Growth and Productivity of Dutch Fennel Plant as Affected by Planting Date and Fulvic Acid.

A field experiment was conducted during 2020/2021 and 2021/2022 seasons at the Experimental Farm of Floriculture, Faculty of Agriculture, Assiut University, Egypt to study the effect of planting dates (15th October, 7th November and 25th November) and fulvic acid levels (control, 500, 1000 and 2000 ppm) on vegetative growth, essential oil percentage, fruit and oil yield as well as chemical constituents of Dutch fennel plants. Results revealed that the planting on 7th November was the most effective treatment for increasing plant height, number of main branches, herb dry weight, umbel number/plant, essential oil percentage, fruit and oil yields as well as contents of photosynthetic pigments, total carbohydrates and phenols compared to the other planting dates. The highest values were obtained from plants sown in 7th November, followed by plants sown on 15th October, while the lowest values were recorded with the late planting date. Spraying plants with fulvic acid at different concentrations greatly improved all studied characteristics compared to the control. The highest values of these parameters were obtained from plants treated with 2000 ppm fulvic acid, followed by 1000 ppm. The combined treatment of planting on 7th November and spraying with 2000 ppm fulvic acid resulted in the best vegetative parameters, fruit and oil yield as well as chemical components compared with the other combined treatments. Therefore, it could be recommended to cultivate Dutch fennel plants on 7th November and spraying plants with 2000 ppm fulvic acid for obtaining high values of vegetative growth, fruit and oil yield parameters. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]