Effects of Oxygenated Irrigation on Root Morphology, Fruit Yield, and Water–Nitrogen Use Efficiency of Tomato (Solanum lycopersicum L.)

• Published in: Journal of soil science and plant nutrition Vol. 23; no. 4; pp. 5582 - 5593
• Main Authors: Zhang, Zhe, Yang, Runya, Zhang, Zhenhua, Geng, Yajun, Zhu, Jinjin, Sun, Junna
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Cham Springer International Publishing 01.12.2023; Springer Nature B.V
• Subjects: Aeration; Agricultural production; Agriculture; Agrochemicals; Biomedical and Life Sciences; Clay loam; Clay soils; Crop yield; Crops; Dissolved oxygen; Drip irrigation; Ecology; Efficiency; Environment; Experiments; Fertilizers; Fruits; Genetic algorithms; Greenhouses; Irrigation; Irrigation efficiency; Irrigation water; Life Sciences; Morphology; Multiple objective analysis; Nitrogen; Nutrients; Original Paper; Oxygenation; Plant growth; Plant Sciences; Roots; Seedlings; Soil layers; Soil Science & Conservation; Solanum lycopersicum; Sorting algorithms; Surface area; Tomatoes; Water use; Water use efficiency; Oxygenated; Irrigation; Root distribution; Resource use efficiency; Tomato yield
• ISSN: 0718-9508; 0718-9516
• DOI: 10.1007/s42729-023-01423-z

Root-zone aeration through subsurface drip irrigation affects root growth, but the response of root morphology by diameter (Φ) to different levels of irrigation water containing chemical fertilizer and dissolved oxygen is still poorly understood. A solar greenhouse experiment was carried out with tomato ( Solanum lycopersicum L . ) seedlings to elucidate the role of various oxygenated irrigation factors in shaping root microstructure, morphology, and distribution. Possible relationships were explored between root characteristics, fruit yield, nitrogen use efficiency, and irrigation water use efficiency. Tomato plants were grown on a clay loam soil for 133 days under different levels of aeration (dissolved oxygen: 5, 10, and 20 mg L –1 ), nitrogen application (150, 225, and 300 kg ha –1 ), and drip irrigation (based on crop pan coefficient: 0.5, 0.75, and 1.0). Root-zone aeration led to substantial increase in the length and surface area of Φ0–2 mm roots. Considering the fertilizer effects, the length of Φ0.5–2 mm roots and the surface area of Φ0–0.5 mm roots were largest under the medium nitrogen level. With increasing irrigation volume, the length and surface area of Φ2–3 mm roots were considerably reduced, in contrast to the response of Φ0–2 mm roots in terms of their surface area. The morphology of Φ0–2 mm roots was positively correlated with aboveground biomass and fruit yield. Higher aeration rate and irrigation volume favored the distribution of Φ0–2 mm roots in deeper soil layers, which contributed to the enhancement of crop yield and nitrogen use efficiency. The optimal oxygenated irrigation regime for greenhouse tomato crops was aeration at 19.90 mg L –1 , nitrogen application at 155.80 kg ha –1 , and drip irrigation with the crop pan coefficient of 0.975, based on multi-objective optimization using the non-dominated sorting genetic algorithm-II.