Impact of Organic Manure Combinations on Performance and Rot Infection of Stressed-Jerusalem Artichoke Plants

This investigation was carried out for two summer seasons of 2016/2017 and 2017/2018 to investigate the influence of three types of organic manures; farmyard (FYM), poultry (PLM) and pigeon manures (PGM) and their combinations on southern blight disease incidence (caused by Sclerotium rolfsii), some vegetative growth characters, chemical constituents, yield and its components of Jerusalem artichoke (Helianthus tuberosus L.) plants grown under saline and calcareous soils. The results indicated that T8 (75% PGM + 25% FYM) treatment recorded the highest values for plant height, number of lateral shoots, number of leaves, leaf fresh and dry weights, stem fresh dry weights and leaf area plant-1 in 2016/2017 growth season. However, T2 (100% PLM) treatment showed the highest values for the previous characters except the number of leaves and leaf area plant-1. Superior values were obtained by T4 (75% FYM + 25% PLM) followed by T3 (100% PGM) treatments regarding relative chlorophyll content in both seasons. Treatments T9 (75% PGM+25% PLM) for cadmium and T7 (75% PGM+25% PLM) for nickel showed the lowest values of tuber Jerusalem artichoke in both seasons, in addition T3 (100% PGM) and T4 (75% FYM + 25% PLM) treatments for lead content in 2016/2017 and 2017/2018, respectively. The treatment T2 had the highest significant reduction of the disease incidence (DI) percentage. While, the best treatment conferred highest leaf contents of NPK, as well as tuber fresh and dry weights, dry matter, and total yield and lowest tuber content of nickel were T7 (75% PLM + 25% PGM) and tuber cadmium content was T9 (75% PGM + 25% PLM). The same treatment T7 had the highest significant reduction rate of DI and area under disease progress curves (AUDPC).