Zeleke Yenetiru Getaw, Haile Ashenafi, Kiflu Alemayehu, Alemayehu Habtamu
School of Plant and Horticultural Science, Hawassa University, Ethiopia.
Department of Horticulture, Mattu University, Ethiopia.
Heliyon. 2024 Oct 9;10(20):e39110. doi: 10.1016/j.heliyon.2024.e39110. eCollection 2024 Oct 30.
Tomatoes are highly valued vegetable crops due to their excellent nutritional content. However, production remained low due to an incorrect combination of organic and inorganic soil nutrition. A pot experiment was conducted under shaded conditions with Azolla and inorganic nitrogen fertilization to determine the morphological and physiological plasticity of tomatoes. The study used a factorial combination of four levels of Azolla (0, 25, 50, and 75 g per pot) and four levels of nitrogen (0, 0.23, 0.46, and 0.69 g per pot) in a complete randomized design with three replications. We collected data on chlorophyll content (Chl a, Chl b, TChl), photosynthetic rate, water use efficiency, transpiration rate, stomata number, branch number (primary and secondary), plant height, leaf area, stomata conductance, relative water content, and number of leaves. Analysis of variance was employed to analyze the data, and the means were separated using the least significant differences test at a 5 % significance level. The results showed that primary and secondary branches, stomata number, transpiration rate, and water use efficiency were highly plastic due to the higher nitrogen levels and Azolla alone. The interaction effect of Azolla and nitrogen had a significant influence on chlorophyll content, photosynthesis rate, stomatal conductance, relative water content, number of leaves, plant height, and leaf area. It can be concluded that a balanced combination of organic and inorganic fertilizers remains essential for optimal tomato growth and physiology, emphasizing that the exclusive use of organic farming methods may not be the ideal solution.
由于其优异的营养成分，番茄是极受重视的蔬菜作物。然而，由于有机和无机土壤养分的组合不当，产量仍然较低。在遮荫条件下进行了一项盆栽试验，使用满江红和无机氮肥，以确定番茄的形态和生理可塑性。该研究采用了四水平满江红（每盆0、25、50和75克）和四水平氮（每盆0、0.23、0.46和0.69克）的析因组合，采用完全随机设计，重复三次。我们收集了叶绿素含量（叶绿素a、叶绿素b、总叶绿素）、光合速率、水分利用效率、蒸腾速率、气孔数量、分枝数（一级和二级）、株高、叶面积、气孔导度、相对含水量和叶片数量的数据。采用方差分析对数据进行分析，并在5%显著水平下使用最小显著差检验对均值进行分离。结果表明，由于较高的氮水平和单独使用满江红，一级和二级分枝、气孔数量、蒸腾速率和水分利用效率具有高度可塑性。满江红和氮的交互作用对叶绿素含量、光合速率、气孔导度、相对含水量、叶片数量、株高和叶面积有显著影响。可以得出结论，有机肥料和无机肥料的平衡组合对于番茄的最佳生长和生理仍然至关重要，强调单纯使用有机耕作方法可能不是理想的解决方案。
