Effect of Kinetin Spraying and Vermicompost on the Vegetative Growth Characteristics of Olive Seedlings (Olea europaea L.) cv. Ashrasi

In this study, we attempted to assess the effect of foliar spraying with kinetin and soil application of vermicompost extract on vegetative growth traits and biochemical constituents of two-year-old olive seedlings (Olea europaea L. cv. 'Arbosano'). During the 2026 agricultural season at the College of Agriculture, Tikrit University, (Ashrasi). The experiment was laid out as Randomized Complete Block Design (RCBD) with factorial arrangement of three concentrations of kinetin (0, 50 and 100 mg/L) and three levels of vermicompost extract (0, 5 and 10 mL/L) with three replications. Vegetative growth parameters, namely plant height, stem diameter, leaf and branch numbers, were measured together with biochemical parameters namely percentages of nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium, total carbohydrates and protein content. The results showed that both kinetin and vermicompost application increased significantly all studied traits as compared to the control. Most vegetative growth parameters and mineral contents were the highest at the third level of kinetin (A3). Vermicompost applied at the highest rates (B3 or B2) consistently produced the best results for all traits measured. The synergistic interaction of kinetin with vermicompost was observed for all the nutrients such as nitrogen, protein and carbohydrate with the combination of A2B3 (2.200%, 1.320% and 11.856% respectively) and A3B2 (0.943%) for phosphorus level. The results presented here support that combination of hormonal stimulation by foliar application of kinetin and organic soil enrichment by vermicompost is an effective and sustainable strategy to improve the growth, nutritional status and biochemical quality of the Ashrasi olive seedlings.