Alternative Irrigation Method as an Effective Technique for Rationalization of Irrigation with Foliar Fertilizer on Henna (Lawsonia alba, Lam.) Plants

Full text

Egypt. J. Hort. Vol. 44, No. 2, pp.253- 269 (2017)
Corresponding author: Nahed Mostafa Rashed e-mail: rashed_nahed@du.edu.eg
DOI: 10.21608/EJOH.2018.1851.1023
©2017 National Information and Documentation Centre (NIDOC)
WATER SHORTAGE problem in Egypt is continuously increasing and it is prospected to
reach the threshold level of less than 500 m3/year/capita which so-called water scarcity
limit. Therefore, the present study was carried out to use alternative irrigation technique I1
(traditional irrigation like to practice by local farmers in the studied area), I2 (irrigation furrow
3 (irrigation furrow and left
furrow with an alternative shape during the growing season) on Lawsonia alba Lam plants
and were applied foliar sprayed by potassium, micronutrients and humic liquid fertilizer.
Despite, all growth was enhanced under I1, chemical characteristics of henna plants were
3. The lowest values of applied irrigation water (AW) and water
consumptive use (CU) were recorded under irrigation treatment I3 (3397.09 and 3410.32 m3/
fed) and (2001.95 and 2020.49 m3/fed) in the two seasons, respectively. Spraying plants with
micronutrients only and micronutrients combined with potassium and humic observed highly
growth characters, chemical criteria and the main component in most cases which increasing
the leaves yield /fed for about 35.16%, lawsone yield/plant 43.37% and tannins yield/plant
3) spraying
with micronutrients, potassium, and humic liquid fertilizer produced higher water productivity
(WP) and productivity of irrigation water (PIW) in comparison to other irrigation treatments for
both yields of leaves and lawsone. The decrease of AW in the treatment I3 saving about 25.47%
of water in the growing season.
Keywords: Alternative Irrigation Technique, Foliar application, Macro and Micro-nutrients,
Humic Fertilizer, Henna.
20
Alternative Irrigation Method as an Effective Technique for
Rationalization of Irrigation with Foliar Fertilizer on Henna
(Lawsonia alba Lam) Plant
Nahed M. Rashed* and E.A. Moursi**
* Vegetable and Ornamental Department, Faculty of Agriculture. Damietta University,
Damietta, Egypt. ** Water Requirements and Field Irrigation Department, Soils,
Water and Environment Research Instituteو Agricultural Research Center, Cairo,
Egypt.
Introduction
Irrigation is the main sector in water consumption
at the national level .Water allocated for irrigation
is about 85% from the total renewable water
resources. So, effective water management at
the irrigation sector is the major way towards
the rationalization policy for the country. In this
aspect, effective on farm irrigation management
becomes a must. In Egypt, irrigated agriculture is
the dominant type of farming. Moreover, the per
capita of water for different purposes is decreasing
gradually to less than the water poverty limit 1000
m3 per annum, (El-Quosy, 1998). To overcome
the water shortage, it is necessary to develop
water-saving agriculture countermeasures,
thereby producing more crops per drop. Shortage
irrigation and alternate partial root-zone irrigation
are water-saving irrigation strategies being widely
used in arid and semi-arid regions, (Jensen et al.,
2010). Alternate partial root zone irrigation is a
further development of increasing water saving;
it includes irrigating only part of the root zone,
leaving the other part to dry to a pre-determined
level before the  irrigation, (Kang and Zhang,
2004). By alternately wetting and drying part of

254
Egypt. J. Hort. Vol. 44, No. 2 (2017)
NAHED M. RASHED AND E.A. MOURSI
the root zone, Partial Rootzone Irrigation (PRI)
allows the induction of the abscisic acid (ABA)-
based chemical signaling from the drying roots to
regulate growth and water use of the shoots, that
way increasing water use , (Loveys et
al., 2000).
Henna (Lawsonia alba) belongs to the family
Lythraceae. It is a perennial shrub or small tree (2
to 6 m in height) native to North Africa, Australia
and Asia and it is naturalized and cultivated in the
tropical regions of Sudan, America, India, Egypt,
and parts of the Middle East, (Chauhan and Pillai,
2007 and Vasudevan and Laddha, 2003). Henna
is a medicinal and industrial plant which has been
considered as one of the natural dyes. The leaves
contain a red-orange color component known as
lawsone (2  1,4 napthoquinone), which
is also named as hennotannic acid. Lawsone is
the main constituent taking charge of the dying
properties of henna plants, (Kidanemariam et al.,
2013 and Semwal et al., 2014). Moisture and Soil
affect Lawsone levels of henna. Iron, dry, hot
bearing soils produce henna with high Lawsone
levels. Fertile moist soils produce henna with a
lower level of Lawsone, (Yogisha et al., 2002).
Henna is one of the medicinal plants which
tolerant to drought and can grow only if minimum
temperatures stay above 11 °C, (Kidanemariam
et al., 2013). Mechanisms of drought response
displayed by the henna plant were partially
different depending on the dose of irrigation.
Henna plants were able to tolerate water stress
in the moderate stress (50% of the control) by
adapting morphological mechanisms to counter
drought damage. However, plants seem to be more
sensitive to drought at (25% of the control) severe
 irrigation stress, (Enneb et al., 2015).
On the other side, lack of soil moisture led to
the reduction in nutrients distribution rate in the
soil to root absorption. According to researchers
report about drought effect on sodium, potassium
and phosphorus absorption, less access to nutrients
is the reason of nutrients absorption reduction
by plant root in soil. Uptake and nutrients
transmission mechanisms in crops such as mass
, diffusion, and osmosis are as a function of
the moisture amount in soil; in lack of humidity
case, intense and amount of nutrients uptake
would be changed. Zn and B may provide cereal
seedlings with tolerance to drought stress which
can be used for further studies for improving
drought tolerance in cereals. Therefore, it can
be concluded that soil application in early stage
combined with foliar application in late stage
(especially ) is a promising approach
to alleviate drought stress, (Karim and Rahman,
2015). Foliar fertilization method may be a good
substitute to the predictable soil application
to avoid the loss of fertilizers by leaching and
thereby minimizing the ground water pollution,
(Tomimori et al., 1995)
There isn’t enough information about
water requirements and consumptive use for
ornamental, medicinal and aromatic plants,
especially in the North Nile delta region.
Abovementioned reviews, according to
drought sensitivity , henna consider as a
moderately tolerant plant to drought, (Enneb
et al., 2015) and can be achieved overcome
drought in these areas. On the other side,
rationalization of irrigation water in agriculture
sector is becoming a must to save water and
reaches with the losses to the minimum level
by decreasing the irrigation area in comparison
with traditional irrigation method which
always practices by local farmers. For that, the
aim of this investigation was to study the effect
of alternative irrigation technique on henna
plant (Lawsonia alba Lam.) as well as, foliar
applications of micronutrients, potassium and
humic liquid fertilizer to mitigate the deficit-
irrigated on the growth, yield, its components,
water behavior and some water relations.
Materials and Methods
Site description

