Interactive Effects of Elevated CO2 and N Fertilization on Yield and Quality of Tomato Grown Under Reduced Irrigation Regimes

Interactive Effects of Elevated CO2 and N Fertilization on Yield and Quality of Tomato Grown Under Reduced Irrigation Regimes

Blog Article

The interactive effects of CO2 elevation, N fertilization, and reduced irrigation regimes on fruit yield (FY) and quality in tomato (Solanum lycopersicum L.) were investigated in a split-root pot experiment.The plants were grown in two separate climate-controlled greenhouse cells at atmospheric [CO2] of 400 and 800 ppm, respectively.In each cell, the plants were fertilized at either 100 or 200 mg N kg-1 soil and were either irrigated to full water holding capacity [i.e.

, a volumetric soil water content of 18%; full irrigation (FI)], or using 70% water of FI to the whole pot [deficit WHOLE RYE irrigation (DI)] or alternately to only half of the pot [partial root-zone irrigation (PRI)].The yield and fruit quality attributes mainly from sugars (sucrose, fructose, and glucose) and organic acids (OAs; citric acid and malic acid) to various ionic (NH4+, K+, Mg2+, Ca2+, NO3-, SO42-, and PO43-) concentrations in fruit juice were determined.The results indicated that lower N supply reduced fruit number and yield, whereas it enhanced some of the quality attributes of fruit as indicated by greater firmness and higher concentrations of sugars and OAs.Elevated [CO2] (e[CO2]) attenuated the negative influence of reduced irrigation (DI and PRI) on FY.Principal component analysis revealed that the reduced irrigation Caps regimes, especially PRI, in combination with e[CO2] could synergistically improve the comprehensive quality of tomato fruits at high N supply.

These findings provide useful knowledge for sustaining tomato FY and quality in a future drier and CO2-enriched environment.