The Effect of Foliar Spray with Certain Nutrients on Growth and Fruiting of Keitt Mango Trees

To find out how spraying certain nutrients affected the growth and fruiting of mango trees on a private farm in the west Minia district of the Minia Governorate, this study was carried out over the course of three consecutive seasons, in 2022, 2023, and 2024. The study treatments were as follows: zinc chelated at 1.5 ml/L, boric acid at 1.5 ml/L, calcium + zinc at 1.5 ml/L, calcium + boron at 1.5 ml/L, potassium citrate at 1.5 g/L, potassium sulfate at 1.5 g/L, and a control treatment that was sprayed with water. The experiment was designed using a completely randomized block design with three replicates for each treatment and one tree for each. The results can be summarized as follows: Spraying with various nutrients significantly increased branch length, leaves number, leaf area, chlorophyll content, and nutrients compared to the control treatment. All spray treatments resulted in increased yield and improved fruit characteristics, including increased fruit weight, pulp percentage, and total soluble solids, sugars, and vitamin C content, compared to spraying with water. The increase in vegetative growth of trees, and consequently, yield and fruit characteristics, was associated with the spraying of a calcium-zinc mixture, a calcium-boron mixture, and potassium citrate. From the results of this study, it is recommended to spray nutrient mixtures three times during the growing season, particularly the calcium-zinc mixture at a rate of 1.5 ml per liter, the calcium-boron mixture at 1.5 ml per liter, or the potassium citrate at a rate of 1.5 g per liter. This improves the vegetative growth and nutritional status of Keitt mango trees while producing a high yield with good fruit characteristics.