NITRATE SAP AND CHLOROPHYLL METERS AS NITROGEN MONITORING TOOLS FOR ARTICHOKE GROWN IN SAND CULTURE

Artichoke in Eastern Spain is often over-fertilized due to its high nitrogen (N) requirements, and this may result in groundwater pollution by nitrate.
N fertilisation can be made more efficient if the right crop N indicator is used.
In this work, petiole sap nitrate concentration and chlorophyll meter readings in recently mature leaves were tested as artichoke N indicators in plants grown in sand culture.
Two methods for quick sap nitrate analysis were assessed: a selective ion meter (Cardy Meter®) and a hand-held reflectometer (RQflex©). The chlorophyll leaf content was measured using a chlorophyll meter (CCM-200). Artichoke plants were grown under greenhouse in containers filled with sand and subjected to five N treatments ranging from deficient to excess N supply.
The treatments were applied in a completely randomised block design with four replicates and four plants per replicate.
The nitrate sap tests were more sensitive to changes in N application than the chlorophyll meter readings, so they are suggested as a suitable diagnostic tool, for assessing N status in artichoke.

VIII International Symposium on Protected Cultivation in Mild Winter Climates: Advances in Soil and Soilless Cultivation under Protected Environment

M.C. Rodrigo, D. López, N. Carazo, C. Ramos

Cynara cardunculus var. scolymus, petiole sap, plant nutrition, tissue analysis, plant nutrition, soilless culture, growth

https://doi.org/10.17660/ActaHortic.2007.747.67