Response of the Banana Passion Fruit (Passiflora Tripartita Var. Mollissima
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CROP PHYSIOLOGY Response of the banana passion fruit (Passiflora tripartita var. mollissima) to different levels of nitrogen, potassium and magnesium Respuesta de la curuba (Passiflora tripartita var. mollissima) a diferentes niveles de nitrógeno, potasio y magnesio Miguel Ángel Lizarazo1, Camilo Andrés Hernández1, Gerhard Fischer1, and Manuel Iván Gómez1 ABSTRACT RESUMEN In order to observe the effects of N, K, and Mg on dry mass Para conocer el efecto de N, K y Mg sobre la distribución de (DM) allocation, canopy growth and nutritional deficiency masa seca (MS), crecimiento foliar y expresión de síntomas symptom expression of the banana passion fruit (Passiflora de deficiencia nutricional en curuba Passiflora( tripartita var. tripartita var. mollissima), three levels of fertilization were mollissima), se evaluaron tres niveles de fertilización: carencia evaluated: none (0), low (1) and high (2) of each element, and (0), bajo (1) y elevado (2) para cada elemento, comparados con compared to complete fertilization (control), arranged in a una fertilización completa (testigo), dispuestos en un diseño de randomized complete block design. Banana passion fruit plants bloques completamente al azar. Las plantas de curuba fueron were transplanted to plastic pots, containing a substrate of trasplantadas en materas plásticas, con un sustrato de arena quartz sand, with irrigation twice a week and fertigation once cuarcítica, realizando un riego y dos fertirriegos cada semana. a week. The evaluated variables were total dry weight (TDW), Las variables evaluadas fueron peso seco total (PST), porcentaje percentage of dry mass allocation, leaf area (LA), number of de distribución de materia seca, área foliar (AF), número de leaves (NL), specific leaf area (SLA) and leaf area ratio (LAR). hojas (NH), área foliar específica (AFE) y relación de área foliar In addition, a photographic record was taken to recognize the (RAF), además se realizó un registro fotográfico para reconocer symptomatology in the leaves. The absence of N, K and Mg af- la sintomatología de las deficiencias en hojas. La carencia de fected the accumulation of DM, whereas the high nutrient level N, K y Mg afectó la acumulación de MS, mientras que el nivel allowed for the greatest gain in DM only with N, while with K elevado el nutriente permitió la mayor ganancia de MS sólo en and Mg, it was reduced, indicating that these doses may be too N, pues en K y Mg no fue alta. El esquema de distribución de excessive. The distribution pattern of DM with the N treatments MS, en los niveles de N, correspondió al planteado en el modelo corresponded to the model proposed by Thornley, accumulating de Thornley al acumular mayor MS en raíz, en los niveles de more DM in the root. With the K and Mg levels, the distribution K y Mg la distribución fue similar entre ellos, resaltando que pattern was similar with the absence of these nutrients causing bajo carencia se almacenó mayor MS en parte aérea. En todos higher DM accumulation in the above-ground plant parts. The los elementos, el nivel de carencia redujo el NH y AF, mientras leaf variables NL and LA were reduced with all three elements los índices AFE y la RAF fueron altos en este nivel, revelando at the zero nutrient level, whereas the high indices of SLA and una baja ganancia de MS en hojas y planta respectivamente. LAR revealed a low gain of DM. Deprivation of each nutrient Se observaron síntomas característicos en hojas, bajo el nivel showed characteristic symptoms on the leaves, mainly chlorosis de carencia, principalmente clorosis en distintos patrones, with different patterns, necrosis and reduced LA. necrosis y AF reducida. Key words: plant nutrition, nutrient deficiency, dosage effects, Palabras clave: nutrición de plantas, deficiencia de nutrientes, tropical fruits, dry mass. efectos de dosificación, frutas tropicales, masa seca. Introduction “Cordilleras”, especially in the eastern and central ranges of the departments of Boyaca, Tolima, Cundinamarca, Within the genus Passiflora, there are more than 20 species Santander, Valle, Caldas and Antioquia, among others with edible fruits, of which half are grown commercially (Campos, 2001), with Boyaca being the principal producer due to the characteristics of these fruits, such as the banana with a harvested area of 663 ha and a production of 6,868 t, passion fruit (Passiflora tripartita var. mollisima Holm- contributing 48% of the national production of the banana Nielsen & Møller Jørgensen) (Primot et al., 2005). passion fruit (Agronet, 2012). Agro-ecological conditions in It is native to the Andean valleys of high mountainous which the passion fruit grows naturally contain an altitude areas and, in Colombia, is grown throughout the three between 2,000 and 3,200 m a.s.l., an optimum temperature Received for publication: 7 March, 2013. Accepted for publication: 5 June, 2013. 