Influence of Foliar Nano and Organic Fertilizers on Some Growth Traits and Nitrate Aggregation in Swiss Chard (Beta vulgaris var. cicla L.)

Background: Fertilization serves an essential function in improving crop growth during both the vegetative and reproductive phases. Contemporary trends have increasingly focused on the utilization of nano and organic fertilizers as a substitute for conventional fertilizers. Methods: The current study was implemented at the experimentation field located in the University of Kufa during the growing season 2022-2023 to assess the effect of foliar applications with nano-fertilizer and organic fertilization on certain growth traits and nitrate accumulation in Swiss chard plants. A factorial experiment with three replicates following a completely randomized block design was carried out, where the first factor included three doses of the nano-fertilizer (0, 2, 4) ml.L-1 while the second factor included three doses of organic fertilizer (0, 10, 20) g.L-1. Result: Our results showed that foliar application of nano-fertilizer, organic fertilization and the interaction between them significantly affected growth and chemical characteristics. The highest averages were observed from the interaction between the nano-fertilizer at (4 ml.L-1) and the organic fertilizer at (20 g.L-1) regarding plant height, number of leaves, fresh and dry weights of the sheet, total chlorophyll in the leaves and vitamin C in the leaves, while a decrease in the nitrate content of the leaves. In contrast, the control treatment exhibited the lowest values for the most characteristics.