Research Station, Kafr El-Sheikh Governorate.
     
the two growing summer seasons of 2015 and
2016 to study the water behavior and some water
relations of henna (Lawsonia alba Lam) under
using alternative irrigation method as an effective
technique for rationalization of irrigation in
comparison with using traditional irrigation
method and the role of foliar fertilization to
alleviate drought stress and the response of the
growth, yield and its components.
Plant material and growing conditions
Hard wood cuttings (20 cm length with 7-8
nodes) from the local cultivar of Lawsonia alba
Lam (syn. L. inermis L) were used in this study.
The cuttings obtained from Assiut Agricultural
Research Station, ARC, Egypt. The cuttings were
taken at April 21st and 29th
growing seasons, respectively.

255
Egypt. J. Hort. Vol. 44, No. 2 (2017)
ALTERNATIVE IRRIGATION METHOD AS AN EFFECTIVE TECHNIQUE …
Some physical and chemical characteristics of the
studied site were shown in Tables (A and B):
The studied physical characteristics of the
site such as mechanical analysis were determined
according to the international pipette method
       
capacity (F.C) and permanent wilting point (PWP)
were determined according to Klute, 1986).
Available soil moisture (AW) was calculated as
      
permanent wilting point. The studied chemical
characteristics such as soil reaction (pH) values
were determined in 1:2.5 soil water suspension
(Jackson, 1973). Total soluble salts were measured
by electrical conductivity (EC) apparatus in
      
Soluble cations and anions (Ca++, Mg++, Na+,
K+, CO3
=, HCO3
-, Cl- and SO4
= as meq/L) were

But SO4
= was calculated by the difference between
soluble cations and anions.
TABLE A. The mean values of some physical characteristics of the studied site before cultivation.
Soil depth (cm.) Particle size distribution Texture
Class
F.C % PWP % Bd kg/m3 AW% Total
porosity%
sand % Silt% Clay %
0-15 15.70 31.00 53.30 Clay 44.61 26.56 1.04 18.05 60.75
15-30 22.40 33.10 44.50 Clay 40.20 21.44 1.09 18.76 58.87
30-45 20.70 40.30 39.00 Clay loam 38.70 20.60 1.11 18.10 58.11
45-60 22.90 40.90 36.20 Clay loam 36.30 19.83 1.16 16.47 56.23
Mean 20.43 36.33 43.25 Clay loam 39.95 22.11 1.10 17.85 58.49
3), AW=Soil available water (%) = (F.C – PWP)
Total porosity (%) =
100
density Real
densityBulk -density Real x
Real density in mineral soils = 2.65 Mg/m3
TABLE B. The mean values of some chemical characteristics of the studied site before cultivation.
Soil depth,
cm
EC dS/ m at
25oC
pH
1:2:5soil water
suspension
Cations meq/l Anions meq/l
Ca++ Mg++ Na+K+CO3
-- HCO3
-Cl-SO4
--
0-15 1.83 8.65 7.31 2.18 8.70 0.22 0.00 4.30 9.00 5.11
15-30 2.45 8.54 9.54 5.10 9.60 0.19 0.00 3.90 8.90 11.63
30-45 2.56 8.49 9.67 5.47 10.02 0.18 0.00 3.70 7.80 13.84
45-60 3.01 8.37 11.50 6.28 12.00 0.17 0.00 3.60 7.00 19.35
Mean 2.46 8.51 9.51 4.76 10.08 0.19 0.00 3.88 8.18 12.48
SO4
--was estimated by difference between soluble cations and anions.
Meteorological conditions
Meteorological conditions during the two
     
for Sakha area are presented in Table (C).
Applied irrigation methods
The plot (strip) area for irrigation treatment
was 180 m2 While the
plot area for foliar application treatment was 34.2
m2
design was split plot, with three replications. The
main plots were randomly assigned by irrigation
method (I), where I1 (traditional irrigation method
like to practice by local farmers in the studied
area), I2 (Irrigation furrow and left furrow with
    
and I3 (irrigation furrow and left furrow with
an alternative shape during the whole growing
season). The furrows width was 60 cm apart and
the distance between each cutting was about 30-
40 cm apart on one side. While the sub plots were
randomly assigned to foliar application treatments
Fig.1.

256
Egypt. J. Hort. Vol. 44, No. 2 (2017)
NAHED M. RASHED AND E.A. MOURSI
TABLE C. Means of some meteorological data at Kafr El-Sheikh (Sakha) area during the two growing seasons of
2015 and 2016.
Months
T (c°) RH(%) Wind
speed
m /sec at
2 m height
Pan
Evap.
(mm/
day)
Rain
mm
Max. Min. Mean Max. Min. Mean
2015
April 25.64 13.70 19.67 78.30 48.50 63.40 1.11 6.07 35.85
May 30.19 18.79 24.49 77.3 46.1 61.7 1.33 7.15 0.00
June 30.85 21.4 26.13 78.8 51.2 65.0 1.22 6.95 0.00
July 33.0 22.4 27.7 85.2 54.3 69.8 1.13 6.86 0.00
Aug 35.1 25.0 30.1 83.8 51.7 67.8 1.06 8.15 0.00
Sep 34.6 23.8 29.2 82.7 46.5 64.6 1.14 6.64 0.00
Oct 29.9 20.6 25.3 80.9 54.1 67.5 1.01 4.53 65.9
Nov 24.4 14.42 19.4 87.0 64.2 75.6 0.81 3.19 52.4
2016
April 30.03 18.62 24.33 81.6 41.8 61.7 1.01 5.94 0.00
May 30.4 22.8 26.6 71.0 45.8 58.4 1.12 6.47 0.00
June 33.6 26.3 29.95 75.7 46.6 61.15 1.31 8.07 0.00
July 33.7 26.1 29.90 82.7 56.8 69.75 1.22 7.84 0.00
Aug 33.6 26.0 29.8 84.3 56.3 70.3 1.07 7.74 0.00
Sep 32.6 24.3 28.45 83.1 51.8 67.45 1.10 5.91 0.00
Oct 29.8 21.7 25.75 82.4 55.3 68.85 1.07 3.57 0.00
Nov 24.9 17.9 21.4 77.9 56.8 67.35 0.65 1.98 0.00
• Source: Meteorological Station at Sakha 31-07’ N Latitude, 30-57’E Longitude with an. Elevation of about 6 metres above mean sea.

