Abstract: Olive is grown in semi-arid climatic conditions; however, little is known about mineral changes in olive plant and nutrient requirements during the production period. Hence, the current study was conducted under Pothwar agro-climatic conditions in order to select appropriate stage of macronutrients (N, P, K) application in relation to soil and leaf nutritional status during 2017 and 2018 growing seasons. Soil and leaf analysis were performed at four different phenological stages (i.e. flowering, fruit setting, fruit enlargement and fruit maturity stages). The results revealed that the assessed macronutrient in leaf and soil varied significantly among varieties, phenological stages and growing year. The results revealed also that nitrogen level was found to decrease from fruit set (1.56%) to fruit enlargement stage (1.47%). Leaf and soil N, P and K contents were found higher before the flowering (stage 1) and depleted after fruit harvesting (stage 4), regardless of olive varieties. However, high yielding varieties showed lower nutrients after fruit harvesting (stage 4). Therefore, N content in leaf and soil gradually decreased during fruit growth and development. Whereas, K content in leaf and soil sharply declined from fruit maturity to fruit ripening stage. Overall, the trend of nutrient depletion showed that plants need phosphorus for fruit setting, nitrogen before and after fruit setting, and potash after pit hardening or at oil accumulation stages.

Abstract Spinach is highly contaminated with different pesticide residues. This study was designed to evaluate organochlorine and pyrethroid pesticide residues present in various washing treatments (T0-T13) of fresh and chemically washed spinach with respect to maximum residues limits. Efficiency of washing solutions (citric acid, acetic acid, garlic extract and ginger extract) of different concentrations (w/v %) along with tap water in spinach was investigated for residues dissolution. Results showed that the highest reductions in endosulfan, deltamethrin and cypermethrin residues were 0.008 ± 0.008 mg.kg-1 (53%), 0.023 ± 0.024 mg.kg-1 (76%) and 0.017 ± 0.014 mgkg-1 (83%) in treatment of T5 (10% acetic acid) followed by 0.035 ± 0.029 mg.kg-1 (50%), 0.051 ± 0.029 mg.kg-1 (73%) and 0.037 ± 0.048 mg kg-1 (81%) in treatment T11 (10% ginger extract) while the lowest reductions in residues were 0.304 ± 0.004 mg.kg-1 (23%), 0.432 ± 0.030 mg.kg-1 (35%) and 0.468 ± 0.016 mg kg-1 (38%) in treatment T2 (5% citric acid), respectively. In conclusion, 10% acetic acid, ginger extract and mixture of acetic and citric acids can effectively minimize pesticide residues in treated spinach.