Effect of Hydrogel and Foliar Spray with Potassium and Calcium on the Yield, Fruit Physical and Chemical Properties of Wonderful Pomegranate.

This study was conducted at Orchard, which was located in the El-Bustan district, El-Behera Governorate, Egypt, in the 2019 and 2020 seasons. The main purpose of the work is to investigate the impact of applying hydrogel soil at three different rates (0.0, 50, and 100 g/tree) and five concentrations of potassium citrate and calcium chloride spray (0.0, 1.5 % potassium citrate, 3 % potassium citrate, 2 % calcium chloride and 3 % calcium chloride) on the yield and fruit quality (especially fruit cracking and sunburn damage) of Wonderfull pomegranate trees. The results revealed that the maximum number of fruits per tree, yield (kg/tree), and the minimum number of fruit cracking and sunburn damage were recorded in the trees that treated with the addition of hydrogel at 100 g/tree combined with calcium chloride foliar spray at 3%, while the best fruit physical and chemical properties were obtained with the addition of hydrogel at 100 g/tree combined with potassium citrate at 3%. It could be concluded that the application of hydrogel at 100g/tree combined with either CaCl₂ at 3% or Potassium citrate at 3% effectively reduced fruit cracking, and sunburn and improved the yield and fruit quality on "Wonderful" pomegranate.