I1: (Traditional irrigation methods like to practice by local farmers in the studied area).

I3: (Irrigation furrow and left furrow with an alternative shape during the whole growing season) .
Foliar fertilizer application:
Plants were foliar sprayed with five

All treatments were spraying twice, one
at the early growth stage i.e. one month after
planting and the second application about 2
weeks later. The plants leaves were thoroughly
wetted until solution drops.
Measurements
Growth and yield characteristics
Harvesting process was performed after
      
branches were painted with brown colour. Then, the
leaves of every plant were individually separated
from the branches and air dried in shade at room
temperature (about 25°C) then, packed in paper bags
in September 28th and October 6th    
second growing seasons, respectively.

257
Egypt. J. Hort. Vol. 44, No. 2 (2017)
ALTERNATIVE IRRIGATION METHOD AS AN EFFECTIVE TECHNIQUE …
The following vegetative growth attributes
were carried out on the sample size of ten plants
chosen randomly from the inner rows in each plot:
Plant height (cm), number of main branches, plant
fresh and dry weights (g), leaves /stems ratio and
leaves yield /fed
Chemical constituents
Active substances:
Lawson and tannins are the main active
constituents in henna leaves. Lawsone
  
responsible for the colour development in leaves
of henna.
a. Lawson pigment content: was determined
in the air dried henna leaves according to
(Pratibha and Korwar., 1999). Lawson yield
in (g/ plant) was calculated by multiplying
leaves dry weight (g/plant) by its lawson
percentages.
b. Tannins content: was determined in the
powdered henna leaves according to the
     et al.,
1978) as described by (Babiker and El-Tinay,
1992). Tannins yield (g/plant) was calculated by
multiplying the dry weight of leaves in gram per
plant by its tannins percentage.
Total carbohydrates percentage
Total carbohydrates including polysaccharides
in dry leaves of each treatment were
colorimetrically determined by the method of
(Michel et al., 1956)
Protein percentage was estimated by
multiplying nitrogen percentage by 6.25.This was
based on the assumption that the protein contains
16% nitrogen, according to the method described
by (Ranganna, 1978).
TABLE (D): foliar fertilization treatments.
Fertilizer treatments Fertilizer component Application rate Fertilizer
source
F1: micronutrients liquid
fertilizer commercial called
(fulv E)
5% Fe, 2%Mn, 1%Zn, 0.2%B,1- 0.2%Cu and 0.1%
Mo on the base of fulvic acid.
5 cm3/L Spraying
solutions. All foliar
application
was
prepared in
Soil Fertility
and Plant
Nutrition
Department,
Sakha.
Agric. Res.
Station
F2: potassium liquid fertilizer
commercial called (fulv K) 36% K2O on the base of fulvic acid. 2.5 cm3/L Spraying
solutions.
F3: humic
liquid fertilizer
commercial called
(rich humic)
Humic acid solution 5 cm3/L Spraying
solutions.
F41+F2+F3F1+F2+F3 (5 : 2.5:5) by volume F1+F2+F3 (5 :2.5: 5)
by volume at 12.5cm3/L
F5: Control distilled water -------------- -------------
Elemental determination

the dried leaves sample (0.5 g). The wet digestion
procedure was performed according to (Jackson,
1973) to determine the following minerals.
a) Total nitrogen was determined by using the
semi-micro-kjeldahl method according to (Black
et al., 1982).
b) Phosphorus percentage was colorimetrically
determined following (Jackson, 1973). The
developed blue color was measured at the wave
length of 660 nm using spectrophotometer.
c) Potassium percentage was determined using
      
1973).
Irrigation measurements
Applied irrigation water (AW) (cm3 and m3/fed):
The amount of applied irrigation water was
calculated according to (Israelsen and Hansen,
1962) formula. q=0.226D2h1/2
Where:
 3
h= Average effective head and
D= Inside diameter of the pipe, cm.
The amount of applied irrigation water for
each plot (treatment) was calculated by using this
formula:
a = q * T
Where:
a= Water volume (m3/plot)
 
T= Total recorded time for each plot, minute
Water consumptive use (WCU) (cm3 and m3/fed)
The amount of water consumed in each irrigation

258
Egypt. J. Hort. Vol. 44, No. 2 (2017)
NAHED M. RASHED AND E.A. MOURSI
was obtained from the difference between soil
moisture content after and before the following
irrigation. Water consumptive use by the growing
plants was calculated based on soil moisture
depletion (SMD) according to Hansen et al.,
(1979).
∑
−
== =
=4200*Di*Dbi*
100
èè
SMDCU 12
Ni
1i
Where:
CU = Water consumptive use in the
effective root zone (60 cm).
θ2 = Gravimetric soil moisture percentage
after irrigation,
θ1 = Gravimetric soil moisture percentage

Dbi = Soil bulk density (Mg/m3) for depth,
Di = Soil layer depth (20 cm)
i = Number of soil layers (1-3)
4200 = Feddan area with m2
Consumptive use efciency (ECU %)
     
%) were calculated according to (Bos, 1980).

