Effectiveness of iron and manganese foliar treatments in enhancing growth and yield traits in broad bean plants (Vicia faba L.)

The study demonstrated the effect of iron (Fe), and manganese (Mn) spraying treatments on plant characteristics and yield traits, as well as some seed chemical properties of faba bean varieties, an experiment was conducted in one successive winter growing season of 2023/2024 in the Farm of conducted this experiment in one of the fields secondary school Ibn al-Bitar professional in the area of ​​Husseiniya-Karbala, The experimental design was the split-split plot in RCBD in three replications. Iron was sprayed at four concentrations (0, 15, 30 and 60 mg/l) and manganese was sprayed at four concentrations (0, 20, 30 and 40 mg/l). The highest concentrations of Fe (60 mg/l) and Mn (40 mg/l), both individually and in combination, produced the most pronounced effects, including increased pod count per plant, seeds per pod, 100-seed weight, and overall seed yield (up to 8 tons/ha). Additionally, these treatments improved shoot fresh weight (39.0±0.57 g, P = 0.0495) and root length (36.5±0.40 cm), though other shoot and root parameters showed non-significant trends. Seed protein content and other chemical properties were also positively influenced. Statistical analyses, including two-way ANOVA and Tukey’s test (p≤0.05), were applied across 15 key measurements, with 80% of the yield-related traits showing significant improvements (p