Effects of potassium and zinc fertilization on the yield and yield components of artichoke

This study was carried out to determine the effects of potassium (0, 60, 120 and 180 kg K2O ha-1; K2SO4; 50% K2O) and zinc (0 and 30 kg ZnSO4.7H2O ha-1; ZS; 22% Zn) applied on plant height, main head weight, numbers of head, concentrations of potassium and zinc in leaves and yield of early artichoke variety in Turkmen Village trial area of Agricultural Research Institute of Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus during 2018-2019 artichoke growing period. According to the results, plant height increased 6.64% (60 kg K2O ha-1 + 30 kg ZS ha-1; 90.8 cm) compared to the control (85.3 cm) and 19.9% (120 kg K2O ha-1 + 30 kg ZS ha-1; 90.8 cm). Although the main head weight of the plant and the number of head per plant increased depending on the applications, an increasing was determined compared to the control. While the potassium concentrations of leaves increased between 5% and 65% compared to the control (0.44%), zinc concentrations increased by 9% compared to the control with only ZS application. The highest yield (89.720 kg ha-1) was obtained by '180 kg K2O ha-1 + 30 kg ZS ha-1' treatment. With this application, the yield increased by 40.9% compared to the control. If the artichoke plant will be grown under similar soil and climatic conditions, '180 kg K2O ha-1 + 30 kg ZS ha-1 kg' may be recommended because it increased the properties examined.