Impact of foliar spraying with potassium silicate and planting dates on the productivity and quality of canola plants (<i>Brassica napus<i> L.)

This experiment was conducted to evaluate the effect of planting dates and foliar spraying with different rates of potassium silicate on characteristics of canola production under Egyptian conditions. The experiment was conducted in the research farm at the Faculty of Agriculture, Al-Azhar University, Assiut, Egypt during the winter seasons 2020/2021 and 2021/2022. The experimental design used was the split plot design in three replicates, where the dates were set (October 10, October 20 and October 30) in the main plots while, spraying with different concentrations of potassium silicate (0, 200, 400 and 600 ppm) were in the sub- plots. The cultivar (Serw-6) was also cultivated. The results showed the superiority of the second planting date (October 20) and the highest values ​​were given for the characteristics of plant height (cm), number of branches per plant, number of pods per plant, 1000- seeds weight (g), seed yield/plant (g), biological yield (kg/feddan) (feddan= 4200 m²), seed yield (kg/feddan) and oil yield (kg/feddan), while the third planting date was given the highest of protein percentage and oil percentage. Also, spraying with potassium silicate at a concentration of 600 ppm was superior to others were given the highest values ​​for plant height (cm), number of branches per plant, number of pods per plant, 1000-seed weight (g), seed yield/plant (g), biological yield (kg/feddan), seed yield (kg/feddan), oil yield (kg/feddan), protein percentage and oil percentage. So, using foliar spraying with potassium silicate with planting at the appropriate dates could be improve seed yield and reducing the need for chemical fertilizers and this will lead to sustainable agriculture.