Where:
 
ETC = Total evapotranspiration ~ water
consumptive use
 
Water productivity (WP, kg/m3)

yield per cubic meter of water consumption. Water

amount of water used (Molden, 1997). Concept
of water productivity in agricultural production
systems is focused on producing more food with
the same water resources or producing the same
amount of food with less water resources. It was
calculated according to Ali et al. (2007).
WP = Y/ET
Where:
WP = Water productivity (kg/m3)
Y = Yield
ET = Total water consumption, m3/fed
Productivity of irrigation water (PIW, kg/m3)
Productivity of irrigation water (PIW) was
calculated according to Ali et al. (2007).
PIW=Y/AW
PIW = Productivity of irrigation water (kg/m3).
Y = Yield
AW = Applied irrigation water, m3
Statistical analysis
All data were statistically analyzed approved
to the technique of analysis of variance (ANOVA)
as published by Gomez and Gomez (1984).
Means of the treatments were compared by the
      
     
and Duncan (1969) using COSTAT computer
program.
Results and Discussion
Growth and yield characteristics
Irrigation effect:   
decrease in henna growth characters under
alternative irrigation technique I2 and I3 was
       
of plant height, number of branches, leaves /
stems ratio, fresh and dry weights/plant, leaves
yield/plant and leaves yield/fed were observed
in control I1 (traditional irrigation method) in
the two seasons followed by I3 treatment which
increased all growth characters as compared to
I2. Alternative irrigation technique I3 slightly
decreased leaves yield/plant for about 7.62
       
respectively. Reduction in plant growth characters
under water stress could be attributed greatly to
     
closure, decline in growth rate, photosynthesis,
leaf area reduction, leaf senescence and reduction
in cell development, (El Naim and Ahmed, 2010
and El Naim et al., 2010). Similarly, (Jabereldar et
al., 2017) found that water stress at the eight-leaf
stage of sorghum reduced panicle weight, panicle
length, number of grains per panicle, seed yield,
        
(Rodriguez et al., 2004) indicated that leaf growth
in the seedling stage is highly sensitive to these
stresses. However, water stress reduces the rate

rate. (Jami et al., 2015) were observed the too
negative impact on these attributes.
Foliar Fertilization
Data in Table 1 showed that all foliar
   
all growth criteria of henna plants under study
as compared with the control. The highest
increments in plant height, number of branches
and leaves /stems ratio were obtained as a result
of spraying henna plants with micronutrients

259
Egypt. J. Hort. Vol. 44, No. 2 (2017)
ALTERNATIVE IRRIGATION METHOD AS AN EFFECTIVE TECHNIQUE …
in the two seasons. While, spraying henna with
micronutrients combined with potassium and
      
fresh and dry weights, leaves yield/plant and
leaves yield /fed in the two seasons. Spraying
plants with micronutrients combined with
potassium and humic increased the leaves yield
/fed for about 35.16% and 32.86% in the two
seasons, respectively. These results are due to
foliar fertilization is functional to plant leaves
and leaves are green factories where the chemical
process is multipart of photosynthesis produces
the compounds for plant growth. These results
        
Asgharipour and Mosapour, 2016) who found
that foliar feeding of nutrients has become an
established procedure to increase yield and
improve the quality of crop products.
TABLE 1. Effect of irrigation methods and foliar fertilization on plant height, branches No /plant and leaves /
stems ratio of (Lawsonia alba Lam) during the two seasons 2015 and 2016.
Irrigation
treatments (I)
Foliar
application
treatments (F)
Plant height(cm) Branches No/plant Leaves /stems ratio
1st Season 2nd Season 1st Season 2nd Season 1st Season 2nd Season
I1
F1
F2
F3
F4
F5
203.33
193.33
181.00
190.00
182.33
176.67
173.33
146.33
176.67
164.67
3.00
4.00
3.00
3.00
2.33
5.33
4.00
3.00
4.00
3.00
87.62
89.03
68.71
81.52
64.10
104.41
82.15
81.94
88.01
81.15
I2
F1
F2
F3
F4
F5
170.00
143.33
165.00
150.00
150.67
130.00
118.33
160.00
123.33
125.00
3.00
2.00
2.00
3.00
2.00
3.67
3.00
3.00
3.00
3.00
61.47
46.45
59.21
78.68
55.25
56.71
73.88
45.66
87.89
52.95
I3
F1
F2
F3
F4
F5
186.67
180.00
186.00
175.00
151.67
167.67
143.33
134.33
138.33
128.00
4.00
3.00
2.00
3.00
3.00
3.67
5.00
4.00
3.33
3.00
98.61
86.24
62.84
41.92
68.64
91.20
47.16
86.05
43.66
55.67
LSD 0.05 22.88ns 12.74** 0.28** 0.743** 10.83** 11.15**
Irrigation mean
I1
I2
I3
190.00
175.87
155.80
167.40
142.33
131.33
3.07
2.40
3.00
3.87
3.13
3.80
78.20
60.21
71.65
87.53
63.42
64.75
LSD 0.05 13.20* 7.35** 0.162** 0.429** 6.25** 6.44**
Foliar
application
mean
F1
F2
F3
F4
F5
186.67
172.22
177.33
171.67
161.56
158.11
145.00
146.11
145.89
139.22
3.33
3.00
2.33
3.00
2.44
4.22
4.00
3.33
3.44
3.00
82.57
73.91
63.58
67.37
62.67
84.10
67.73
71.22
73.19
63.26
LSD 0.05 8.48** 5.71** 0.114** 0.161** 3.31** 5.30**
1 (traditional
irrigation method like to practice by local farmers in the studied area), I2 
the whole growing season) and I3 (irrigation furrow and left furrow with an alternative shape during the whole growing season). F1
(Micronutrient), F2 (Potassium), F3 (Humic), F4 (Micro +Pot +Hum) and F5 (Fresh water).

