Fertigation with macronutrients in apple 'Golden Delicious': Impact on yield and quality of fruit
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.21640/ns.v8i16.414Keywords:
Malus x domestica, fertigation, production, fruit qualityAbstract
Introduction: Water scarcity and high cost of agricultural inputs are problems that can be alleviated by the application of technologies that increase crop yields and improve the fruit quality. Plant nutrition is essential to reach both, high yields and good quality. Also, plant nutrition can improve the response of fruits to different storage technologies. The aim of the study was to evaluate the effect of macronutrient application by fertigation on apple crop yield and the quality of fruits at harvest and after a storage period in controlled atmosphere(CA).
Methodology: The study was conducted in the orchard “La Semilla”, a facility that belongs to the Faculty of Agrotechnological Sciences, Autonomous University of Chihuahua, Mexico during the 2014 production cycle. ‘Golden Delicious’ /MM111 trees planted in 1990 were used as experimental units and arranged in a factorial Taguchi L25 design, with five factors (the minerals evauated) and 5 levels (doses in kg ha-1) for each factor: Nitrogen (0, 60, 120, 180 and 240), phosphorus (0 , 24, 48, 72 and 96), potassium (0, 20, 40, 60 and 80), calcium (0, 48, 96, 144, 192) and magnesium (0, 10, 20, 30 and 40) and 5 replicates for each treatment. Quality attributes (color, firmness, total soluble solids-TSS, titratable acidity-TA and ratio TSS/AT) were determined at harvest (125 days after full bloom) and after a 5 months storage period in controlled atmosphere plus a 7 day period at room temperature to simulate shelf life. Results were analyzed by the method maximal response surfaces.
Results: Calcium, in a proportion 1:1 with nitrogen, was a relevant mineral to improve quality and this effect was more evident after the storage period in CA than at harvest. Nitrogen had a direct effect on firmness, TSS, TA and TSS/TA ratio at harvest and it has also and influence on color and TA in storage. Phosphorus had a greater effect on fruit firmness during storage than at harvest while potassium affected color at harvest and TA during storage. Magnesium had a moderate effect on TA at harvest and during the storage of apples.
Conclusion: The recommended dose for high yields, good quality of fruits and a good conservation capacity in CA of apples was 138N-45P-40K-110Ca-20Mg
Downloads
References
Botia M, Alcaraz-López C, Alcaraz CF, Riquelme F. 2002. Effect of the foliar application of sprays containing calcium, amino acid and titanium on capsicum (Capsicum annuum L. cv Olmo) fruit quality. Memorias del IX Simposio Ibérico sobre nutrición mineral de las plantas. Pp: 203-205.
Cadahia LC. 1998. Fertirrigación: Cultivos hortícolas y ornamentals. Editorial Mundi-Prensa. Madrid. 1998. 475 p.
Domínguez-Díaz ME. 2015. Producción de manzano bajo un sistema sustentable de fertilidad del suelo. Tesis de Maestría en Ciencias de la Productividad Frutícola. Facultad de Ciencias Agrotecnológicas. Universidad Autónoma de Chihuahua. 72 p.
Dris R. 2002. Crop Management and sustainable production. In: Plant Nutrition Growth and Diagnosis, Editors Dris R., Abdekaziz F.H., Jain S.M. p73-76.
Fallahi E. W., Colt W. M., Fallahi B. 2001. Optimum ranges of leaf nitrogen for yield, fruit quality, and photosynthesis in ‘BC-2 Fuji’ apple. Journal of the American Pomological Society. University Park. 55(2):68-76.
Flores Plascencia JB. 2007. Respuesta de la fertirrigación fosfatada sobre el estado nutricional del manzano ‘Golden Delicious’. Tesis de Maestría en Ciencias de la Productividad Frutícola. Facultad de Ciencias Agrotecnológicas. Universidad Autónoma de Chihuahua. 60 p.
Gispert F. J. R. 2000. La fertirrigacion en el cultivo del manzano. Revista Fruticultura Profesional. p83, 81-93.
