FERTILIZATION EFFICIENCY OF FOLIAR FERTILIZATION WITH N AND P ON QUALITY AND YIELD OF COTTON

To study the best combination of foliar fertilizers application N and P on cotton yield and quality, the variety of the cotton used in this experiment was (cv, Coker 310) plants. Field experiment was carried out at the State Board for Agric. Res, Agric. Res. Station, Abu-Ghraib during 2000-2001 seasons. The design of the experiment was RCBD with 3 replications, There were 17 treatments, one of these was the check treatment where a combination of (200N + 50P + 125K) Kg.ha(-1) soil applied, and the other 16 treatments were applied as foliar treatments as well as 1/3 of the check treatment (soil application) N and P quantities with 125K Kg.ha(-1). Ttie foliar treatments in which there were four levels of N (0, 9, 18, 27) Kg.ha(-1) and P (0, 6, 12, 18)) Kg.ha(-1). The results shred that the foliar treatments of the combination (27 Kg N + 18 Kg P). ha(-1) and (27Kg N + 12 Kg P) ha(-1) had the highest significant effects on seed cotton and lint yield as well as on fiber strength and fiber length lint, during 2000 and 2001 seasons, respectively compared with other foliar treatments. The soil application treatment had more effects in increasing all plant properties compared with the foliar treatments for both seasons. The study showed a cigar response of cotton crop to foliar fertilization with N and P. It could reduce more than 106.4 Kg N ha(-1) of amounts N and 19.4 Kg P ha(-1) when added directly to soil due to non significant differences in values between soil application and foliar application at treatments N3P3 and N3P2, levels.