The utilization of tryptophan and glycine amino acids as safe alternatives to chemical fertilizers in apple orchards
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RESEARCH ARTICLE
The utilization of tryptophan and glycine amino acids as safe alternatives to chemical fertilizers in apple orchards Walid F. A. Mosa 1 & Hayssam M. Ali 2,3 & Nader R. Abdelsalam 4 Received: 20 April 2020 / Accepted: 26 August 2020 # Springer-Verlag GmbH Germany, part of Springer Nature 2020
Abstract Our experiment was conducted during the seasons of 2018 and 2019 on 10-year-old “Anna” apple trees (Malus domestica L. Borkh) planted at 4 × 4 m apart in a clay soil under drench irrigation. Sixty uniform trees were selected and subjected to the same cultural practices during both seasons. Apple trees were sprayed three times as follows: before flowering, during full bloom, and 1 month later with the following treatments: control (water only); tryptophan at 25, 50, and 100 ppm; glycine at 25, 50, and 100 ppm; and their combinations, 25 ppm tryptophan + 25 ppm glycine, 50 ppm tryptophan + 50 ppm glycine, and 100 ppm tryptophan + 100 ppm glycine. The results demonstrated that the foliar spraying of “Anna” apple trees with glycine and tryptophan at 25, 50, and 100 ppm and their combinations significantly increased shoot length and diameter, leaf area, total chlorophyll, percentages of fruit set and yield, fruit physical and chemical characteristics, and leaf mineral composition of N, P, K, Ca, Fe, Zn, Mn, and B, whereas it reduced the fruit drop percentage in both seasons in comparison with control. Better results were obtained from the concentrations of 50 and 100 ppm which were more effective in both seasons in comparison with the concentration of 25 ppm. Moreover, the combination of 50 ppm glycine 50 ppm tryptophan was the best treatment and provided the highest results in both experimental seasons in comparison with the other applied treatments and control. Keywords Apple . Amino acids . Crop improvement . Glycine . Fruit . Plant nutrition . Quality . Tryptophan . Yield
Introduction Harvested apples in Egypt span across an area of 28,085 ha producing 70,4727 ton/ha (FAO and UNICEF 2018). The Responsible Editor: Philippe Garrigues * Walid F. A. Mosa [email protected] * Nader R. Abdelsalam [email protected] Hayssam M. Ali [email protected] 1
Plant Production Department, Faculty of Agriculture, Saba Basha, Alexandria University, Alexandria 21531, Egypt
2
Botany and Microbiology Department, College of Science, King Saud University, P.O. Box 2455, Riyadh 11451, Saudi Arabia
3
Timber Trees Research Department, Sabahia Horticulture Research Station, Horticulture Research Institute, Agricultural Research Center, Alexandria 21526, Egypt
4
Agricultural Botany Department, Faculty of Agriculture, Saba Basha, Alexandria University, Alexandria 21531, Egypt
“Anna” apples (Malus domestica L. Borkh) belong to the family of Rosacea. In previous publications, it was suggested that amino acids enhance fresh and dry matter (Fawzy et al. 2012), increase growth behavior (Bahari et al. 2013; Romero et al. 2014; Rouphael et al. 2017), and stimulate plants’ root growth, which may enhance both water an
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