1 Department of Agronomy, Faculty of Agronomy, Universidad Nacional de Colombia. Bogota (Colombia). [email protected] Agronomía Colombiana 31(2), 184-194, 2013 between 13 and 16°C and rainfall of 1,000-1,500 mm year-1 basic to identifying nutrients as limiting the factors in plant (Campos, 2001). growth and production, and is also useful to differentiate physiological disorders caused by abiotic factors such as Dry mass (DM) yield is the result of the photosynthetic climate or toxicities induced by fertilization, among other process; from the quantitative point of view, its accumu- factors (Gómez, 2012). lation, and hence plant growth, depends on the excess of synthesized carbohydrates in relation to those that are used This study aimed to establish the effect of different levels as a respiration substrate. However, in the particular case of nitrogen, potassium and magnesium fertilization on of plant structures, this concept is not necessarily strict, biomass, leaf growth and symptomatology of the banana because the photosynthate redistribution mechanism may passion fruit in order to better understand plant response increase or decrease the accumulated biomass in each of to nutrition scale and to recognize deficiency and excess the structures (Norero and Pilatti, 2002). symptoms on leaves. Approximately 90% of accumulated DM during plant Materials and methods growth is the product of photosynthetic activity while the remaining percentage comes from mineral absorption The experiment was conducted under greenhouse condi- (Benincasa, 2003). For the banana passion fruit, Montene- tions at the Faculty of Agronomy of the Universidad Na- gro (1991) determined that DM accumulation peaks when cional de Colombia, Bogota, with an average greenhouse flowering starts. temperature of 20°C and relative humidity of 80%. The leaves are the main organs that intercept photosyntheti- Banana passion fruit plants (‘Curuba de Castilla’ type) cally active radiation (PAR) to produce carbohydrates that were obtained from a commercial nursery 35 d after seed are then used to build new tissues and both vegetative and emergence. The plants were pinched apically to encourage reproductive structures. The efficiency in the interception lateral budding and then a main stem of uniform height of the PAR and the leaf area are factors that influence the was selected. They were then transplanted into 5 kg plas- photosynthetic activity and thus, the formation of biomass tic pots filled with an inert substrate of quartz sand (≤ 1 (Coombs and Hall, 1982). mm) and pure quartz (≤ 4 mm), 50% vol. each, and put on the greenhouse floor at 0.5 m between plants and 1.0 m Specific leaf area (SLA) is defined as the ratio of leaf area between rows. and dry weight of leaves, is a foliar thickness and den- sity index or, in other words, is a measure of the plant We used a tutoring system in vertical trellis with two leafiness based on dry weight (Hunt, 2003). The leaf area wire lines. The apical meristem was pruned when the ratio (LAR) is the ratio of leaf area and total plant dry plants reached the 2 m wire line to stimulate bud break weight, a morphological index that indicates the size of of secondary stems, of which two were selected for each the photosynthetic apparatus, and measures the balance line wire (at 1 and 2 m). Periodically, new side shoots were between gains of the photosynthetic process and expen- removed from the main stem to support the growth of the ditures through respiration in different parts of the plant four lateral stems. (Hunt, 2003). The treatments were composed of three fertilizer levels As for the driving variables of plant growth, Lambers et for each of the elements N, K and Mg, (0): total absence al. (1998) designated leaf area and net assimilation rate, of the element; (1): each element at less (N, K 30% and Mg as well as the plant’s nutrient concentration and nutrient 50%) than the commercially recommended dose; (2): each productivity. In Colombia, in the zones where banana element at a greater proportion (N, K 30% and Mg 50%) passion fruits are commercially grown, deficiencies of than the recommended dose and (control): commercially nitrogen, potassium and magnesium have been observed recommended dose; for a total of 10 (3 x 3 + 1) treatments. (M.I. Gómez, personal communication, 2010). When For the dosage of each nutrient, a tool guide for fertilization mineral nutrients are limiting, plants reduce growth and programs of commercial crops in the vegetative growth alter aspects of morphology, as well as acquisition and stage was used (Tab. 1). (M.I. Gomez, personal commu- use of minerals in order to maximize acquisition of these nication, 2010). scarce resources (Schachtman and Shin, 2007). Thus, the visualization of plant symptomatology is a valuable tool The fertilizer sources used in the stock solutions were: for morphological characterization (Lizarazo et al., 2013), urea (CH4N2O), monoammonium phosphate (NH4H2PO4), Lizarazo, Hernández, Fischer, and Gómez: Response of the banana passion fruit (Passiflora tripartita var. mollissima) to different levels of nitrogen, potassium..