Response of Phaseolus vulgaris L plant to applying potassium fulvate and different manganese sources either to the soil or to the leaves

Increasing the yield of kidney bean plants is a challenge to humankind dependent on many management practices e.g., fertilizing. Despite the efforts of workers in the plant nutrition field to find ways to maximize the productivity of strategic crops such as Phaseolus vulgaris L, only a few publications focus on the effect of potassium fulvate combined with manganese on the plant. So, a pot trial was executed during the growing season of 2022 at the Farm of Agric. Fac., Mansoura Univ., Egypt, (31°03′00″N 31°22′59″E) to evaluate the response of Phaseolus vulgaris L plant to applying potassium fulvate and different manganese sources via different application methods. There are two factors under this experimentation; the main factor was the application methods (M1: Foliar application and M2: Soil addition).While the sub main factor was the added substances either solely or in combinations i.e., T1: Control (without added substances),T2: Potassium fulvate at rate of 0.12 g L-1 , T3: Potassium fulvate at rate of 0.15 g L-1 , T4: Manganese at rate of 0.50 g L-1 using MnSO4.4H2O, (24%Mn),T5: Manganese at rate of 1.153 g L-1 using Mn -EDTA (12%Mn),T6: As a combined treatment (T2 + T4), T7: As a combined treatment (T2 + T5), T8: As a combined treatment (T3 + T4) and T9: As a combined treatment (T3 + T5).The results showed that the kidney bean plant fertilized with the studied substances via the foliar application method had growth criteria e.g., plant height (cm), foliage fresh and dry weights (g plant-1), chlorophyll (SPAD) as well as physical and qualitative traits of pods e.g., No. of pods plant-1, pods length (cm) and diameter (cm), pods yield (ton h-1), N, P, K (%), Mn (mgkg-1), protein, carbohydrates and fiber values greater than those of the corresponding plants fertilized with the studied substances as soil addition. Concerning the studied substances, the superior treatment was T9 treatment followed by T8 then T7 , T6, T3 , T2, T5 , T4, respectively and lately T1 treatment (without added substances).