Articles
TIMING OF NITROGEN APPLICATION INFLUENCES TOMATO (LYCOPERSICON ESCULENTUM MILL.) SEEDLING NITROGEN CONTENT, GROWTH RATES AND BIOMASS PARTITIONING, AND FIELD FRUIT EARLINESS
Article number
533_14
Pages
127 – 134
Language
Abstract
Pretransplanting conditioning of seedlings may affect transplant stand establishment.
Transplants grown in greenhouse during late-winter and early-spring in Northern Regions develop with suboptimal photoperiod and light intensity conditions.
Nitrogen (N) management should be implemented according to seedling growth phase and light conditions.
A research was conducted to determine the relationship between N application and timing of N application on the seedling N content, growth rates and biomass partitioning of tomato seedlings and on the field fruit production. ‘Camone’ tomato seedlings were raised in 40-cell trays in greenhouse under two phases of N application (from 0 to 15th day, Phase 1, and from 16th to 31st day, Phase 2) with 2, 4, 8 and 15 mmol l-1 N, in factorial combination with Phase I and Phase 2 of the applications.
Although increasing N supply enhanced dry biomass, greater N applications affected more the shoot dry mass when supplied during Phase 1 than Phase 2, and more the root dry mass when supplied during Phase 2 than Phase 1. Total field production was not affected by greenhouse treatments.
However, fruit earliness was linearly enhanced by increased N supply during greenhouse transplant growth.
The reported research indicated that N fertilization should be limited during the first phase of transplant growth and increased during the second phase, to optimize N utilization by the seedlings.
The recommendation would produce seedlings with greater dry biomass, improving transplant stand establishment, without detriment field production.
In addition, increasing N supply during transplant production would enhance fruit earliness, regardless of N timing of application.
Transplants grown in greenhouse during late-winter and early-spring in Northern Regions develop with suboptimal photoperiod and light intensity conditions.
Nitrogen (N) management should be implemented according to seedling growth phase and light conditions.
A research was conducted to determine the relationship between N application and timing of N application on the seedling N content, growth rates and biomass partitioning of tomato seedlings and on the field fruit production. ‘Camone’ tomato seedlings were raised in 40-cell trays in greenhouse under two phases of N application (from 0 to 15th day, Phase 1, and from 16th to 31st day, Phase 2) with 2, 4, 8 and 15 mmol l-1 N, in factorial combination with Phase I and Phase 2 of the applications.
Although increasing N supply enhanced dry biomass, greater N applications affected more the shoot dry mass when supplied during Phase 1 than Phase 2, and more the root dry mass when supplied during Phase 2 than Phase 1. Total field production was not affected by greenhouse treatments.
However, fruit earliness was linearly enhanced by increased N supply during greenhouse transplant growth.
The reported research indicated that N fertilization should be limited during the first phase of transplant growth and increased during the second phase, to optimize N utilization by the seedlings.
The recommendation would produce seedlings with greater dry biomass, improving transplant stand establishment, without detriment field production.
In addition, increasing N supply during transplant production would enhance fruit earliness, regardless of N timing of application.
Authors
S. Nicola, L. Basoccu
Keywords
transplants, pre-plant conditioning, stand establishment, plant nitrogen content
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