الفهرس 
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Abstract
The present investigation was carried out in the Experimental Station of the Medicinal and Aromatic Plants, Fac. Agric., Mansoura Univ., during the two winter seasons of 2008 / 2009 and 2009 / 2010 to study the effect of foliar humic acid application and organic fertilizers as well as their interactions on the vegetative growth, fruits yield and essential oil productivity and chemical composition of fennel (Foeniculum Vulgare Mill.) plants. The current research was included 14 treatments which were arranged in split plot design with three replicates. The main plots was fertilization types included; N200P200K50 kg / fed recommended dose (RD), compost and cattle manure at rate of 10, 15 and 20 m3 / fed .While, the sub plots were devoted to the spraying without or with humic acid at the concentration of 1%. These treatments were sprayed two times (at 60 and 105 days after sowing).
The obtained results could be summarized as follow:
1. Foliar humic acid application at the concentration of 1%, two times (at 60 and 105 days after sowing) had a positive effect on the vegetative growth expressed as plant height, plant fresh and dry weight, number of days till flowering and harvesting and increased significantly number of umbels, fruits yield, weight of 1000 seed and essential oil (%) as well as N, P, K and carbohydrates content.
2. Compost application at 20 m3/ fed significantly increased all studies characters in the two seasons.
3. The best results were of plants which received N200P200K50 kg / fed (RD) followed by compost (20 m3/fed), when compared with other plants treated by fertilizers separately.
4. The combined treatment of NPK (RD) with foliar humic acid application was more effective on all studied characters followed by the medium compost (15 m3/fed) when compared with each individual or combination treatments with humic acid in both seasons.
5.The results showed that the essential oil percentage and yield increased with the NPK fertilization followed by the compost application at 20 m3/ fed, while the least was from the cattle manure at 10 m3/ fed in both seasons.
6. G.L.C. analysis identified 7 compounds represent from 92.73 to 99.05 % of the essential oil of fennel fruits, three are monoterpen hydrocarbons comprising between (2.26 to 13.75 %) and four oxygenated compounds comprising between (85.3 to 94.92 %) of fennel oil.
7. The main component (estragole) value showed sharp differences among the fertilization types with foliar humic acid application than the treatments without humic acid (65.72 to 91.46 %).
Finally, In the light of the significance of low cost inputs, the plant nutrients can be supplied through organic manures like compost and humic acid. The organic manures are capable of supplying nutrients from soil to plant system by their biological activity and maintenance of long term soil fertility and fostering soil biological activity. Therefore, It could be recommended that combination treatment of fennel plants was from fertilization of compost at 15 m3/ fed with foliar spray of humic acid at 10 cm /L can be used to give high fruits yield and essential oil of fennel plants with good quality from natural source of fertilizers established efficiency on safety manner for soil fertility and more economic as well as unpolluted environment, in oppositely influence by different chemical fertilizers and make it more acceptabel for export.