Response of two sunflower cultivars to foliar spray by chitosan and algae extract

The present study was executed at the Faculty of Agriculture Experimental Farm, New Valley University during the 2020/2021 and 2021/2022 growing seasons, to study the response of two sunflower cultivars to foliar spray by chitosan and algae extract application. The field experiment was carried out in a randomized complete block design (RCBD) using a strip plot arrangement with three replications. Spray treatments (chitosan, 0 [control], 50, 100, 150, and 200 ppm) and algae, 125, 250, 375, and 500 ppm) were allotted horizontally while, the cultivars Sakha-53 and Giza-102 were a signed vertically. The obtained results showed that number of seeds head‌-1, seed index, seed weight head-1 (g), Seed yield (kg fed.-1), oil percentage (%) and oil yield (kg fed.-1) were affected highly significant (P≤0.01) by spray treatments application in both seasons. Sunflower plants which were sprayed by 500 ppm algae extract gave the highest mean values of seed yield fed.-1 (1680.68 and 1515.87 kg/fed) and oil yield fed.-1 (648.85 and 604.27 kg/fed) in the first and second seasons, respectively. Furthermore, Giza102 sunflower cultivar gave the highest means for mention traits in the two growing seasons. Also, Giza 102 plants which were sprayed by 500 ppm algae extract gave the highest mean values of oil yield (677.16 and 679.21 kg/fed in the first and second seasons, respectively).