The Effect of Nano Potassium Foliar Application on Some Morphological Traits and Growth Yield of (Vicia faba L.) Plants under saline condition

Abstract

A study was conducted to investigate the effect of nano-potassium foliar application on some morphological traits (plant height, stem diameter, number of branches, number of leaves, leaf area, number of flowers, number of seeds, weight of fresh seeds, and pod weight), as well as the growth and yield of faba bean (Vicia faba L.) plants exposed to salinity stress.
A factorial experiment was carried out in plastic pots using a Completely Randomized Design (CRD) with four replications in the city of Karbala during the 2023-2024 growing season. The first factor involved irrigation with four levels of saline water (2, 4, 6, and 8 dS m⁻¹), prepared by mixing well water with tap water. The second factor involved foliar spraying of nano-potassium at four concentrations (0, 50, 100, and 150 mg L⁻¹) applied in two equal doses for each level: the first at the three-leaf stage and the second at 100% flowering stage.
The experiment included 64 experimental units. The results were statistically analyzed, and the means of the studied traits were compared using the Least Significant Difference (LSD) test at a 0.05 probability level.
The results showed that irrigation with saline water significantly reduced all the studied morphological traits. In contrast, foliar application of nano-potassium had a significant positive effect on improving some of these traits .
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