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Sudan Journal of Agricultural Research

1Performance of foster grapefruit (Citrus paradisi Macf.) grown on two types of soil in central Sudan

Elhassan, A.A., Eltilib, A.M., and Elmahi, Y.E

Abstract

The performance of two Foster grapefruit orchards (Citrus paradisi Macf.) orchards in central Sudan, represented by Elfaki Hashim area ,15° 50´ N,- 32° 32´ E, about 44 km north of Khartoum on the eastern bank of the Nile, was evaluated for two successive seasons. One of the orchards was close to the Nile (normal site) while the other was 3 km away from the Nile in the eastern direction (marginal site). The study included soil collection and analysis for one season, plant analysis and yield records beside quality evaluation for two successive seasons. Results showed that, soil of the orchard close to the Nile was sandy loam, non saline and nonsodic as reflected by better availability and uptake of plant nutrients i.e. of optimum growth conditions indicated by the relatively high yield and best fruit characteristics. On the other hand, soil of the orchard at a distance from the Nile had a high clay contents, saline sodic as reflected by the imbalanced availability and erratic uptake of plant nutrients i.e. of adverse physical and chemical growth conditions indicated by low yield and poor fruit quality. Therefore, soil condition is one of the causes of the low yield and poor quality of grapefruit in terms of green color and fruit firmness on marginal lands. So, investigations on application of organic and inorganic fertilizers containing macro- and micronutrients is needed to improve the soil physical and chemical conditions of Foster grapefruit cultivated on marginal areas.

Sudan Journal of Agricultural Research Vol. 15(2010) PP. 27-36