Muhammad AMJAD, Javaid AKHTAR, Muhammad ANWAR-UL-HAQ, Shakeel IMRAN, Sven-erik JACOBSEN

Soil and foliar application of potassium enhances fruit yield and quality of tomato under salinity

Potassium plays a key role in the survival of plants under saline conditions in mitigating the adverse effects of sodium. The effect of application of potassium to soil (0, 3.3, and 6.6 mmol/kg) and leaves (4.5 and 9 mM) on tomato yield and quality under 3 salinity treatments (0, 7.5, and 15 dS m-1), using 2 salt-tolerant (Indent-1 and Nagina) and 2 salt-sensitive (Peto-86 and Red Ball) genotypes, was studied in a pot experiment. Salinity decreased growth and yield of all genotypes; however, salt-tolerant genotypes maintained better growth and produced higher yield than the salt-sensitive genotypes across all salinity levels. Potassium application positively affected plant growth and yield, especially in salt-tolerant genotypes. Fruit quality characteristics (total soluble solids, titratable acidity, pH, dry matter %) were significantly improved by increasing salinity, except for fruit size. Soil and foliar K had nonsignificant differences between them; however, there were significant effects on the fruit quality, as all characteristics increased at higher K concentrations under salinity stress. It was concluded that the application of potassium increases yield and quality of tomato fruits in saline soil, and it could be used as an effective practice to produce even a salt-sensitive species like tomato under saline conditions.

Anahtar Kelimeler:

Key words: Salt tolerance, potassium, Solanum lycopersicum L., total soluble solids, titratable acidity

Soil and foliar application of potassium enhances fruit yield and quality of tomato under salinity

Keywords:

Key words: Salt tolerance, potassium, Solanum lycopersicum L., total soluble solids, titratable acidity,