260
Egypt. J. Hort. Vol. 44, No. 2 (2017)
NAHED M. RASHED AND E.A. MOURSI
TABLE 2. Effect of irrigation methods and foliar fertilization on fresh and dry weight/plant (g),leaves yield/plant(g)
and leaves yield /fed (kg) of (Lawsonia alba Lam) during the two seasons 2015 and 2016.
Irrigation
treatments
(I)
Foliar
application
treatments
(F)
Fresh weight/plant
(g)
Dry weight/plant
(g)
Leaves yield/plant
(g)
Leaves yield /fed
(ton)
1st Season 2nd Season 1st Season 2nd Season 1st Season 2nd Season 1st Season 2nd Season
I1
F1
F2
F3
F4
F5
798.47
1348.67
1112.23
1262.05
1390.15
1089.72
749.61
762.11
1052.35
633.98
547.44
479.99
400.02
738.86
516.61
490.35
346.13
312.43
564.83
327.95
207.74
170.59
162.73
325.30
148.40
177.44
146.96
108.14
264.07
102.56
3531.52
2900.09
2522.86
5530.10
2766.47
3016.42
2498.26
1838.49
4489.13
1743.57
I2
F1
F2
F3
F4
F5
592.13
821.98
541.45
713.99
706.23
356.13
476.55
321.84
611.39
514.95
225.58
399.44
273.06
295.91
231.84
170.27
219.89
214.83
202.48
127.90
105.35
155.56
109.25
132.73
110.96
86.92
99.05
96.12
94.70
57.29
1790.89
2644.58
1886.32
2256.35
1857.19
1477.64
1683.96
1633.98
1609.90
974.04
I3
F1
F2
F3
F4
F5
1371.55
1223.77
972.66
1501.12
764.04
523.99
869.69
713.65
773.03
833.89
233.71
524.25
399.02
691.59
539.99
152.71
378.21
325.19
391.90
312.89
116.02
213.47
250.23
203.78
153.93
72.82
120.70
116.29
118.69
144.00
1972.28
3628.99
2616.92
3464.20
4253.91
1237.88
2051.96
1976.99
2017.79
2448.40
LSD 0.05 169.78** 84.39** 43.26** 37.86** 15.21** 16.78** 435.98** 160.14**
Irrigation
mean
I1
I2
I3
1182.31
675.16
1166.63
857.55
456.17
742.85
536.58
285.17
477.71
408.34
187.07
312.18
202.95
122.76
187.49
159.83
86.82
114.50
3450.21
2087.07
3187.26
2717.18
1475.91
1946.52
LSD 0.05 98.02** 48.72** 24.98** 21.86** 8.78** 9.68** 149.28** 164.73**
Foliar
application
mean
F1
F2
F3
F4
F5
920.72
1131.47
875.45
1159.06
953.47
656.61
698.62
599.20
812.26
660.94
335.58
467.89
357.37
575.45
429.48
271.11
314.74
284.15
386.41
256.24
143.03
179.87
174.07
220.60
137.76
112.39
122.24
106.85
159.15
101.29
2431.57
3057.88
2342.03
3750.22
2959.19
1910.65
2078.06
1816.49
2705.61
1721.87
LSD 0.05 85.07** 46.54** 16.52** 13.13** 8.40** 4.21** 142.94** 71.62**

I1 (traditional irrigation method like to practice by local farmers in the studied area), I2
during the whole growing season) and I3 (irrigation furrow and left furrow with an alternative shape during the whole growing season). F1
(Micronutrient), F2 (Potassium), F3 (Humic), F4 (Micro +Pot +Hum) and F5 (Fresh water).

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Egypt. J. Hort. Vol. 44, No. 2 (2017)
ALTERNATIVE IRRIGATION METHOD AS AN EFFECTIVE TECHNIQUE …
Interaction
The interaction influence between irrigation
methods and foliar fertilization was highly
effective on all growth henna characters for

season which did not significantly affected.
Spraying plants with micronutrients and
micronutrients combined with Potassium and
humic under all irrigation treatments observed
highly growth characters comparing with
the control in most cases in the two seasons.
Decreases in plant growth due to drought may
be referring to a disturbance in the nutrients,
resulting in the decreases in K, Ca, Mg, P and
N uptake, (Yuncai et al., 2008). Similar results
about the impact of foliar fertilizer with water
stress on fennel were reported, (Asgharipour
and Mosapour, 2016).
Chemical constituents
Irrigation effect
chemical characters of henna plants
significantly increased by using alternative
irrigation technique (Table 3 and 4). So that,
     
yield/plant (g), tannins %, tannins yield/(g)
plant, Protein and total carbohydrates % were
observed in I3 treatment which increasing all
chemical characters in most cases as compared
to I1. These results can be attributed to the
accumulation of soluble carbohydrates play an
important role in osmoregulation, turgidity and
stability of biomolecules and membranes. In
addition, soluble carbohydrates help to reduce
cell water potential and cell turgidity under
water deficit, (Farahat et al., 2007). These
results agreed with other reports on tarragon,
(Lotfi et al., 2014).
Foliar Fertilization
All foliar fertilization treatments significant
increased all chemical characters of henna
plants under study as compared with the
control Table (3 and 4). The highest increment
as a result of spraying henna plants was
micronutrients combined with potassium
and humic on N %, P %, lawson %, Lawson
yield/plant, tannins %, tannins yield/plant,
protein % and total carbohydrates % in the
two seasons. Spraying henna plants with
micronutrients combined with potassium and
humic increased tannins yield/plant for about
(32.74 and 35.64%) and lawson yield/plant by
about (43.37 and 38.01%) in the two seasons,
respectively. This may be due to when plants
suffer from a nutrient deficiency; the efficacy
of foliar fertilization is higher than that of soil
fertilization. The reasons for this are because
of the supply of the required nutrient directly
to the location of demand in the leaves and
its relatively quick absorption, independence
of root activity and soil water availability,
Romemheld and El-Fouly (1999). Mineral
elements have numerous functions in plants
including maintaining charge balance, electron
carriers, structural components, enzyme
activation, and providing osmotic for turgor
and growth (Waraich et al., 2011 and Salim et
al., 2014).
Interaction
The interaction effects between irrigation
methods and foliar fertilization were
significant on all chemical characters for the

season was not significant. Spraying plants
with micronutrients under I3 observed highly
P and lawson % in the two seasons while,
micronutrients combined with potassium and
humic under I3 recorded the highly significant
effect on lawson yield/plant, tannins yield/plant
and protein % in the two seasons. The highest
significant effect on N and tannins % showed
under spraying humic with I2. Plants spraying
with Potassium under I3 recorded the highly
significant effect on K and total carbohydrates
% in the two seasons. However, plants sprayed
with micronutrients under I1 contained the
highest total carbohydrates % in the first
season. These results attributed to application
of nutrients like potassium help maintaining
high tissue water potential under drought
condition and improve drought tolerance by
osmotic adjustment. The micronutrients like Cu
and B alleviate the adverse effects of drought
indirectly by activating the physiological,
biochemical and metabolic processes in the
plants, (Salim et al., 2014). Similarly, the
application of some micro- nutrients like
      
concentration and improves drought tolerance
in plants. In other mechanism, nutrients like P,
K, Mg, and Zn improve the root growth which
in turn increases the intake of water which
helps in stomatal regulation and enhances the
drought tolerance. Increasing evidence suggests
that mineral-nutrients status of plants plays a
critical role in increasing plant resistance to
environmental stress factors, (Waraich et al.,
2011).

