. The result appeared that a significant increase in most characteristics of vegetative growth, total yield, and yield component was with the foliar application of nano-NPK at level (4 g. l^-1).