Surfactant and Nutrient Uptake in Citrus

Abstract

Generally roots not only provide anchorage and support to plants but also help to absorb water and nutrients from the soil. The roots and shoots of plants including citrus are functionally separate but mutually dependent. The roots absorb water and mineral nutrients from the soil and transport to the areal parts including shoots and leaves. In return the shoots supply photosynthates to the roots. Presently the need of absorption of inorganic nutrients through plant leaves has AbstractThe availability of essential nutrients in appropriate amount ensures the growth, productivity and quality for sustainable production of tree fruits including citrus. The essential mineral element below the critical level adversely affects growth and yield even other minerals are within optimum range. A balanced and continuous supply of the essential nutrients is a key for citrus growers to ensure pro fi tability. Soil application is recommended for most of the macronutrients such as N, P and K, as these are required in large quantities. However, the soil application leads to nutrient losses through runoff, leaching and fi xation. Therefore, the foliar application is considered as an attractive alternative to the soil application of essential nutrients. Particularly, the trace elements which are required in small quantity are preferably applied through the foliar sprays. Nutrients applied through the foliar spray are directly absorbed though leaves and have several positive attributes. Foliar application can reduce overall fertiliser application rate and energy use, improve nutrient uptake and reduce underground water pollution. The ef fi ciency of foliar application of nutrients can further be enhanced with the addition of surfactants or adjuvant into the spray solution. Surfactants can be classi fi ed into various groups on the basis of their composition such as cationic, anionic, non-ionic, zwitterionic or ampholytic. The surfactants are widely used in foliar application of both macro-and micronutrients. This chapter reviews the available information about the use of surfactants in the foliar application of mineral elements in citrus with special reference to nitrogen (N), calcium (Ca), iron (Fe), zinc (Zn), boron (B) or copper (Cu).

Foliar uptake of radiocaesium from irrigation water by paddy rice (Oryza sativa): an overlooked pathway in contaminated environments

“…fivefold higher than that in the external solution (estimation based on the tissue water content; details not shown). This cellular 134 Cs concentration suggests active uptake mechanisms involved in 134 Cs foliar uptake from the leaf apoplastic space to the cytosol, as has been indicated for other cations (Wójcik, ; Singh & Khan, ). The K transporter OsHAK5, whose expression in the leaf plasma membrane of rice has been revealed (Yang et al ., ), might contribute to the active foliar uptake of 134 Cs we observed, because the HAK transporters generally discriminate weakly for Cs over K (Véry et al ., ).…”

Foliar application: from plant nutrition to biofortification

“…Skin damages observed on citrus fruits during storage are mainly caused by potassium deficiency. It is confirmed that foliar application of Ca reduces skin discoloration in citrus fruits (Smoleń 2012;Singh and Khan 2012;Gimeno et al 2014). …”

Use of a marine yeast as a biocontrol agent of the novel pathogen Penicillium citrinum on Persian lime

“…Cañamás, et al (2008) obtained a similar result by using of Fungicover as adjuvant, which seems to bring a protective effect to the biocontrol agent against adverse environmental conditions. Surfactants as Tween 80 are generally used into the solution to improve its performance and effectiveness, those compounds cause reduction in surface tension and alter the energy relationships at interfaces, due to presence of both hydrophobic and hydrophilic group within the same molecule, these compounds adjust themselves as interfaces (Singh and Khan, 2012). On the other hand, a simple and efficient method to improve antagonistic activity is the use of additives like sucrose and yeast extract to increase the population and enhance the survival rate of the microbial antagonist (Ippolito and Nigro, 2000).…”