Growth and macro and micronutrients concentration in spinach (Spinacia oleracea L.) as influenced by salinity and nitrogen rates
Journal Title: International Research Journal of Applied and Basic Sciences - Year 2012, Vol 3, Issue 4
Abstract
Salinity and nitrogen (N) deficiency are growth limiting factors for most plants including spinach in arid and semiarid areas. A greenhouse experiment was conducted to evaluate the effect of salinity levels and N rates on growth and concentration of macro and micronutrients in spinach aerial parts. Treatments included four salinity levels 0 (S0), 1000 (S1), 2000 (S2) and 3000 (S3) mg NaCl kg-1 of soil and five N rates 0, 75, 150, 225 and 300 mg N kg-1 of soil as urea. Results showed that shoot dry matter yield (DMY) of spinach decreased at S3 compared to those of S0, S1 and S2. Increasing N rates up to 225 mg kg-1 significantly increased DMY. Addition of NaCl increased concentrations of N, phosphorus (P), zinc (Zn), copper (Cu), sodium (Na) and chlorine (Cl), but decreased those of potassium (K), iron (Fe) and magnesium (Mg) in spinach aerial parts. Increasing NaCl levels, at 300 mg N rate, increased concentration of calcium (Ca) but decreased that of manganese (Mn) in spinach shoot. Application of N rates increased concentration of N, Ca, Mg, Cu and Na in spinach shoot. Iron concentration decreased in shoot at 75 mg N level compared to that of control. Application of N up to 150 mg significantly increased Mn concentration, while decreased that of Cl in spinach shoot. Detrimental effects of salinity at S3 level on the reduction of DMY increased at 225 and 300 mg N rates compared to lower rates of N and salinity. Spinach is considered as a moderately salt sensitive leafy vegetable that tolerance threshold is 2 dS m-1, however; our results indicated that tolerance threshold for Virofly cultivar was at least 8 dS m-1, therefore, it might be considered as a moderately salt tolerant spinach cultivar. In conclusion, over fertilization of N aggravated detrimental effect of salinity on the growth of spinach.
Authors and Affiliations
Jamal Sheikhi*| Department of Soil Science, College of Agriculture, Shiraz University, Shiraz, Iran.Email: sheikhi.jamal@yahoo.com, Abdolmajid Ronaghi| Department of Soil Science, College of Agriculture, Shiraz University, Shiraz, Iran.
Keywords
Related Articles
- EP ID EP4971
- DOI -
- Views 452
- Downloads 26
Effect of biological nitrogen on the harvest index of flower and essential oil of Calendula officinalis L. under End Season Water Deficit Condition
To evaluate effect of irrigation disruption on the harvest index of flower and essential oil of Calendula officinalis L., an experiment was conducted as split plot at the Research Farm of Faculty of Agriculture, Urmia Un...
Survey on the ensiling of the rumen contents and wheat straw with molasses
In this study ensiling the rumen contents and wheat straw was performed with four levels of molasses (0-5-10 and 15 percent of DM) and three levels of durability period (30–60 and 90 days). Samples were analyzed to evalu...
Investigating the influence of in-service training among employees of Universities of Bilesavar and Parsabad
New changes in economic and social developments have made certain needs for experienced work force and one of these needs is the educational programs for most staff to develop all their necessary skills. In this study re...
Empowerment of Mothers in Raising and Caring of Child with Autism Spectrum Disorder
Autism is one of the most incapacitating developmental disorders. Receiving an autism spectrum diagnosis is a significant event in the lives of families. It cause unique series of stressors for parents including social i...
Market Over-reaction and Rational Market Risk in value and growth stocks in Tehran Securities Exchange
In this paper we study asymmetric risk premium on both value and growth stocks. There are two competition explanations for risk premium: Market Over-reaction Hypothesis that agents overstate future returns on growth stoc...