Abstract
Producers of horticultural products face new and growing standards regarding food quality and safety as well as environmental responsibility and sustainability. The objective of this research was to reduce environmental pollution by increasing nitrogen use efficiency (NUE) in vegetables without negatively affecting fruit yield or quality. Bell pepper was used as a case study for intensive vegetable cropping. Pepper cultivars with different vegetative vigor were drip-irrigated with solutions containing 9.2, 56.2, 102.3, and 158.5 mg·L −1 nitrogen (N). Fruit yield, quality, and nutritional value were measured. Nitrogen balance was determined by quantifying N in soil and in plant tissues. Maximum yields were found when peppers were irrigated with 56.2 mg·L −1 N. Nitrogen concentrations of 102.3 and 158.5 mg·L −1 N loaded 400 and 800 kg·ha −1 N into the environment, respectively, whereas for the 56.2 mg·L −1 N concentration, N was almost completely taken up and used by the plants. Nitrogen treatments had no significant negative effect on pepper fruit physical or chemical quality parameters including sugar content and acidity. Reduced N application did not affect nutritional quality components of the pepper fruit such as β-carotene and lycopene content or total antioxidant activity. The vigorous cultivar used N more efficiently. The results demonstrate how the environmental impact of intensive agriculture can be minimized without harming fruit yield or quality by reducing N application level and adopting cultivars with improved N use efficiency.
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Claims 8
Claim · model-written summary
Pepper yield was maximal with irrigation containing 56.2 mg·L −1 N.
CapsicumNot reportedComparator
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“Maximum yields were found when peppers were irrigated with 56.2 mg·L −1 N.”
Claim · model-written summary
102.3 mg·L −1 N loaded 400 kg·ha −1 N into the environment.
Not reportedTaxonComparator
Verbatim
e0“Nitrogen concentrations of 102.3 and 158.5 mg·L −1 N loaded 400 and 800 kg·ha −1 N into the environment, respectively”
Claim · model-written summary
158.5 mg·L −1 N loaded 800 kg·ha −1 N into the environment.
Not reportedTaxonComparator
Verbatim
e0“Nitrogen concentrations of 102.3 and 158.5 mg·L −1 N loaded 400 and 800 kg·ha −1 N into the environment, respectively”
Claim · model-written summary
At 56.2 mg·L −1 N, pepper plants almost completely took up and used nitrogen.
Not reportedComparator
Verbatim
e0“for the 56.2 mg·L −1 N concentration, N was almost completely taken up and used by the plants.”
t0“Pepper”
Claim · model-written summary
Nitrogen treatments had no significant negative effect on pepper fruit physical and chemical quality, including sugar and acidity.
- Taxon
- peppere0
- Treatment
- Nitrogen treatmentse0
- Outcome
- fruit physical or chemical quality parameterse0
- Direction
- no significant negative effecte0
Not reportedComparator
Verbatim
e0“Nitrogen treatments had no significant negative effect on pepper fruit physical or chemical quality parameters including sugar content and acidity.”
Claim · model-written summary
Reduced nitrogen did not affect pepper fruit β-carotene, lycopene or total antioxidant activity.
- Taxon
- peppere0
- Treatment
- Reduced N applicatione0
- Outcome
- β-carotene and lycopene content or total antioxidant activitye0
- Direction
- did not affecte0
Not reportedComparator
Verbatim
e0“Reduced N application did not affect nutritional quality components of the pepper fruit such as β-carotene and lycopene content or total antioxidant activity.”
Claim · model-written summary
The vigorous pepper cultivar used nitrogen more efficiently.
Verbatim
e0“The vigorous cultivar used N more efficiently.”
t0“Pepper”
Claim · model-written summary
The authors recommend reducing nitrogen and adopting cultivars with improved nitrogen use efficiency to minimize environmental impact without harming yield or quality.
Verbatim
e0“The results demonstrate how the environmental impact of intensive agriculture can be minimized without harming fruit yield or quality by reducing N application level and adopting cultivars with improved N use efficiency.”
t0“Pepper”
The same questions in other papers
irrigation · yield · Capsicum (peppers)Positive and negative results
50 papers in the same direction as this paper · 4 in the opposite direction
- no effect
- negative
- negative
51 papers more in this group
See all 55 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.