PDF

___

Amjad M, Akhtar J, Haq MA, Ahmad R (2013). Characterization of comparative response of fifteen tomato (Lycopersicon esculentum Mill.) genotypes to NaCl stress. J Agric Sci Technol (in press).
Azarmi R, Taleshmikail RD, Gikloo A (2010). Effects of salinity on morphological and physiological changes and yield of tomato in hydroponics system. J Food Agric Environ 8: 573–576.
Buresh RJ, Austin ER, Craswell ET (1982). Analytical methods in N-15 research. Fert Res 3: 37–62.
Chapman HD, Pratt PF (1961). Methods of Analysis for Soils, Plants and Waters. Berkeley, CA, USA: University of California Press.
Chen Z, Zhou M, Newman I, Mendham N, Zhang G, Shabala S (2007). Potassium and sodium relations in salinised barley tissues as a basis of differential salt tolerance. Funct Plant Biol 34: 150–162.
Cuartero MC, Bolarín MJ, Moreno V (2006). Increasing salt tolerance in the tomato. J Exp Bot 57: 1045–1058.
Demiral MA, Aydın M, Yorulmaz A (2005). Effect of salinity on growth chemical composition and antioxidative enzyme activity of two malting barley (Hordeum vulgare L.) cultivars. Turk J Biol 29: 117–123.
Gerardeaux E, Jordan-Meille L, Constantin J, Pellerin S, Dingkuhn M (2010). Changes in plant morphology and dry matter partitioning caused by potassium deficiency in Gossypium hirsutum (L.). Environ Exp Bot 67: 451–459.
Gorham J (1984). Salt tolerance in the Triticae: K + /Na + discrimination in some potential wheat grasses and their amphiploids with wheat. J Exp Bot 45: 441–447.
Hasegawa PM, Versan RAJ, Zhu K, Bonhert HJ (2000). Plant cellular and molecular responses to high salinity. Annu Rev Plant Phys 51: 463–499.
Iqbal M, Akhtar J, Haq MA, Nasim M, Saeed A, Naveed M (2007). Variation in growth and ion uptake in rice cultivars under NaCl stress in hydroponics. Pak J Agr Sci 44: 393–405.
Jensen CR, Battilani A, Plauborg F, Psarras G, Chartzoulakis K, Janowiak F, Stikic R, Jovanovic Z, Li G, Qi X et al. (2010). Deficit irrigation based on drought tolerance and root signalling in potatoes and tomatoes. Agr Water Manage 98: 403–413.
Jones JB Jr, Wolf B, Mills HA (1991). Plant Analysis Handbook. Athens, GA, USA: Micro-Macro Publishing, Inc.
Kanai S, Moghaieb RE, El-Shemy HA, Panigrahi R, Mohapatra PK, Ito J, Nguyen NT, Saneoka H, Fujita K (2011). Potassium deficiency affects water status and photosynthetic rate of the vegetative sink in greenhouse tomato prior to its effects on source activity. Plant Sci 180: 368–374.
Kato Y, Sakaguchi M, Mori Y, Saito K, Nakamura T, Bakker EP, Sato Y, Goshima S, Uozumi N (2001). Evidence in support of a four transmembrane-pore-transmembrane topology model for the Arabidopsis thaliana Na + /K + translocating AtHKT1 protein, a member of the superfamily of K + transporters. Proc Natl Acad Sci USA 98: 6488–6493.
Kaya C, Ak BE, Higgs D (2003). Response of salt-stressed strawberry plants to supplementary calcium nitrate and/or potassium nitrate. J Plant Nutr 26: 543–560.
Kaya C, Higgs D (2003). Supplementary potassium nitrate improves salt tolerance in bell pepper plants. J Plant Nutr 26: 1367–1382.
Kaya C, Kirnak H, Higgs D (2001). Enhancement of growth and normal growth parameters by foliar application of potassium and phosphorus on tomato cultivars grown at high (NaCl) salinity. J Plant Nutr 24: 357–367.
Kyoko I, Hidehiko S, Yasuo N (2004). Developmental course of inflorescence and spikelet in rice. Breeding Sci 54: 147–156.
Leonardi C, Martorana M, Pernice R (2004). Tomato fruit quality in relation to the content of sodium chloride in the nutrient solution. Acta Hortic 659: 769–774.
Li YL, Marcelis LFM, Stanghellini C (2004). Plant water relations as affected by osmotic potential of the nutrient solution and potential transpiration in tomato. J Hortic Sci Biotech 79: 211–218.
Mavrogianopoulos G, Volgi V, Kyritsis S (2002). Use of wastewater as a nutrient solution in a closed gravel hydroponic culture of giant reed (Arundo donax). Bioresource Technol 82: 103–107.
Natr L, Lawlor DW (2005). Photosynthetic plant productivity. In: Pessarakli M, editor. Handbook of Photosynthesis. 2nd ed. Boca Raton, FL, USA: CRC Press, pp. 501–524.
Neocleous D, Vasilakakis M (2007). Effect of NaCl stress on red raspberry (Rubus idoeus L. Autumn Bliss). Sci HorticAmsterdam 112: 282–289.
Niu X, Bressan RA, Hasegawa PM, Pardo JM (1995). Ion homeostasis in NaCl stress environments. Plant Physiol 109: 735–742.
Pettigrew WT (2008). Potassium influences on yield and quality production for maize, wheat, soybean and cotton. Physiol Plantarum 133: 670–681.
Rodriguez-Navarro A (2000). Potassium transport in fungi and plants. Acta Biochim Biophys 1469: 1–30.
Rubio JS, Garcia-Sanchez F, Rubio F, Martinez V (2009). Yield, blossom-end rot incidence, and fruit quality in pepper plants under moderate salinity are affected by K + and Ca 2+ fertilization. Sci Hortic-Amsterdam 119: 79–87.
Sairam RK, Roa KV, Srivastava GC (2002). Differential response of wheat genotypes to long term salinity stress in relation to oxidative stress, antioxidant activity and osmolyte concentration. Plant Sci 163: 1037–1046.
Sairam RK, Tyagi A (2004). Physiology and molecular biology of salinity stress tolerance in plants. Curr Sci India 86: 407–421.
Savic S, Liu F, Stikic R, Jacobsen SE, Jensen CR, Jovanovic Z (2009). Comparative effects of partial root zone drying and deficit irrigation on growth and physiology of tomato plants. Arch Biol Sci Belgrade 61: 801–810.
Serrano A, Garcia J, Mateos V, Cancillo M, Garrido J (1999). Monthly modes of variation of precipitation over the Iberian Peninsula. J Climate 12: 2894–2919.
Shabala L, Mackay A, Tian Y, Jacobsen SE, Zhou D, Shabala S (2012). Oxidative stress protection and stomatal patterning as components of salinity tolerance mechanism in quinoa (Chenopodium quinoa Willd). Physiol Plantarum 146: 26–38.
Shen H, Yu S, Xu Y, Yu R, Jiang W, Chen W (2000). DNA polymorphism of Pvu II site in the lipoprotein lipase gene in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus. Zhonghua Yi Xue Yi Chuan Xue Za Zhi 17: 24–27.
Shin R, Schachtman DP (2004). Hydrogen peroxide mediates plant root cell response to nutrient deprivation. Proc Natl Acad Sci USA 101: 8827–8832.
Tester N, Davenport R (2003). Na + tolerance and Na + transport in higher plants. Ann Bot-London 91: 1–25.
Véry AA, Sentenac H (2003). Molecular mechanisms and regulation of K + transport in higher plants. Annu Rev Plant Biol 54: 575– 60
Wyn Jones RJ, Pollard A (1983). Proteins, enzymes and inorganic ions. In: Lauchli A, Pirson A, editors. Encyclopedia of Plant Physiology. Berlin, Germany: Springer, pp. 528–562.
Yin X, Vyn TJ (2003). Potassium placement effects on yield and seed composition of no-till soybean seeded in alternate row widths. Agron J 95: 126–132.
Yurtseven E, Kesmez GD, Unlukara A (2005). The effects of water salinity and potassium levels on yield, fruit quality and water consumption of a native central Anatolian tomato species (Lycopersicon esculantum). Agr Water Manage 78: 128–135.
Zhu JK (2002). Genetic analysis of plant salt tolerance using Arabidopsis thaliana. Plant Physiol 124: 941–948.
Zhu JK (2003). Regulation of ion homeostasis under salt stress. Curr Opin Plant Biol 6: 441–445.