Response of yield, quality, water and nitrogen use efficiency of tomato to different levels of water and nitrogen under drip irrigation in Northwestern China

Abstract The objective of this study was to investigate the effects of applying different amounts of water and nitrogen on yield, fruit quality, water use efficiency (WUE), irrigation water use efficiency (IWUE) and nitrogen use efficiency (NUE) of drip-irrigated greenhouse tomatoes in northwestern China. The plants were irrigated every seven days at various proportions of 20-cm pan evaporation (E p ). The experiment consisted of three irrigation levels (I1, 50% E p ; I2, 75% E p ; and I3, 100% E p ) and three N application levels (N1, 150 kg N ha −1 ; N2, 250 kg N ha −1 ; and N3, 350 kg N ha −1 ). Tomato yield increased with the amount of applied irrigation water in I2 and then decreased in I3. WUE and IWUE were the highest in I1. WUE was 16.5% lower in I2 than that in I1, but yield was 26.6% higher in I2 than that in I1. Tomato yield, WUE, and IWUE were significantly higher in N2 than that in N1 and N3. NUE decreased with increasing N levels but NUE increased with increase the amount of water applied. Increasing both water and N levels increased the foliar net photosynthetic rate. I1 and I2 treatments significantly increased the contents of total soluble solids (TSS), vitamin C (VC), lycopene, soluble sugars (SS), and organic acids (OA) and the sugar:acid ratio in the fruit and decreased the nitrate content. TSS, VC, lycopene, and SS contents were the highest in N2. The harvest index (HI) was the highest in I2N2. I2N2 provided the optimal combination of tomato yield, fruit quality, and WUE. The irrigation and fertilisation regime of 75% E p and 250 kg N ha −1 was the best strategy of water and N management for the production of drip-irrigated greenhouse tomato.

[1]  S. Grattan,et al.  Tomato fruit yields and quality under water deficit and salinity. , 1991 .

[2]  Optimizing levels of water and nitrogen applied through drip irrigation for yield, quality, and water productivity of processing tomato (Lycopersicon esculentum Mill.) , 2014, Horticulture, Environment, and Biotechnology.

[3]  E. Simonne,et al.  Yield, Water-, and Nitrogen-use Efficiency in Field-grown, Grafted Tomatoes , 2013 .

[4]  Julio C. Sánchez,et al.  Rapid and sensitive anthrone-sulfuric acid assay in microplate format to quantify carbohydrate in biopharmaceutical products: method development and validation. , 2008, Biologicals : journal of the International Association of Biological Standardization.

[5]  H. Araya,et al.  Growth of Pelargonium sidoides DC. in response to water and nitrogen level , 2015 .

[6]  Ahmet Ertek,et al.  Yield and quality of sugar beet (Beta vulgaris L.) at different water and nitrogen levels under the climatic conditions of Kırsehir, Turkey , 2015 .

[7]  Xiao-Zong Song,et al.  Responses of Agronomic Benefit and Soil Quality to Better Management of Nitrogen Fertilizer Application in Greenhouse Vegetable Land , 2012 .

[8]  Salvatore L. Cosentino,et al.  Effects of soil water deficit on yield and quality of processing tomato under a Mediterranean climate , 2010 .

[9]  Yongping Wei,et al.  Simulating the fate of nitrogen and optimizing water and nitrogen management of greenhouse tomato in North China using the EU-Rotate_N model , 2013 .

[10]  Aiwang Duan,et al.  Drip Irrigation Scheduling for Tomato Grown in Solar Greenhouse Based on Pan Evaporation in North China Plain , 2013 .

[11]  Fengxin Wang,et al.  Effects of drip irrigation regimes on potato tuber yield and quality under plastic mulch in arid Northwestern China , 2011 .

[12]  P. S. Brahmanand,et al.  Fertigation studies and irrigation scheduling in drip irrigation system in tomato crop (Lycopersicon esculentum L.) , 2003 .

