:Since the 2000s, date palm trees have been rapidly spreading across the Jordan valley in the West Bank. Although the date palm may survive in arid climates, it needs enough water to reach its full potential production. The West Bank limited water resources are seen as the most significant obstacle to agricultural development. This study was carried out over two growing seasons, 2019 and 2020, in order to assess the efficacy of alternative irrigated water resources for the date palm trees. A randomized complete block design (RCBD) was used in the experiment to replicate the three treatments: farm water (control), fish farm effluent, and dairy farm effluent. Microbial analyses (yeasts, molds, and E. coli) and chemical analyses (pH, EC, Cl, Na N, P, and K) were performed for all types of irrigated water used in the experiment. The results indicated no harmful microbial existence in the three irrigation water treatments. The EC was higher in both fish and dairy effluents (6.85 and 6.41 dS/m) respectively compared to 2.89 ds/m in the control. The results of 2019 season showed no significant differences among the treatments in most parameters studied in the experiment, while the results of the 2020 season indicated the superiority of irrigation with fish farm effluent compared to other treatments. This treatment gave the highest number of leaves (26.5 leaves) per tree, the highest yield per tree (67 kg/ tree) and the highest fruit weight 18.78 g. Fish and dairy farm effluents were rich in nitrogen (N), phosphorus (P), and potassium (K) that could compensate the annual requirements of NPK for the date palm tree. Thus, fish and dairy farm effluents could be used as a source of irrigation and fertilizer in modern date palm cultivation, however, long run investigation is needed to study the impact of using such water sources on soil and plant.

Title

Palestinian Journal of Technology & Applied Sciences

Publisher

Al-Qudus Open University

Publisher Country

Palestine

Publication Type

Both (Printed and Online)

Volume

6

Year

2023

Pages

1-10