effect of foliar nutrition on quality, quantity and of alternate bearing of

abstract pistachio ( pistacia vera l.) is an important crop in our country and has a unique position in export goods. in respect to better nut quality this research was conducted during 2005-2006. macro and micronutrients were used as foliar application to surmount soil limitations in nutrient uptake and alternate bearing control with “owhadi” cultivar in rcbd with 3 replications. the treatments were control( water), npk, fe, ca, mg, mn, zn, cu and mixture of all mention nutrients in three stage(15 day afb, kernel filling and one month before harvest). factors such as: dehisced nuts(%), blankness(%), number of fruit/stem cross section area, vegetative growth, leaf chlorophyll and nutrient content were determined. treatments affected dehisced nuts properties at significant level as the highest level of dehisced nuts was detected in ca treatment and the lowest one in control. there is not significant differences between treatments as blankness and chlorophyll content as concerned. fruit yield / stem cross section area in two successive year had significant diffrerences. in two years the highest yield was produced in npk and cu treatment respectively but the lowest yield produced in mixture nutrients. all treatment affected vegetative growth significantly as the highest growth take placed in cu treatment and the lowest growth was detected in mixture nutrients. leaf nutrients analysis showed significant difference as nitrogen, phosphorus and k content between control, npk and mixture nutrients treatment. all the nutrient were higher in npk and mixture treatment as compared to control. manganese content of the leaf was higher in mn and mixture treatments than control. in conclusion , foliar nutrition can affect growth, fruit quality and alternate bearing of the trees.