Estimate some metal nutrients in the orange trees of some farms in the western region

Abstract

There are many problems experienced by citrus trees in our country,
which negatively affected the quantity and quality of production. The
reason is due to several factors, including the low percentage of nutritious
mineral elements needed by the plant and the reason for the lack of
interest in these trees, including laboratory follow-up to know the rate of
these elements and supplying the plant with them when needed,
according to what laboratory analyses show. That is why we carried out
this analytical study that was carried out on number of citrus farms in
abiu Issa, surman, Sabratha, where samples were collected from orange
leaves to determine the percentage of some mineral elements in them,
through which we know the rates of these element and thus can
determine the extent to which these trees need these elements or not,
which in turn it is positively reflected on the trees and from it on the
quantity and quality of the fruits.
This analytical study revolves around determining the proportion of
sodium, potassium, copper, and zinc in the leaves of orange trees.
Hydrochloric acid solution has a concentration of 6% and complete the
volume up to the mark with distilled water, so the samples is ready for
analysis. These samples are analysed using flame spectroscopy and atomic absorption spectroscopy.
In general, and mostly when estimating the proportion of sodium and
copper, the samples often gave results at a low level, but it is within the
standard range of the approved standards. As for potassium, the
readings were low below the approved standard range, except for one of
the samples that showed a low normal rate. As for zinc, the readings for
all samples were very low and below the approved normal level.