Abstract

A field experiment was conducted during the fall season of 2009 in the desert of Haditha, Al-Anbar governorate (130 kms west of Ramadi ) to assess the effect of mineral ZnSO4.7H2O and chelating Zinc (Zn-EDTA) fertilizers at three levels 0, 5 and 10 kg Zn.ha-1 on the growth and yield of a French hybrid (Genotype 5) sunflower planted in a clay soil . In this study, randomized complete block design (RCBD) was used with three blocks, each having 6 experimental units (3 x 3m, of each). At the flowering stage, plant samples were taken from each experimental unit to measure plant height and leaf area. At the maturation stage at 31/10/2009, seed yield, biologicalyield , seed per disk, disk diameter, weight of 1000 seeds and percentages of protein and oil were measured.
The Results showed fertilization with Zn caused significant increase in almost all the studied properties compared with the control treatment (without Zn addition),while chelating Zn (Zn-EDTA) was superior than hydrated sulfate form (ZnSO4.7H2O) in most studied properties of sunflower. Addition of Zn (10 Kg.ha-1) caused significant increases in plant height, leaf area, disk diameter, weight of 1000 seeds, total seeds yield , biological yield, protein and oil percentages .