Plant density and nitrogen fertilization in Swiss chard

Abstract

An experiment was conducted to evaluate the effect of plant spacing and nitrogen fertilization on Swiss chard's yield, from September to November 2009. The experimental design was of randomized blocks in split plot with four replications. In the plots were allocated the two plant spacings (0.30 and 0.50 m) and in the subplots the five doses of nitrogen (0, 40, 80, 120 and 160 kg ha-1). The crop was harvested 90 days after transplanting. The plant spacing of 0.50 m provided increased production of total fresh weight of shoot (961.7 g plant-1) and marketable (873.1 g plant-1). However, the highest total yield (77.8 t ha-1) and marketable (64.5 t ha-1) was achieved with the smaller spacing between plants (0.30 m). The N rates applied in coverage until 160 kg ha-1 increased in a linear form the total and marketable production of fresh mass of shoots, the total and marketable yield, the N content and the N accumulation in the shoots of Swiss chard plants on the evaluated plant spacings.

High-plant density planting of basil (Ocimum basilicum) during summer/fall growth season improves yield in a closed hydroponic system

“…In the second experiment, the highest leaf fresh mass, leaf area and total plant fresh mass were recorded on plants grown at a plant density of 40 plants/m 2 , compared to 10, 16, 20 and 25 plants/m 2 ( Table 1). The results are in agreement with previous findings on other crops, namely, Swiss chard (Echer et al 2012;Maboko & Du Plooy 2013), oil thyme (Badi et al 2004) and leafy lettuce (Maboko & Du Plooy 2009), where leaf yield per unit area increased due to increased plant density, while leaf yield per plant decreased with increasing plant density. Although the lower plant density of 10 plants/m 2 gave more leaves, larger leaf area, leaf fresh and dry mass, and total plant fresh and dry mass per plant, as compared to the higher plant densities, it still resulted in lower yield per unit area.…”

Effect of Nitrogen Fertilization on the Quality of Swiss Chard at Harvest and during Storage as Minimally Processed Produce

“…was recorded for Swiss chard by Echer et al . () and Engelbrecht et al . (), and in other leafy vegetable as spinach or lettuce (Elia et al .…”

“…There are very few research studies pointing out the effect of nitrogen fertilization on Swiss chard grown during winter‐spring in the Mediterranean climate; nevertheless, our results confirmed the significant response of Swiss chard to nitrogen fertilization obtained in other climatic regions (Kołota and Czerniak ; Echer et al . ). Nitrogen application promoted linear increase in total and marketable yield as also found by Echer et al .…”

“…Nitrogen application promoted linear increase in total and marketable yield as also found by Echer et al . (). There was an increase of 0.71 and 0.60 kg/m 2 , respectively, in total and marketable yield of Swiss chard for each 50 kg N/ha applied.…”

“…A similar linear increase in plant f.w. was recorded for Swiss chard by Echer et al (2012) and Engelbrecht et al (2010), and in other leafy vegetable as spinach or lettuce (Elia et al 1998;Pereira et al 2003;Hammad et al 2007).…”