EFFECT OF SOME MICROELEMENTS AND GROWTH SUBSTANCES ON THE DEFOLIATION PHENOMENA IN SOME FABA BEAN CULTIVARS

The present study was carried out at Itay EL-Baroud Agriculture Research Station, EL-Behaira governorate, Egypt during two agricultural seasons of 2012/13 and 2013/14.Three faba bean cultivars (Nubaria 1, Giza 716 and Sakha 1) were used to study the effects of five commercial growth substances (DotraFirt, Dotra Micro Plus, Dotra Frost, Crop
Plus and the control) on leaf area index (cm2), leaf fresh weight/plant(g), leaf dry weight/plant (g),fresh and dry stem weights/plant (g), total flowers/ plant, percentage of buds shedding/plant. The three faba bean cultivars were sown
in a split plot design with three replications. The results indicate that, significant differences were detected among all
used cultivars, growth substances treatments and their interactions in all studied traits in both seasons, except for the cultivars effect and their interaction on leaf area index in both seasons. The cultivar Nubaria 1expressed the best desirable mean values for total flowers/plant, Total shedding of buds/plant and most vegetative traits in both seasons .While, the
cultivar Giza 716 gave the best desirable mean values for Total flowers/plant in both seasons. The growth substance Crop plus showed the most desirable effect on total flowers/plant and expressed the second good treatment for reducing the percentage of total shedding of buds/plant in both seasons, while the growth substance Dotra micro plus had good desirable effect on total flowers/plant and total shedding of buds/plant in both seasons. The Dotrafirt treatment had undesirable effect on total shedding of buds/plant in both seasons. Farmers in Delta conditions can use the two faba bean cultivars Giza 716 and Nubaria 1 to obtain the highest number of flowers and the lowest percentage of total shedding of buds/plant. The two growth substances Crop plus and Dotra micro plus could be used to obtained for the highest
vegetative growth under Delta conditions.