[13]  Fuyu Ma,et al.  Lateral spacing in drip-irrigated wheat: The effects on soil moisture, yield, and water use efficiency , 2015 .

[14]  M. Deveci,et al.  Yield and quality response of drip irrigated broccoli (Brassica oleracea L. var. italica) under different irrigation regimes, nitrogen applications and cultivation periods , 2010 .

[15]  D. Yavuz,et al.  Effects of irrigation interval and quantity on the yield and quality of confectionary pumpkin grown under field conditions , 2015 .

[16]  Chang-xing Zhao,et al.  Study of nitrate leaching and nitrogen fate under intensive vegetable production pattern in northern China. , 2009, Comptes rendus biologies.

[17]  A. Corzo,et al.  A fast and direct spectrophotometric method for the sequential determination of nitrate and nitrite at low concentrations in small volumes , 2014 .

[18]  Ahmet Ertek,et al.  Irrigation scheduling based on pan evaporation values for cucumber (Cucumis sativus L.) grown under field conditions , 2006 .

[19]  Jianhua Zhang,et al.  Assessing the response of yield and comprehensive fruit quality of tomato grown in greenhouse to deficit irrigation and nitrogen application strategies , 2015 .

[20]  Shaozhong Kang,et al.  Effects of limited irrigation on yield and water use efficiency of winter wheat in the Loess Plateau of China , 2002 .

[21]  T. A. Wheaton,et al.  Soil temperature, nitrogen concentration, and residence time affect nitrogen uptake efficiency in citrus. , 2002, Journal of environmental quality.

[22]  Daocai Chi,et al.  Yield and Quality Response of Cucumber to Irrigation and Nitrogen Fertilization Under Subsurface Drip Irrigation in Solar Greenhouse , 2011 .

[23]  S. Erşahin,et al.  MODELING NITROGEN UPTAKE AND POTENTIAL NITRATE LEACHING UNDER DIFFERENT IRRIGATION PROGRAMS IN NITROGEN-FERTILIZED TOMATO USING THE COMPUTER PROGRAM NLEAP , 2005, Environmental monitoring and assessment.

[24]  L. S. Pereira,et al.  Evapotranspiration information reporting: I. Factors governing measurement accuracy , 2011 .

[25]  G. Savage,et al.  INFLUENCE OF DIFFERENT TYPES OF FERTILISERS ON THE MAJOR ANTIOXIDANT COMPONENTS OF TOMATOES , 2006 .

[26]  C. Gary,et al.  WATER FLUXES AND GROWTH OF GREENHOUSE TOMATO FRUITS UNDER SUMMER CONDITIONS , 1999 .

[27]  Adel A. Kader,et al.  Flavor quality of fruits and vegetables , 2008 .

[28]  Shaozhong Kang,et al.  Quantitative response of greenhouse tomato yield and quality to water deficit at different growth stages , 2013 .

[29]  T. Darwish,et al.  Nitrogen and water use efficiency of fertigated processing potato , 2006 .

[30]  Christopher B. Field,et al.  photosynthesis--nitrogen relationship in wild plants , 1986 .

[31]  Stephen D. Miller,et al.  Assessment of drip and flood irrigation on water and fertilizer use efficiencies for sugarbeets , 2001 .

[32]  C. R. Jensen,et al.  Soil microbial response, water and nitrogen use by tomato under different irrigation regimes , 2010 .

[33]  Zhaoliang Zhu,et al.  Nitrogen Balance and Loss in a Greenhouse Vegetable System in Southeastern China , 2011 .

[34]  H. S. Thind,et al.  Fruit yield and water use efficiency of eggplant (Solanum melongema L.) as influenced by different quantities of nitrogen and water applied through drip and furrow irrigation , 2007 .

[35]  J. Hamzei,et al.  Deficit irrigation of rapeseed for water-saving: Effects on biomass accumulation, light interception and radiation use efficiency under different N rates , 2012 .