Effects of fertilization on the growth, photosynthesis, and biomass accumulation in juvenile plants of three coffee (Coffea arabica L.) cultivars

Abstract

We carried out a field experiment in order to study effects of fertilization in juvenile plants of three coffee (Coffea arabica) cultivars in Yunnan, SW China. Fertilization treatments included a control without fertilizer (CK), combinations of three NPK fertilization rates [high fertilization (F H ), medium fertilization (F M ), and low fertilization (F L ) with 135, 90, and 45 g per plant per year, respectively], and at two N:P 2 O 5 :K 2 O ratios (R 1 , 1:0.5:0.8; R 2 , 1:0.8:0.5). The growth in juvenile plants was not altered by fertilization, with two clear growth peaks being observed in both the height and stem growth rates (RGRs) throughout a year. Both F M and F H resulted in significantly higher RGRs in both height and stem diameter compared to F L and CK in all three cultivars. At the same fertilization rate, the leaf area, branch number, longest branch length, internode number, and biomass of R 2 were higher than those of R 1 , and P significantly affected the root biomass and root to shoot ratio. Compared to the F L treatment, both F M and F H treatments resulted in higher net photosynthetic rates and stomatal conductance across seasons, and in higher intrinsic water-use efficiency during the dry season and at the middle of the wet season. Photosynthetic nitrogen use efficiency at R 2 was higher than at R 1 , but no significant differences were observed among the different fertilization rates. Among the three coffee cultivars, Caturra exhibited the highest height, stem diameter, longest branch length, and internode number. Our results indicated that the optimal N:P 2 O 5 :K 2 O ratio is 1:0.8:0.5 for the juvenile growth of coffee plants. Both F M and F H could help optimize the growth and photosynthetic rate of coffee plants, but F M is suitable for the ecological friendly agriculture and economic sustainability in coffee plantations.

Biochemical, Physiological and Yield Characteristics of Red Basil as Affected by Cultivar and Fertilization

“…In previous research [50], the higher the amount of chemical fertilizer supplied to plants, the higher the nitrate content in different edible parts of the vegetable crops. Despite this, in the present investigation, the leaf nitrate concentrations detected upon all fertilization treatments were much lower than the thresholds recommended by the EU In the present study, Ch fertilization determined the highest SPAD value, reflecting the chlorophyll content in basil plants, which may be due to the fact that chemical fertilizer makes nitrogen readily available to plants and, in this respect, previous investigations highlighted the positive correlation between soil N availability and leaf content of chlorophyll [47,51,52] which is a nitrogen-containing molecule [40]. These results are presumably connected to the highest plant biomass recorded under Ch fertilization, possibly eliciting a fast absorption and metabolization of macronutrients (N, P and K) by plants [53,54].…”

Exploring adaptation strategies of coffee production to climate change using a process-based model

“…height, leaf area, internode number, root to shoot ratio), while physiological variables (i.e. leaf net photosynthetic rate, stomatal conductance, intercellular [CO2], and intrinsic water-use efficiency) were not significantly different (Zhang et al 2017).…”

“…Different coffee varieties exhibit different yield potentials and responses to environmental stresses. Differences in morphological traits have been identified to be the main determinants of yield differences and drought tolerance among Arabica cultivars (Tausend et al 2000;Zhang et al 2017). Open questions remain regarding genotypic differences in temperature tolerance and response to elevated [CO2].…”

Photosynthesis-Related Responses of Colombian Elite Hevea brasiliensis Genotypes under Different Environmental Variations: Implications for New Germplasm Selection in the Amazon

“…In this study, in the dry period at the semi-humid warm site, the genotypes ECC 64 and ECC 83, increased their photosynthetic rates (Figure 2d) and leaf water potentials (Figure 4d) between 9:00 and 12:00 h. In particular, at 12:00 h, ECC 83 had a mean A significantly higher than IAN 873 (p < 0.05), and ECC 64 had a mean Ψ L higher than IAN 873 (p < 0.05). This may be related to a decrease in hydraulic conductivity as the result of an increase in tension and cavitation of the xylem, minimizing the leaf water imbalance [37,38]. High VPD values associated with a higher volumetric content of water in the soil at noon favor the efficiency of daily transpiration, which reduces the loss of foliar water [39,40].…”