The first spraying was carried out 4 weeks after the plantation.
The foliar fertilizer was applied using a hand-operated
knapsack sprayer. The plots were sprayed during late afternoon
or evening hours when the wind speed was less than
10 km h1, and the air temperature was lower than 25 C.
For preparation of the spraying solutions, good quality tap
water (EC: 0.25 mmhos cm1, pH: 7.14) was used; the control
plants were sprayed with tap water (0 mg Mn or Zn l1);
approximately 600 l of spray solution was applied per hectare;
a second spraying was carried out 4 weeks after the first application
using the above mentioned spraying method