Effects of Nitrogen and Zinc on quantitative and qualitative of sweet lime (Citrus limmetta Tan.) fruits grafted onto Mexican lime rootstock in calcareous soil condition

Document Type : Original Article

Authors

1 Ph.D. Student at Department of Agricultural Management, College of Agriculture and food industry, Agronomy and Horticulture Science, Science and Research Branch, Islamic Azad University, Tehran, Iran.

2 Associate Professor of Horticulture, Jahrom Branch, Islamic Azad University, Jahrom, Iran.

3 Department of Agricultural Management, College of Agriculture and food industry, Agronomy and Horticulture Science, Science and Research Branch, Islamic Azad University, Tehran, Iran.

Abstract

Introduction: Balanced fertilization of organic matters and macro- and micro-nutrients is the most important effective factors on the fruit quality and the yield of the citrus trees (Hao et al., 2007). A very large area of land under cultivation in the south of the Iran is calcareous, and as a result, the absorption of elements such as Zinc, phosphorus, iron, etc. in these soils is done slowly, which is one of the agricultural problems of these areas (Aboutalebi and Hassanzadeh, 2007). In the subtropical regions, flowering in citrus occurs after the infancy period and exposure to low temperatures and short days of winter (Nebauer et al., 2006). This study was conducted with the aim of investigating the effect of Nitrogen and Zinc on increasing the fruit quantity and quality of the 6-old-years sweet lime budded on Mexican lime rootstock.
Material and methods: This investigation was performed as factorial arrangement in randomized complete block design with nine treatments and three replications and one 6-years-old sweet lime tree budded on the Mexican lime rootstock in each replication in two separate parts of the big research orchard of Islamic Azad University of Jahrom branch. The experiment factors included the foliar application of Urea at three concentrations of 0, 3 and 5gL-1 and the foliar application of Zinc sulfate at three concentrations of 0, 3 and 5gL-1. The foliar application of Urea and Zinc sulfate was performed before flower induction of the trees, in October. After spraying, in the time of the fruit harvesting, the parameters including fruit juice pH, TSS, vitamin C, average fruit weight, texture firmness, single tree yield and fruit ripening were measured.
Results and discussion: Based on the results, in the present study due to foliar application of Urea and Zinc sulfate particularly combined treatments, all traits significantly influenced compared to control treatment. Totally, the treatments without Urea were in the lowest levels in viewpoint of quantitative and qualitative characteristics of the fruit. The use of 3 gL-1 Urea without Zinc sulfate as well as combined treatment of 3gL-1 Urea and 5gL-1 Zinc sulfate caused to improve qualitative characteristics of the fruit such as pH, TSS, fruit juice, vitamin C, and reduction of fruit peel thickness. The use of 5gL-1 Zinc sulfate without Urea led to increase the peel thickness and fruit firmness. Combined treatment of 5 gL-1 Urea and 5gL-1 Zinc sulfate increased average fruit weight (131 to 189g) and plant yield (175 to 243kg) compared to the control.
Conclusions: In the present study, the foliar application of Urea and Zinc sulfate, particularly in the combined treatment, significantly affects all parameters compared to control treatment. On this basis, it can be recommended the foliar application of 5gL-1 Urea + 3gL-1 Zinc sulfate in the October to improve qualitative traits of the fruit and the combined treatment of 5gL-1 Urea + 5gL-1 Zinc sulfate to increase the yield of sweet lime grafted onto Mexican lime rootstock.

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References

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