Effect of Ammonium Sulphate Incorporated with Calcium Nitrate Fertilizers on Nutritional Status, Fruit Set and Yield of Pomegranate Trees cv. Wonderful
Round 1
Reviewer 1 Report
Dear authors, in the attached file you will find my suggestions that I hope will help you to improve your manuscript.
In general the manuscript is well written, maybe a little too long in the section regarding the results description, that could be summarized. In my opionion, the statistical analysis chosen is appropriate, although it could be expanded through an investigation of the interaction effect between vintage and fertilization. The setting of the work is simple but still useful because on these tree species the information on cultivation techniques in the bibliography are still limited.
Comments for author File: 
Comments.pdf
Author Response
We thank you for your great efforts and valuable comments.
Author Response File: 
Author Response.docx
Reviewer 2 Report
Dear Authors,
The manuscript entitled “Effect of Ammonium Sulphate Incorporated with Calcium Nitrate Fertilizers on Nutritional Status, Fruit Set and Yield of Wonderful Pomegranate Trees”
Authors: Naji Mordi Naji Al-Dosary * , Mahmoud Abdel-Sattar , Abdulwahed M. Aboukarima
- Overview and general recommendation:
The paper investigates the effects of ammonium sulphate incorporated with calcium nitrate fertilizers on nutritional status, fruit set and yield of "Wonderful" pomegranate trees. For this purpose, the five nutrient solutions were used with the same total nitrogen level (200 units/ha), but
with different ammonium sulphate and calcium nitrate ratios (100:0, 90:10, 80:20, 70:30, and 60:40). The main conclusion is that ammonium sulphate and calcium nitrate at a ratio of 70:30 is the most suitable, as it improved yield and enhance chlorophyll content and increased dry matter accumulation. Also, the results revealed that a 60:40 ratio is the most suitable ratio, as it improved the accumulation of nutrient elements. This knowledge can provide valuable information about the effects of partial replacement of nitrogen fertilizer from (NH₄)₂SO₄ with nitrogen fertilizer from Ca(NO3)2 on the growth characteristics of "Wonderful" pomegranate trees.
The manuscript's subject is very interesting, and the topic addressed is of great interest for the potential readers of the journal and fits within its scope. The manuscript is prepared professionally. It includes a well-written abstract and an exhaustive introduction that justifies the research undertaken. The introduction points to the deficiencies in the literature on the subject. The aim is clearly defined. The methods are standard but well described. The discussion of the results is well prepared, with comprehensive discussion. The conclusions are well-defined. The illustrative material is appropriate. In my opinion, the manuscript is suitable for publication in this journal.
Below I give my concerns, that need revision.
Materials and Methods section
-In my opinion, the sources should be added to tables 1, 2. Is it own research?
-In what units is the soil pH expressed (table 1)? It's not that order of magnitude, is it? pH - 24.8? Most soils have pH values between 3.5 and 10.
Results and Discussion
-The chapter on climatic conditions requires a comment. How do the data from 2019 relate to 2020? are these the standard conditions for this region?-I propose to write ppm in mg / kg in table 5
-In my opinion, the legibility of drawing descriptions should be increased (fig. 4 - fig.15)
References
-It is not acceptable to find format differences among references (journal names appear sometimes abbreviated, author names appear sometimes in capital letters; DOI etc). Revise them.
-In my opinion the manuscript is too long - it is 51 pages long. It should be shortened to be more informative and the text more concise. As many as 127 literature items were used, which is also unusual. You might have to give up the less important, for the substantive value of the work.
Author Response
We thank you for your great efforts and valuable comments.
Author Response File: Author Response.docx
