Abstract
Technology provides new tools for agriculture to be able to optimize fertilization. Optical instruments are becoming valid tools for farmers in making decisions about fertilization, even though they need to be calibrated for specific crops. Chlorophyll meters and multispectral radiometers have been tested on rice, corn, and wheat and afterwards on vegetables, in timing fertilization. Today, threshold lines that are able to detect crop N status in tomato crops are available. These thresholds, obtained in experiments carried out at Padova University, were validated in three open-field experiments. The first experiment was carried out in 2004 at the University experimental farm on tomato cv. Perfect Peel. The second and third experiments were conducted in a commercial farm at Codigoro (Ferrara) in 2004–2005. Tomato cultivars used were `UGX 822' and `Precocix' in 2004, in 2005 `Jet' was also used. In all trials, a “standard fertilization” management was compared with fertigation guided using SPAD and/or Cropscan. Optical tools were used to manage fertigation adopting both “threshold method” and “reference plot method”. In general “guided fertigation” resulted in less nitrogen application (N supply reduced between 18% and 45%), especially when “threshold method” was adopted. Yields were comparable to “standard fertilization” treatments, showing a better efficiency of “guided fertigation”. In some cases, guiding fertigation by means of optical instruments allowed higher fruit fresh weight, although dry matter content and °Brix were not influenced. Guided fertigation reduced also the number of damaged fruit and the percentage of nonmarketable product.
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Claims 7
Claim · model-written summary
Optical guided fertigation reduced nitrogen supply by 18% to 45%, especially with the threshold method.
- Taxon
- tomato
Solanum lycopersicumt0 - Treatment
- guided fertigatione0
- Outcome
- N supplye0
- Direction
- reducede0
- Value
- 18% and 45%e0
- Qualifier
- threshold methode0
Not reportedComparator
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“In general “guided fertigation” resulted in less nitrogen application (N supply reduced between 18% and 45%), especially when “threshold method” was adopted.”
t0“Tomato”
Claim · model-written summary
Tomato yields under guided fertigation were comparable to standard fertilization.
- Taxon
- tomatoSolanum lycopersicumt0
- Treatment
- guided fertigatione0
- Outcome
- Yieldse0
- Direction
- comparablee0
- Comparator
- standard fertilizatione0
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“Yields were comparable to “standard fertilization” treatments, showing a better efficiency of “guided fertigation”.”
t0“Tomato”
Claim · model-written summary
Guided fertigation had better efficiency than standard fertilization.
- Taxon
- tomatoSolanum lycopersicumt0
- Outcome
- efficiencye0
- Direction
- bettere0
- Comparator
- standard fertilizatione0
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“Yields were comparable to “standard fertilization” treatments, showing a better efficiency of “guided fertigation”.”
t0“Tomato”
Claim · model-written summary
Optical guidance sometimes increased tomato fruit fresh weight.
- Taxon
- tomatoSolanum lycopersicumt0
- Treatment
- guiding fertigation by means of optical instrumentse0
- Outcome
- fruit fresh weighte0
- Direction
- highere0
- Qualifier
- In some casese0
Not reportedComparator
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“In some cases, guiding fertigation by means of optical instruments allowed higher fruit fresh weight, although dry matter content and °Brix were not influenced.”
t0“Tomato”
Claim · model-written summary
Optical guided fertigation did not influence tomato fruit dry matter content or °Brix.
- Taxon
- tomatoSolanum lycopersicumt0
- Treatment
- guiding fertigation by means of optical instrumentse0
- Outcome
- dry matter content and °Brixe0
- Direction
- not influencede0
Not reportedComparator
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“In some cases, guiding fertigation by means of optical instruments allowed higher fruit fresh weight, although dry matter content and °Brix were not influenced.”
t0“Tomato”
Claim · model-written summary
Guided fertigation reduced the number of damaged tomato fruit.
- Taxon
- tomatoSolanum lycopersicumt0
- Treatment
- Guided fertigatione0
- Outcome
- number of damaged fruite0
- Direction
- reducede0
Not reportedComparator
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“Guided fertigation reduced also the number of damaged fruit and the percentage of nonmarketable product.”
t0“Tomato”
Claim · model-written summary
Guided fertigation reduced the percentage of nonmarketable tomato product.
- Taxon
- tomatoSolanum lycopersicumt0
- Treatment
- Guided fertigatione0
- Outcome
- percentage of nonmarketable producte0
- Direction
- reducede0
Not reportedComparator
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“Guided fertigation reduced also the number of damaged fruit and the percentage of nonmarketable product.”
t0“Tomato”
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