262
Egypt. J. Hort. Vol. 44, No. 2 (2017)
NAHED M. RASHED AND E.A. MOURSI
TABLE 3 . Effect of irrigation treatments and foliar fertilizer on N%, P%, K% and Protein % of (Lawsonia alba
Lam) during the two seasons 2015 and 2016.
Irrigation
treatments
(I)
Foliar
application
treatments
(F)
N% P% K% Protein %
1st Season 2nd Season 1st Season 2nd Season 1st Season 2nd Season 1st Season 2nd Season
I1
F1
F2
F3
F4
F5
2.49
2.39
2.69
2.72
2.39
2.52
2.29
2.29
2.52
2.29
0.67
0.56
0.51
0.61
0.64
0.56
0.64
0.52
0.56
0.59
2.42
2.68
1.68
1.42
1.41
2.19
2.46
1.55
1.31
1.26
15.56
14.94
16.81
17.02
14.94
15.76
14.31
14.31
15.77
14.31
I2
F1
F2
F3
F4
F5
2.52
2.46
2.76
2.49
2.49
2.35
2.32
2.32
2.49
2.12
0.41
0.45
0.55
0.63
0.41
0.45
0.37
0.40
0.60
0.37
1.57
1.68
1.53
1.42
1.38
1.48
1.55
1.48
1.27
1.27
15.75
15.38
17.25
15.56
15.56
14.69
14.52
14.52
15.56
13.27
I3
F1
F2
F3
F4
F5
2.49
2.46
2.39
2.75
2.49
2.22
2.16
2.39
2.31
2.26
0.55
0.55
0.64
0.55
0.45
0.51
0.51
0.51
0.51
0.41
2.03
2.66
1.41
1.52
1.45
1.87
2.50
1.30
1.47
1.33
15.56
15.38
14.94
17.19
15.56
13.90
13.48
14.94
14.46
14.11
LSD 0.05 0.37ns 0.13* 0.02** 0.02** 0.04** 0.05** 2.30 ns 0.80*
Irrigation
mean
I1
I2
I3
2.54
2.54
2.51
2.38
2.32
2.27
0.60
0.49
0.55
0.56
0.45
0.51
192
1.52
1.81
1.76
1.41
1.69
15.88
15.88
15.69
14.89
14.52
14.18
LSD 0.05 0.21ns 0.07** 0.01** 0.01** 0.02** 0.03** 1.33ns 0.46**
Foliar
application
mean
F1
F2
F3
F4
F5
2.50
2.43
2.61
2.66
2.46
2.37
2.26
2.33
2.44
2.22
0.54
0.52
0.57
0.60
0.50
0.53
0.51
0.48
0.56
0.46
2.01
2.34
1.54
1.45
1.41
1.85
2.17
1.44
1.35
1.29
15.63
15.19
16.32
16.63
15.38
14.80
14.10
14.56
15.26
13.89
LSD 0.05 0.20ns 0.01** 0.01** 0.01** 0.02** 0.02** 1.26ns 0.42**

I1 (traditional irrigation method like to practice by local farmers in the studied area), I2
shape during the whole growing season) and I3 (irrigation furrow and left furrow with an alternative shape during the whole growing
season). F1 (Micronutrient), F2 (Potassium), F3 (Humic), F4 (Micro +Pot +Hum) and F5 (Fresh water).

263
Egypt. J. Hort. Vol. 44, No. 2 (2017)
ALTERNATIVE IRRIGATION METHOD AS AN EFFECTIVE TECHNIQUE …
TABLE 4. Effect of irrigation treatments and foliar fertilizer on Lawson %, Lawson yield/plant (g), Tannins %, Tannins
yield/plant (g) and Total carbohydrates % of (Lawsonia alba Lam) during the two seasons 2015 and 2016.
Irrigation
treatments
(I)
Foliar
application
treatments
(F)
Lawson% Lawson yield/
plant (g)
Tannins% Tannins yield/
plant(g)
Total
carbohydrates %
1st
Season
2nd
Season
1st
Season
2nd
Season
1st
Season
2nd
Season
1st
Season
2nd
Season
1st
Season
2nd
Season
I1
F1
F2
F3
F4
F5
2.23
1.87
2.07
2.09
1.74
2.01
1.75
1.87
1.94
1.59
61.69
54.13
52.23
115.36
61.46
47.96
43.73
34.32
86.96
35.05
3.41
3.24
2.90
3.41
3.35
2.91
2.74
2.39
2.91
2.85
490.21
549.92
470.97
963.03
689.74
499.24
400.26
289.16
649.65
257.76
31.56
33.25
33.22
32.51
32.56
30.65
31.72
26.63
30.15
27.16
I2
F1
F2
F3
F4
F5
1.75
1.74
1.64
1.86
1.92
1.54
1.65
1.60
1.78
1.78
32.47
46.01
31.00
41.86
34.33
26.24
27.75
26.14
28.65
14.99
2.93
3.38
3.47
3.12
2.86
2.43
2.88
2.97
2.62
2.36
312.90
485.33
384.65
448.59
308.28
211.01
259.62
285.19
272.72
135.48
31.04
30.67
30.83
32.41
31.52
28.31
28.46
29.60
29.18
29.88
I3
F1
F2
F3
F4
F5
1.92
2.06
1.85
2.01
1.66
1.81
1.75
1.66
1.82
1.61
81.52
74.77
48.49
69.75
32.67
19.89
35.85
32.88
36.72
44.40
3.31
2.96
3.17
3.22
3.01
2.81
2.46
2.67
2.72
2.51
837.66
727.38
445.96
660.23
395.59
211.92
350.70
278.73
325.21
409.95
34.12
31.82
32.39
32.37
29.21
27.97
27.27
28.45
31.54
28.77
LSD 0.05 0.04** 0.05** 6.36** 3.62** 0.02** 46.29** 49.48** 0.02** 0.96** 1.58**
Irrigation
mean
I1
I2
I3
1.99
1.78
1.90
1.83
1.67
1.73
68.97
37.13
61.44
49.60
24.75
33.95
3.26
3.15
3.14
2.76
2.65
2.64
632.77
387.95
613.36
419.21
232.80
315.30
32.62
31.29
31.98
29.26
29.09
28.80
LSD 0.05 0.02** 0.03** 2.38** 2.37** 0.01** 0.01** 28.57** 26.73** 0.56** 0.91**
Foliar
application
mean
F1
F2
F3
F4
F5
1.97
1.89
1.86
1.99
1.77
1.79
1.71
1.71
1.85
1.66
58.56
58.30
43.90
75.65
42.82
31.36
35.77
31.11
50.78
31.48
3.22
3.19
3.17
3.25
3.07
2.72
2.69
2.68
2.75
2.57
546.92
587.54
433.86
690.62
464.54
307.39
336.86
284.36
415.85
267.73
32.24
31.91
32.15
32.43
31.10
28.98
29.15
28.22
30.28
28.23
LSD 0.05 0.02** 0.02** 2.37** 1.62** 0.01** 0.01** 27.19** 11.67** 0.57** 0.68ns

