Abstract
BACKGROUND: Farming is considered one of the main causes of land degradation and underground water pollution. The increased availability of agricultural inputs has led to a dramatic rise in yields, which has resulted in soil fertility spoilage and overuse of fertilisers. Therefore horticultural practice improvement must consider appropriate nitrogen (N) management. This paper reports results on the application of an optical diagnostic system (N-tester) to guide N fertilisation in muskmelon (Cucumis melo L.) over a 3 year trial. Results on fresh and postharvest quality are also presented. RESULTS: Fertilisation events mirrored increases in N-tester values during the season, and a significant linear relationship (R(2) = 0.628) was observed between N-tester readings and leaf chlorophyll content. The N-tester-guided fertilisation treatments were characterised by yields comparable to the control, but with significantly lower applications of N (down to 17-66% of the N distributed in the control). Moreover, the N-tester treatments yielded fruits with higher sugar content. This was also true after storage, when N-tester fruits also showed reduced weight loss associated with lower transpiration and ethylene emission rates. CONCLUSION: Through the use of 'spy plots' kept at optimal nutritional status and the adoption of a threshold for N application throughout the growing cycle of muskmelon, the N supply was significantly reduced. Therefore a correct application of N-tester allowed the plant N requirement to be reduced and the fruit sugar content and storability to be increased without adversely affecting the yield.
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Claims 6
Claim · model-written summary
N-tester readings related linearly to leaf chlorophyll content.
- Taxon
- cantaloupe
Cucumis melo var. cantalupot0 - Treatment
- N-tester readingse0
- Outcome
- leaf chlorophyll contente0
- Value
- R(2) = 0.628e0
Not reportedDirection
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“a significant linear relationship (R(2) = 0.628) was observed between N-tester readings and leaf chlorophyll content”
t0“cantaloupe”
Claim · model-written summary
N-tester treatments produced yields comparable to control.
- Taxon
- cantaloupeCucumis melo var. cantalupot0
- Treatment
- N-tester-guided fertilisation treatmentse0
- Outcome
- yieldse0
- Direction
- comparablee0
- Comparator
- the controle0
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“The N-tester-guided fertilisation treatments were characterised by yields comparable to the control”
t0“cantaloupe”
Claim · model-written summary
N-tester treatments used significantly less nitrogen than control.
- Taxon
- cantaloupeCucumis melo var. cantalupot0
- Treatment
- N-tester-guided fertilisation treatmentse0
- Outcome
- applications of Ne0
- Direction
- lowere0
- Value
- 17-66%e0
- Comparator
- the controle0
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“The N-tester-guided fertilisation treatments were characterised by yields comparable to the control, but with significantly lower applications of N (down to 17-66% of the N distributed in the control).”
t0“cantaloupe”
Claim · model-written summary
N-tester fruit had higher sugar content.
- Taxon
- cantaloupeCucumis melo var. cantalupot0
- Organ / stage
- fruitse0
- Treatment
- N-tester treatmentse0
- Outcome
- sugar contente0
- Direction
- highere0
Not reportedComparator
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“the N-tester treatments yielded fruits with higher sugar content”
t0“cantaloupe”
Claim · model-written summary
Stored N-tester fruit also retained higher sugar content.
- Taxon
- cantaloupeCucumis melo var. cantalupot0
- Treatment
- N-tester treatmentse1
- Outcome
- sugar contente1
- Direction
- highere1
- Qualifier
- after storagee0
Not reportedComparator
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“This was also true after storage”
e1“the N-tester treatments yielded fruits with higher sugar content”
t0“cantaloupe”
Claim · model-written summary
Stored N-tester fruit lost less weight.
- Taxon
- cantaloupeCucumis melo var. cantalupot0
- Treatment
- N-testere0
- Outcome
- weight losse0
- Direction
- reducede0
- Qualifier
- lower transpiration and ethylene emission ratese0
Not reportedComparator
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“N-tester fruits also showed reduced weight loss associated with lower transpiration and ethylene emission rates”
t0“cantaloupe”
The same questions in other papers
fertilization · yield · Cucumis melo (muskmelon)Results differ
22 papers in the same direction as this paper · 72 in the opposite direction
- positive
- positive
- positive
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See all 95 papers →Claims are grouped by organism, treatment and what was measured or targeted. A paper counts as positive when any of its claims in the group is positive.