Impact of Various Potassium Sources on the Color and Juice Quality of Valencia Orange Fruits

The field experiment was conducted on ten-year-old Valencia orange (Citrus sinensis L.) trees that were grafted onto Volcamarina rootstock throughout the 2020-2021 and 2021-2022 seasons. The chosen trees were planted in a private orchard in Egypt's Wadi Elmoulak, which is part of the Ismailia Governorate. The purpose of the research was to determine how foliar spraying Valencia oranges with various potassium sources (treatments) affected their peel and juice color, fruit waste weight, and juice characteristics. The results of this study demonstrated that foliar application of different potassium sources significantly influenced the peel and juice color, fruit waste weight, and juice characteristics of Valencia oranges. Potassium citrate at 1.5 and 2.0% being particularly effective in enhancing peel color intensity and peel and juice being particularly effective in enhancing peel color intensity and peel and juice color parameters (L*, a*, b*, Chroma and hue angle) and juice density and quality. Regarding fruit quality, monopotassium phosphate at 1.5% improved juice weight, volume, and juice ratio in the first and second seasons, respectively. Conclusively, from these results, it is recommend spraying different potassium sources improved peel color intensity and peel and juice color parameters and juice density and quality of Valencia Orange fruits.