Effect of foliar treatments of seaweed on fruit quality and yield in almond cultivation

Objective: The aim of this study was to determine the effect of foliar seaweed treatments on almond cultivation in practice. 
Material and Method: The study material consisted of ‘Nonpareil’ and ’Texas' almond varieties grafted on GF-677 rootstock. 4000 ppm seaweed was applied in the form of foliar spraying on the 10th day after full blooming. 
Results: While the nut weights were high in the fruits of the control group in both varieties, the kernel weights were the same in the fruits of the control group and seaweed-treated group. Compared with the control, the nut weights of seaweed-treated almonds were low, while kernel weights were high. Therefore, the kernel ratio of seaweed-treated fruits was found to be 6% higher in the ‘Texas’ variety and 14% higher in the ‘Nonpareil’ variety compared to the control group. In addition, seaweed applications increased the yield per tree by 11.18% in the ‘Texas’ variety and 12.12% in the ‘Nonpareil’ variety because of increasing the fruit set in almond trees. 
Conclusion: According to the obtained results, it was concluded that 4000 ppm seaweed treatment applied in the form of foliar spraying on the 10th day after full blooming in almond cultivation can make positive contributions to almond cultivation.