Effect of NPK and Organic Fertilizers on Increasing Medicinally Active Components and Limiting Heavy Metal Uptake in Pomegranate Trees

The experiment was conducted in the pomegranate orchard of college of agriculture/university of Baghdad on the first of April 2014 to study the effects of sewage sludge, sheep and poultry remnants and NPK on pomegranate fruit vitamin C levels, anthocyanin and nitrate as well as leaf heavy metal content, also the effect of animal remnants indecreasing heavy metal uptake from sewage sludge. A simple experiment was designed (RCBD) Randomized complete block design which included sapling fertilization withthree organic fertilizers, Sewage sludge, Poultry and Sheep remnants using 8 kg. sapling - 1 for every fertilizer type, a chemical fertilizer NPK (50-50-100) g.sapling-1 was also used and the interaction between 50% chemical fertilizer and previously mentioned Organic fertilizers, as well as the interaction effect between Sewage fertilizer and both sheep and poultry remnants were included in this experiment. Main results revealed that experimental factors increased vitamin C levels, anthocyanin and decreased nitrate levels in fruits except NPK fertilizer which increased nitrate levels. Fertilization using sewage sludge ended up increasing heavy metal levels in leaves, as for sheep and poultry remnants both alone or in interaction with sewage sludge decreased heavy metal leaf content.

Keywords:

Anthocyanin , V.C. , Nitrate , Heavy Metal , Sewage Sludge , Animal Remnants , Pomogranate