Thesis (Ph.D.) - Cairo University - Institute of African Research and Studies - Department of Natural Resources

This study was performed at national resources department, institute of African researches and studies, Cairo university, Giza, Egypt. The field experiment was consummated at the nursery of horticulture research institute, ARC, Giza, Egypt, throughout two successive seasons (2012 / 2013 and 2013 / 2014). It was intended to improve vegetative growth, root parameters and chemical constituents of Artocarpus heterophyllus Lam at the early growth stages by studying the effect of treating such plant with different natural extracts (moringa oleifera, Lam., thymus vulgaris, L. and Majorana hortensis, moench) at the levels of 0,5 and 10 %, besides the combination of moringa + marjoram, moringa + thyme and marjoram + thyme extracts at 2.5%. All of them were applied as a foliar spray commencing from November 20th in both seasons on small plants (14 - 15 cm. height of 4 - 5 leaves) till June 20th of the next year at 15 days interval. The plants were grown in sand + peatmoss mixture (1:1, v / v) under the conditions of saran house of 65% shading. The results could be briefed as follows: The results emphasized that most plants which received the highest natural extract level (10%) were died after 6 times of spraying. So, corresponding data of such treatments were excluded. Meanwhile, using either moringa extract at 5% or the combination of marjoram + thyme extracts at 5% proved their mastery in improving plant morphological traits (vegetative growth height, No. of leaves / plant and stem diameter) of artocarpus heterophyllus, Lam. throughout the different intervals of recording data. In contrast the lowest records were concomitant to control plants in all measurements followed by that of plants which received thyme extract at 5%. The other treatments gave an intermediate effects in this respect

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