Yamen Al-Hasan1*, Abdulla Alissa1 and Mahmoud Al-Hamdan2
1 Department of Soil and Land Reclamation, Faculty of Agricultural Engineering, Homs University, Homs, Syria.
2 Homs Research Centre, General Commission for Scientific Agricultural Research, Homs, Syria.
(*Corresponding author: Eng. Yamen Al-Hassan, Email: yamenalhasan71@gmail.com)
Received: 12/ 1/ 2026 Accepted: 4/ 3/ 2026
Abstract:
The study aimed to evaluate the effect of individual and combined application of micronutrient fertilizers (zinc, iron, and molybdenum) on selected productivity indicators of chickpea (Cicer arietinum L.) under field conditions. The experiment was conducted at the Agricultural Scientific Research Center in Homs Governorate, Syria, during the 2024 growing season. The experiment was laid out in a randomized complete block design (RCBD) with eight treatments and three replications. The treatments included: control (no addition), individual application of zinc sulfate (5 kg ha⁻¹), chelated iron (5 kg ha⁻¹), ammonium molybdate (200 ml ha⁻¹), and combined applications of zinc + iron (2.5 + 2.5 kg ha⁻¹), zinc + molybdenum (2.5 kg ha⁻¹ + 100 ml ha⁻¹), iron + molybdenum (2.5 kg ha⁻¹ + 100 ml ha⁻¹), and a triple combination of zinc + iron + molybdenum (1.66 kg ha⁻¹ + 1.66 kg ha⁻¹ + 66.6 ml ha⁻¹). The results revealed a significant improvement (P ≤ 0.05) in all measured indicators across the different treatments. The combined application of zinc and iron significantly outperformed the other treatments, recording the highest values for plant height (55 cm), number of pods per plant (86 pods/plant), number of seeds per plant (94 seeds/plant), and seed weight per plant (54 g/plant). This positive effect was reflected in total productivity, which reached its maximum (481 kg donum⁻¹) under the same treatment. Moreover, the combined treatment of zinc and molybdenum recorded the highest number of root nodules per plant (33 nodules/plant). The study concludes that adopting a balanced fertilization strategy, particularly the combination of Zinc and Iron, is the most effective approach for enhancing the overall productivity of chickpea.
Keywords: Chickpea, Balanced Fertilization, Zinc, Iron, Molybdenum, Production Indicators.
Full paper in Arabic: PDF