Effect of Foliar Spray of Mono and Di-potassium Phosphate on Some Quantitative and Qualitative Characteristic of Pomegranate Fruit (Punica granatum L. cv. Malas e Saveh)

The current study was conducted in order to evaluate the effect of Mono and Di-potassium phosphate combination (MDKP) on some quantitative and qualitative characteristics of Iranian pomegranate (CV. Malas-e-Saveh) in Pomegranate Research Center of Saveh city، in 2012. To adjust the pH of the solution، the Mono Potassium Phosphate and Di-Potassium Phosphate combined with each other in the ratio of 1:3، and their combined effects (Mono and Di-potassium phosphate) were studied. This experiment was carried out based on randomized complete block design (RCBD) with four concentrations of MDKP (0، 0. 05، 0. 1 and 0. 2%) at two stages (Full bloom stage and one month after full bloom) and three replications per treatment. The results showed that foliar spray at concentrations of 0. 1% and 0. 2% resulted in significant increase in yield per tree، fruit number، Titrable Acidity (TA) compared to control treatment، so that 0. 1% spraying caused 12/16% increase in yield per tree and 9/17% enhancement in fruit number in comparison to control treatment. Furthermore، foliar spray brought about significant enhancement in aril juice and color intensity of extract in which the highest amount of aril juice and color intensity of extract was obtained in 0. 2 % and 0. 1 % treatments، respectively. Foliar spray at 0. 2 % concentration resulted in the reduction of Total Soluble Solids/Titrable Acidity ratio by 10% compared to control treatment. In conclusion، the results of this study show that MDKP spray at 0. 1 % concentration was more effective than other concentrations.