I1 (traditional irrigation method like to practice by local farmers in the studied area), I2
shape during the whole growing season) and I3 (irrigation furrow and left furrow with an alternative shape during the whole growing
season). F1 (Micronutrient), F2 (Potassium), F3 (Humic), F4 (Micro +Pot +Hum) and F5 (Fresh water).

264
Egypt. J. Hort. Vol. 44, No. 2 (2017)
NAHED M. RASHED AND E.A. MOURSI
Effect of irrigation and foliar fertilizer treatments
on:
Seasonal amount of applied irrigation water
(AW) and amount of saving water (% & m3/fed.)
The seasonal values of AW were affected
by irrigation treatments, not by foliar fertilizer
treatments in the two seasons Table 5. The highest
AW were recorded under I1 in comparison with
other irrigation treatments I2 and I3 while, there
are high amounts of water saving under using
alternative irrigation technique in comparison
with using traditional irrigation method (irrigation
all furrows).The highest amount of water saving
was recorded under I3comparing with I2. Data of
AW for henna plant can be descended in order I1
> I2 > I3 in the two seasons. Increasing the AW
under irrigation treatment I1 in comparison with
alternative irrigation technique may be attributed
to increasing irrigated area with a low irrigated area
by irrigating the half of cultivated area and hence
increasing the time of irrigation. So, decreasing
AW. Also, data indicated that AW was increased
under irrigation treatment I2 in comparison with I3
TABLE 5. Effect of irrigation treatments on seasonal amount of water applied (m3/fed), water consumptive
use and amount of saving water (m3/fed and %) of Lawsonia alba Lam plant in the two seasons.
amount of
saving water
Amount
water
consumptive
use (m3/fed
Water
applied
(m3/fed)
amount of saving
water
water
consumptive
use (m3/fed)
Water
applied
(m3/fed)
criteria
Irrigation %m3/fed% m3/fed
2nd season1st season
--
2846.644610.37
--2774.54
4523.17
I1
24.281119.60
2142.533490.77
23.281052.892116.24
3470.28
I2
26.031200.052020.493410.3224.901126.082001.953397.09I3
I1 (traditional irrigation method like to practice by local farmers in the studied area), I2
shape during the whole growing season) and I3 (irrigation furrow and left furrow with an alternative shape during the whole growing
season).
which received the lowest values comparing with
I1 and I2
the same line with those reported by (Aiad, 2003
and Shabana, 2010). Also, increasing amount of
water saving under using alternative irrigation
technique comparing with traditional irrigation
could be attributed to decreasing amount of
applied water by decreasing irrigated area. Also,
increasing the amount of water losses under using
traditional irrigation by evaporation from the soil
surface. Therefore, low water saving comparing
with alternative irrigation technique which
receives low water amount, decreasing losses
by evaporation, decreasing applied water and
increasing amount of water saving. These results
are in a great harmony with those reported by
(Aiad, 2003) who demonstrated that alternative
furrow irrigation saved irrigation water by 25.6
and 31.8% with decreasing seed cotton yield by
15.17 and 4.0% for both seasons compared with
the irrigation of all furrows (traditional irrigation).
Also, these results are at the same time with those
found by (Shabana, 2010).
Water consumptive use (CU) m3/fed and
Consumptive use efciency (ECU%)
Water consumptive use and Consumptive use
      
capability of plants to utilize the soil moisture
stored in the effective root zone) were tabulated
in Table 6. The values of (CU and ECU) were
greatly affected by both irrigation and nutrients
foliar application treatments in the two seasons.
Concerning, the effect of irrigation treatments,
the highest values of (CU and ECU) were
recorded under I1 in the two seasons. Meanwhile,
the lowest values for water consumptive were
recorded under I3. Increasing the values of water
consumptive use under irrigation treatment I1 in
comparison with I2 and I3 led to increasing the
values of ECU and this could be attributed to
increasing the amount of applied water which may
be led to increase the irrigated area and hence,
increasing the losses of evaporation from the soil
surface and this considers one of the two main
components for water consumptive use. Also,
increasing the amount of applied water might be
led to increased availability of soil nutrients and
hence, increasing uptake rate of these nutrients by
plants for that, forming strong plants with a thick
   
increasing a number of losses by transpiration

265
Egypt. J. Hort. Vol. 44, No. 2 (2017)
ALTERNATIVE IRRIGATION METHOD AS AN EFFECTIVE TECHNIQUE …
from plant surface. Also, this considers one of
the two main components for water consumptive
use. Consequently, increasing evaporation and
transpiration which led to increasing the values of
water consumptive use because these components
are the components of CU. These results are in
a great harmony with those reported by (Hua
and Zhong., 2000) indicated that alternative
furrow irrigation didn’t decrease photosynthetic
rate by decreased evapotranspiration (water
 
