Improving Fruit Set, Yield and Fruit Quality of Barhee Date Palms Using Some Natural Plant Extracts

This experiment was conducted during two successive seasons (2020 and 2021). The aim of this research is to study the effect of spraying Barhee date palm with some natural plant extracts on fruit set, yield and fruit physical and chemical properties. Inflorescences were sprayed with moringa and garlic extracts at 2 or 4% for both, three times (one hour before pollination, one month after pollination and two months after pollination). The obtained results indicated that spraying date palm inflorescences with moringa and garlic extracts produced higher initial fruit set as compared with the untreated ones in the two seasons. While all tested treatments improved fruit physical characteristics such as fruit weight, flesh weight, fruit length and diameter compared to the control treatment in the two studied seasons; moringa extract recorded the heaviest bunches and yield/palm in both seasons. In addition, the results showed that moringa extract at 4% increased total soluble solids%, total sugars%, reducing and non-reducing sugars% in both seasons compared to the control. Meanwhile, the lowest fruit set, bunch weight, yield/palm and fruit physical and chemical properties were recorded due to the control in both seasons. Also, all treatments reduced significantly total acidity% in both seasons. In addition, spraying moringa extract at 4% improved leaf mineral content (N, P, K, Ca and Mg) and gave the highest values followed by moringa extract at 2%, then garlic extract at 4% and 2%, respectively in both seasons.