Zahedifar Maryam, Moosavi Ali Akbar, Gavili Edris, Ershadi Arash
Department of Range and Watershed Management (Nature Engineering), Faculty of Agriculture, Fasa University, Fasa, IR Iran.
Department of Soil Science, College of Agriculture, Shiraz University, Shiraz, IR Iran.
PLoS One. 2025 Jan 9;20(1):e0310916. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0310916. eCollection 2025.
Drought adversely affects the growth and performance of plants. By contrast, the application of organic modifiers can improve plant growth by supplying nutrients and water. The influence of foliar application of organic fertilizer under water deficit conditions on growth traits, chemical composition, and fruit quality of tomato (Lycopersicon esculentum Mill., var. Maya) were investigated in greenhouse conditions based on bi-plot and principal component analysis (PCA). Plants which were cultivated in soil under greenhouse conditions were subjected to four levels foliar spraying of Zargreen liquid organic fertilizer, ZLOF (0, 2.5, 5, and 7.5 L 1000-1, shown as Z0, Z2.5, Z5, and Z7.5, respectively), and three levels of soil water, SW (100, 75, and 50% of field capacity (FC), shown W100, W75, and W50, respectively). The results of biplot analysis using the different treatments representing 42.9% and 38.3%, 60.3% and 28.8%, and 63.1% and 22.4% of the variance attributed to the first two principal components (PCs) for the PC1 and PC2, under 100, 75, and 50% FC conditions, respectively. Water deficit induced a reduction of fruit dry, and fresh weights. Application of 2.5, 5, and 7.5 L 1000-1 of the organic fertilizer significantly increased fruit fresh weight by 16, 20, and 22% and fruit dry weight by 13, 20, and 20% as compared to that of control, respectively. Vitamin C content of fruit significantly increased by 16 and 33% when respectively 5 and 7.5 L 1000-1 of the organic fertilizer was foliar sprayed. Besides, fruit iron (Fe), sodium (Na (and potassium (K) concentrations increased with the application of the organic fertilizer at different levels of water deficit. Furthermore, the highest fruit zinc (Zn) concentration was obtained at the highest level of both applied organic fertilizer and water deficit. The best treatments were selected with increased PC1 and decreased PC2 for different water conditions. The W100Z7.5, W75Z7.5, and W50Z5 treatments with the higher PC1 and the lower PC2, also exhibited higher scores for fruit dry weight, and Na and K concentrations under W100; vitamin C, number of fruits, fruit fresh weight, and fruit Fe concentration under W75; citric acid, and fruit Fe, Zn, Na, K, and Cu concentrations under W50 treatment. The addition of the organic fertilizer was effective in enhancing the plant growth traits under water deficit conditions. Therefore, it can be concluded that organic fertilizer addition is an effective management strategy to mitigate the adverse effects of drought and improve the quantity and quality of tomato fruit.
干旱对植物的生长和性能产生不利影响。相比之下，施用有机改良剂可以通过提供养分和水分来促进植物生长。基于双标图和主成分分析（PCA），在温室条件下研究了水分亏缺条件下叶面喷施有机肥料对番茄（Lycopersicon esculentum Mill.，品种Maya）生长性状、化学成分和果实品质的影响。在温室条件下种植于土壤中的植株，进行了4种水平的叶面喷施Zargreen液体有机肥料（ZLOF），即0、2.5、5和7.5 L 1000⁻¹（分别表示为Z0、Z2.5、Z5和Z7.5），以及3种水平的土壤水分（SW），即田间持水量（FC）的100%、75%和50%（分别表示为W100、W75和W50）。双标图分析结果表明，在100%、75%和50% FC条件下，前两个主成分（PCs）对PC1和PC2的贡献率分别为42.9%和38.3%、60.3%和28.8%、63.1%和22.4%。水分亏缺导致果实干重和鲜重降低。与对照相比，施用2.5、5和7.5 L 1000⁻¹的有机肥料分别使果实鲜重显著增加16%、20%和22%，果实干重分别增加13%、20%和20%。当叶面喷施5和7.5 L 1000⁻¹的有机肥料时，果实维生素C含量分别显著增加16%和33%。此外，在不同水分亏缺水平下，随着有机肥料的施用，果实铁（Fe）、钠（Na）和钾（K）含量增加。此外，在有机肥料施用量和水分亏缺水平均最高时，果实锌（Zn）含量最高。针对不同水分条件，选择PC1增加而PC2降低的最佳处理。PC1较高且PC2较低的W100Z7.5、W75Z7.5和W50Z5处理，在W100条件下果实干重、Na和K含量得分也较高；在W75条件下维生素C、果实数量、果实鲜重和果实Fe含量得分较高；在W50处理下柠檬酸以及果实Fe、Zn、Na、K和Cu含量得分较高。添加有机肥料在水分亏缺条件下有效增强了植物生长性状。因此，可以得出结论，添加有机肥料是减轻干旱不利影响并提高番茄果实产量和品质的有效管理策略。