same line with those reported by (Aiad, 2003).
El-Shahawy (2004) concluded that the seasonal
water consumptive use increased with irrigation
of all furrows under traditional land leveling.
Also, the lowest values for water consumptive
use were obtained by using alternative furrow
irrigation technique. Also, these results are in the
same harmony with those reported by Shabana
(2010). Regarding, the effect of nutrients foliar
application on the values of water consumptive
use and ECU data in the same table declared that
the values of CU and ECU were clearly affected
by nutrients foliar application. Plants spraying
     
combined with potassium liquid fertilizer and
humic liquid fertilizer (F4) under all irrigation
treatments recorded the highest values for CU and
ECU. It might be attributed to increasing canopy
area under the conditions of this treatment and

to sunlight. Therefore, increasing transpiration
from plant surface. So, increasing amount of
seasonal CU and ECU.
Water productivity (WP, kg/m3) and productivity
of irrigation water (PIW, kg/m3)
The Water productivity and productivity of
irrigation water were affected by irrigation and
foliar application treatments for both henna leaves
yield and Lawson yield Table 7. Concerning
irrigation treatments, the highest overall mean
values were recorded under irrigation treatments
I3 for the two yields. Increasing the overall mean
values for WP and PIW under the conditions of
irrigation treatments (I3) in comparison with other
irrigation treatments I2 and I1 could be attributed
to decreasing amount of both water applied and
consumptive use. These results are identically
with those reported by (Shabana, 2010) and
(Moursi et al., 2014). Regarding the impact of
foliar application, the highest overall mean values
 %) and water
3/fed of (Lawsonia alba Lam ) plant in the two seasons.
Irrigation
treatments (I)
Foliar
application
treatments (F)
 3/fed The overall mean value
through the two growing
seasons
1st season 2nd season 1st season 2nd season  3/fed
I1
F162.79 63.56 2840.18 2930.30 63.18 2885.24
F259.67 60.52 2699.17 2790.25 60.10 2744.71
F361.07 61.41 2762.32 2831.25 61.24 2796.79
F463.69 64.38 2880.72 2968.27 64.04 2924.50
F559.48 58.85 2690.33 2713.12 59.17 2701.73
Mean 61.34 61.74 2774.54 2846.64 61.55 2810.59
I2
F162.82 63.03 2180.17 2520.25 62.93 2190.21
F259.37 59.89 2060.38 2090.77 59.63 2075.58
F360.24 60.19 2090.37 2100.99 60.22 2095.68
F463.97 65.03 2220.08 2270.17 64.50 2245.13
F558.50 58.74 2030.22 2050.45 58.62 2040.34
Mean 60.98 61.38 2116.24 2142.53 61.18 2129.39
I3
F159.47 59.83 2020.37 2040.42 59.65 2030.40
F258.29 58.68 1980.17 2001.18 58.49 1990.68
F358.84 58.95 1998.79 2010.25 58.90 2004.52
F460.35 60.71 2050.17 2070.33 60.61 2060.25
F557.70 58.07 1960.23 1980.25 57.89 1970.24
Mean 58.93 59.25 2001.95 2020.49 59.11 2011.22
I1 (traditional irrigation method like to practice by local farmers in the studied area), I2
shape during the whole growing season) and I3 (irrigation furrow and left furrow with an alternative shape during the whole growing
season). F1 (Micronutrient), F2 (Potassium), F3 (Humic), F4 (Micro +Pot +Hum) and F5 (Fresh water)

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Egypt. J. Hort. Vol. 44, No. 2 (2017)
NAHED M. RASHED AND E.A. MOURSI
for WP and PIW for both leaves and lawson yield
were recorded under F4 in comparison with other
treatments. Generally, the overall mean values for
WP and PIW for both leaves and Lawson yield
can be descended in order F4>F2>F5>F1>F3 with
slight difference between F1 and F3.
Conclusion
For the  time, we can use innovative irrigation
practices like alternative irrigation technique
(irrigation furrow and left furrow with an
alternative shape) on henna grown under heavy
TABLE 7. Effect of irrigation and foliar application treatments on water productivity (WP, kg/m3) and productivity
of irrigation water (PIW, kg/m3) for leaves yield and Lawson yield of (Lawsonia alba Lam) plant during
the two seasons.
Irrigation
treatment
(I)
1st season 2nd season
WP PIW WP PIW
leaves Lawson leaves Lawson leaves Lawson leaves Lawson
I11.24 0.025 0.76 0.015 0.95 0.017 0.59 0.011
I20.99 0.018 0.60 0.011 0.69 0.012 0.42 0.007
I31.59 0.031 0.94 0.018 0.96 0.017 0.57 0.010
Foliar application
F11.04 0.018 0.64 0.011 0.80 0.013 0.50 0.008
F21.36 0.026 0.81 0.015 0.91 0.016 0.54 0.009
F31.03 0.019 0.62 0.012 0.79 0.013 0.47 0.008
F41.57 0.032 0.99 0.020 1.11 0.021 0.71 0.013
F51.32 0.026 0.78 0.015 0.77 0.014 0.45 0.008
F1 (Micronutrient), F2 (Potassium), F3 (Humic), F4 (Micro +Pot +Hum) and F5 (Fresh water).
clay soil and enhance water , Water
productivity (WP) and productivity of irrigation
water (PIW) and gaining an economic advantage
in rationalization of irrigation by saving
irrigation water for about 25.47% and this saving
compensates the yield reduction.
We can spray plants with micronutrients
combined with potassium and humic which
increasing the leaves yield /fed by 35.16%, lawson
yield/plant by 43.37% and tannins yield/plant by
35.64% and alleviate water stress.
Acknowledgements
The authors thankful Sakha Agricultural
Research Station, Kafr El-Sheikh ,Governorate
(ARC) for valuable assisting in all research
steps and Assiut Agricultural Research Station,
ARC, Egypt for providing us henna cutting. We
also grateful Prof. Ramadan, E. El-kanany, Soil
Fertility and Plant Nutrition Department, Sakha.
Agric. Res. Station for preparing foliar fertility.
Funding statements
This research was  supported by
Agriculture Research Center (ARC).
Conicts of interest
None declared.
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