Abstract
We evaluated the effects of mineral and organic fertilizers on peach root dynamics in the growing season from 2003 to 2006 in a nectarine (Prunus persica L.) orchard, planted in 2001 and located in the Po valley, northeastern Italy. Very few studies have conducted long-term investigations of root dynamics of fruit crops. Our main objective was to determine whether organic fertilizers affect root dynamics differently than mineral fertilizers. The experiment was a completely randomized block design with four replicates of three treatments: unfertilized, mineral fertilized and composted with municipal waste. Mineral fertilizers included P (100 kg ha(-1) year(-1)) and K (200 kg ha(-1) year(-1)) applied only at planting and N (70-130 kg ha(-1) year(-1)) split into two applications, one at 40 days after full bloom (60%) and the other in September (40%) each year. The compost fertilization represented a yearly rate of 10 metric tons (t) dry weight ha(-1), which approximates (in kg ha(-1) year(-1)) 240 N, 100 P and 200 K, split similarly to that described for the mineral fertilization of N. Both root growth and survival were evaluated at 20-day intervals during the growing season by the minirhizotron technique. Compost increased the production of new roots compared with the other treatments (P < 0.01). Roots were mainly produced at a depth of 41-80 cm and from March to May and in late summer. An analysis of covariance indicated no significant effect of soil nitrate on root production (P = 0.47). The root lifespan was longer in compost-treated trees than in mineral-fertilized or unfertilized trees (P < 0.01) and it was strongly affected by time of birth; roots born later in the summer lived longer than those born in the spring. Across years and treatments, the average root lifespan was positively correlated with soil nitrate (r = 0.60; P < 0.001). Variation in root lifespan with method of fertilization could be accounted for by variation in soil nitrate concentration as indicated by no effect of fertilizer treatment on root lifespan when soil nitrate was included as a covariate. These results reveal how shifting from mineral to organic fertilizers may shift both soil properties and nutrient availability, leading to changes in both root production and lifespan.
Abstract from the paper’s OpenAlex record, shown for indexing and research. Copyright remains with the authors or the publisher. Read at the source ↗
The text the model read, with the source record’s inline markup (italics, sub- and superscripts) rendered and its character entities decoded; quote offsets refer to the raw text.
Claims 8
Claim · model-written summary
Compost increased new root production relative to the other fertilizer treatments.
- Taxon
- peach
Prunus persicae1 - Treatment
- Composte0
- Outcome
- production of new rootse0
- Direction
- increasede0
- Comparator
- the other treatmentse0
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“Compost increased the production of new roots compared with the other treatments (P < 0.01).”
e1“peach root dynamics”
Claim · model-written summary
Most roots were produced at 41-80 cm depth.
- Taxon
- peachPrunus persicae1
- Organ / stage
- Rootse0
- Outcome
- Roots were mainly producede0
- Value
- 41-80 cme0
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“Roots were mainly produced at a depth of 41-80 cm and from March to May and in late summer.”
e1“peach root dynamics”
Claim · model-written summary
Root production peaked from March to May and in late summer.
- Taxon
- peachPrunus persicae1
- Outcome
- Roots were mainly producede0
- Qualifier
- from March to May and in late summere0
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“Roots were mainly produced at a depth of 41-80 cm and from March to May and in late summer.”
e1“peach root dynamics”
Claim · model-written summary
Soil nitrate showed no significant effect on root production in covariance analysis.
- Taxon
- peachPrunus persicae1
- Compound
- soil nitratee0
- Outcome
- root productione0
- Direction
- no significant effecte0
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“An analysis of covariance indicated no significant effect of soil nitrate on root production (P = 0.47).”
e1“peach root dynamics”
Claim · model-written summary
Compost-treated trees had longer root lifespan than mineral-fertilized or unfertilized trees.
- Taxon
- peachPrunus persicae1
- Treatment
- compost-treatede0
- Outcome
- root lifespane0
- Direction
- longere0
- Comparator
- mineral-fertilized or unfertilized treese0
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“The root lifespan was longer in compost-treated trees than in mineral-fertilized or unfertilized trees (P < 0.01)”
e1“peach root dynamics”
Claim · model-written summary
Roots born later in summer lived longer than spring-born roots.
- Taxon
- peachPrunus persicae1
- Organ / stage
- rootse0
- Outcome
- lived longere0
- Direction
- longere0
- Comparator
- those born in the springe0
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“roots born later in the summer lived longer than those born in the spring”
e1“peach root dynamics”
Claim · model-written summary
Average root lifespan correlated positively with soil nitrate across years and treatments.
- Taxon
- peachPrunus persicae1
- Compound
- soil nitratee0
- Outcome
- average root lifespane0
- Direction
- positively correlatede0
- Value
- r = 0.60e0
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“Across years and treatments, the average root lifespan was positively correlated with soil nitrate (r = 0.60; P < 0.001).”
e1“peach root dynamics”
Claim · model-written summary
Fertilizer treatment had no effect on root lifespan after soil nitrate was included as a covariate.
- Taxon
- peachPrunus persicae1
- Treatment
- fertilizer treatmente0
- Outcome
- root lifespane0
- Direction
- no effecte0
- Qualifier
- when soil nitrate was included as a covariatee0
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“no effect of fertilizer treatment on root lifespan when soil nitrate was included as a covariate”
e1“peach root dynamics”
The same questions in other papers
fertilization · yield · Prunus persica (peach)Results differ
49 papers in the same direction as this paper · 7 in the opposite direction · 2 reporting no difference from an alternative
- positive
- positive
- positive
55 papers more in this group
See all 59 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.