Anatomical Responses of Red Cabbage (Brassica oleracea var. capitata L.) Leaves to Various Nano-Zinc Levels and Soil Mulching Techniques

The experiment was conducted at the Agricultural Research Station of the College of Agriculture / Tikrit University for the agricultural season 2023-2024. The aim was to study the effect of mulching with red, silver, black, and no mulch. The way of adding Nano zinc oxide (ground, foliar) at concentrations of (0, 50, 100) mg/L-1, and their effect on the anatomical characteristics of the red cabbage hybrid (HANNAR). The results showed that treatment with silver mulching and spraying with nano-zinc oxide at a concentration of 50 mg/L (SZ1) was superior in the number of stomata on the upper and lower surface of the leaf, compared to the lowest number of stomata in the treatment without mulching and without spraying (WZ0), and also superior to (SZ1) in the stomata area, as the longest stomata in the lower and upper surface of the leaf, compared to the lowest stomata length in the comparison treatment (WZ0).As for the thickness of the cuticle layer on the upper and lower sides of thsymbole leaf, no significant differences were recorded between treatment (SZ1) and treatment with black mulching and spraying with nano-zinc oxide at a concentration of 100 mg/L (BZ2), as it reached 6 micrometers for the upper surface and 5 micrometers for the lower surface compared to the comparison treatment (WZ0), while treatment (BZ2) recorded the highest average thickness of the epidermis for the upper and lower sides of the leaf, compared with Comparative treatment (WZ0). The treatment with black cover and spraying with a concentration of 50 mg L-1 (BZ1) excel in the highest thickness of the mesophyll tissue, reached 175 micrometers, while the lowest thickness of the mesophyll tissue reached 90 micrometers when treated with without mulching and adding nano-zinc oxide to the ground at a concentration of 50 mg/L (WZ3) and (WZ0).