Hernández R. A.P., J.M. Soto, J.X. Uvalle, R.M. Yáñez, E. Sánchez, L. Romero. 1999. Contenido nutricional foliar y calidad de frutos en manzano ‘Golden Delicious’ como resultado de las aplicaciones de calcio durante el desarrollo del fruto. Editorial Plácido Cuadros S.L. Granada, España. 182 p.
Mancera-López MM, Soto Parra JM, Sánchez E, Yáñez Muñoz RM, Montes Domínguez F, Balandrán Quintana RR. 2007. Caracterización mineral de manzana Red Delicious y Golden Delicious de dos países productores. Tecnociencia Chihuahua 1(2): 6-17.
Malaguti D., Rombola A. D., Quartieri M., Lucchi A., Inderst C., Marangoni B., and Tagliavini M. 2006. Effects of the Rate of Nutrients by Fertigation and Broadcast Application in ‘Gala’ and ‘Fuji’ Apple.Acta Horticulturae 721:165-172.
Papadopoulos I. 1995. Fertigation-chemigation in protected agriculture. Cahiers Options Mediterraneennes. Vol 31: pp. 275-291.
Phene CJ, Beale DW. 1985. High-frequency irrigation for water nutrient management in humid region. Soil Society of America Journal. 40: 430-436.
Sams CE. 1994. Management of postharvest disease resistance in horticultural crops. Hort Science 29 (7): 746-749.
SAS. 1989. SAS/STAT User´s guide. Version 6; SAS Institute. Cary, NC, USA: 1028-1056.
SIAP-SAGARPA. 2015. Cierre de la producción agrícola por cultivo 2013. SAGARPA. http://www.siap.gob.mx/agricultura-produccion-anual/ Fecha de consulta: Enero 29, 2016.
Sierra Moreno J, Soto Parra JM, Sánchez E, Yáñez Muñoz RM, Montes Domínguez F, García Bañuelos ML, Basurto Sotelo M, Pérez Leal R. 2010. Aplicación de macronutrientes mediante fertirrigación en manzano ‘Golden Delicious’: Producción y acabado de fruto. Editorial Plácido Cuadros. Granada, España. 89 p.
Tagliavini M., Scudellazi D., Marangoni B., Toselli M. 1996. Nitrogen fertilization management in orchards to reconcile productiviy and environmental aspects.Fert. Res. 43:93-102.
Vander Z., Beer. 1999. Fire Blight-its Nature, Prevention, and Control.USDA.
Vargas H. M., Zarate D. L. G. P., Burguete H., F. 1991. Factoriales fraccionados y superficie de respuesta, uso de paquetes estadísticos para microcomputadoras. Monografías y Manuales de Estadística y Cómputo. Vol.10 No. 1. p: 79-88.
Westwood M. N. 1993. Fruticultura de zonas templadas. Versión española de Luis Rallo Romero, Fernando Pérez Camacho, Juan M. Caballero Reig, Ricardo Fernández Escobar, Diego Barranco Navero. Ediciones Mundi-Prensa. Madrid, España.
Wilson LG, Boyette MD, Estes EA. 1999. Postharvest handling and cooling of fresh fruits, vegetables and flowers for a small farms. Hort Info. Leaf. No. 800-3. Postharvest Handling of Horticultural Crops. North Carolina Cooperative Extension Service. pp: 55-86.
Wojcik P. 2002. Yield and ‘Jonagold’ apple fruit quality as influenced by spring sprays with comercialrosatop material containing calcium and boron. Journal of Plant Nutrition. 25(5):999-1010.
Downloads
Published
How to Cite
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2015 Nova Scientia
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License.
Conditions for the freedom of publication: the journal, due to its scientific nature, must not have political or institutional undertones to groups that are foreign to the original objective of the same, or its mission, so that there is no censorship derived from the rigorous ruling process.
Due to this, the contents of the articles will be the responsibility of the authors, and once published, the considerations made to the same will be sent to the authors so that they resolve any possible controversies regarding their work.
The complete or partial reproduction of the work is authorized as long as the source is cited.
