Analytical and Techno-Economic Diagnosis of a Rosehip Plantation on Sandy Soil in Semi-Arid Zone of Tunisia

To study the effect of the sandy texture and the plantation density on rosehip production, the soil of a plot of1haarealocatedin a semi-arid region of Tunisia, previouslydivided into three zones with variable densities of shrubs, was sampled at three points in each unit, on 90 cm deep. During flowering period, samples of flowers and leaves were collected to determine the concentration of dry matter in N, P and K. The production was assessed by counting the flowers on each sampled shrub of the three densities. The results confirmed the sandy particle size of the soil and its contents of elements which are low for mineral N, modest for available P and sufficient for exchangeable K. Plants have removed still, higher quantities even of those taken by other species that have a better nutritional conditions. Flowers have accumulated more P and K but less N than the leaves. The soil available P was significantly related to flowers yield. The agro-economic study showed that the rosehip culture is profitable regardless of the planting density adopted on sandy soil, but the 500 plants per hectare was the most profitable. Indeed, it has provided the best performance with the highest gross and net margins and the most important economic efficiency. The rosehip culture is possible in all types of aeratedand not salted soils, even in the absence of significant humus reserves. It can be a source of income for many farmers having limited land space.