Influence of Some Biostimulants on Growth, yield and Quality of Grafted Watermelon "Citrullus lanatus" Using Cucurbita Maxima Rootstock | ||
| Egyptian Journal of Chemistry | ||
| Articles in Press, Accepted Manuscript, Available Online from 05 August 2025 | ||
| Document Type: Original Article | ||
| DOI: 10.21608/ejchem.2025.391248.11856 | ||
| Authors | ||
| Mohamed A. El-Kersh1; Amira Soliman1; Rasha Ramzy Mohamed Afify2; Sona El-Nwehy Salem Aly2; Amani H. A. M. Gharib* 3 | ||
| 1Natural Resources Department, Faculty of African Postgraduate Studies, Cairo University, Egypt | ||
| 2Department of Plant Nutrition, Agriculture and Biological Research Institute, National Research Centre, Dokki, Egypt | ||
| 3Vegetable, Medicinal and Aromatic Plant Breeding Department, Horticulture Research Institute, Agriculture Research Center, Giza, Egypt | ||
| Abstract | ||
| Bio-stimulants and grafting represent pivotal sustainable strategies to enhance crop productivity and quality while minimizing dependence on chemical fertilizers. Bio-stimulants activate plant defense mechanisms against biotic and abiotic stresses while improving metabolic efficiency, whereas grafting serves as an eco-friendly alter-native to pesticides, mitigating soil-borne diseases and boosting yield. The present study was carried out at El kottna area, El Dakahlia governorate, Egypt during the period from 2022 to 2023 to Study the effect of applying different sources of biostimulant (Condensed molasses soluble (CMS) and Algae extract) on grafted watermelon Seedlings on growth, yield and quality of watermelon. Two experiments were carried out; greenhouse and field experiment including one grafting method, i.e., as follows one cotyledon grafting method (Splice), and one scion of watermelon with rootstocks. Treatments were; 100% Control (recommendation R), 100% R + 10 ml/liter Al-gae extract, 100% R + 15 ml/liter Algae extract, 100% R + 20 ml/liter Algae extract, 100% R + 10 ml/liter CMS, 100% R + 15 ml/liter CMS, and 100% R + 20 ml/liter CMS. Results indicated that CMS at 20 mL/L significantly enhanced fruit weight (23% in 2022 and 31.4% in 2023) compared to control and TSS (31.2% in 2022 and 37.2% in 2023) over the control. Also, Algae extract at 20 mL/L also improved fruit weight by (22.2% in 2022 and 26.8% in 2023) over control and TSS by (15.5% in 2022 and 23.5 % in 2023) over the control. Biostimu-lants significantly increased yield per plant, CMS at 20 ml/L showing the highest yield per plant (24.2% in 2022, 31.5% in 2023), closely followed by algae extract (23.42% and 26.8% in 2022 and 2023, respectively). Highly recommend CMS at 20 ml/L as a biostimulant spray for grafted watermelon seedlings and crops. CMS improves production quality, increases yield, and enhances Brix and TSS of watermelons. | ||
| Keywords | ||
| Watermelon; Grafting; Biostimulants; Algae extracts; yield, quality | ||
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