Volume 0, Issue 0 (ARTICLES IN PRESS 2024)
Abstract
This study investigated the effects of irrigation strategies including sustained deficit irrigation (SDI) and partial root-zone drying (PRD) on the growth, physiology, and photosynthesis of strawberry plants in order to maximize crop productivity while maintaining water resources. This experiment has four irrigation strategies (FI: control (full irrigation volume), PRD1 (full irrigation volume), PRD2 (50% of FI), and SDI (50% of FI) and two fertilizer strengths (EC1 and EC2) with four replicates per treatment. Gas exchange, leaf chlorophyll index, stomatal conductance (gs), and maximum quantum efficiency of PSII photochemistry (F'v/F'm) were assessed on three occasions throughout the experimental duration in order to monitor the impact of different irrigation strategies on photosynthesis. Yield water use efficiency, as well as TSS (total soluble solids) and TA (total titratable acidity), two fruit quality-related parameters, were also measured. In the final stage, PRD2-EC2 photosystem II efficiency was 9% higher than SDI-EC2. Also, the PRD strategy effectively influenced and regulated the adjustment of stomatal conductance (gs). In diluted fertilizer (EC2), yield WUE of PRD1 and SDI performed 15% and 30.7% lower than FI-EC2. However, PRD2-EC2 treatment increased 72.5% more than the control. Our observations of leaf and fruit deficiencies showed that the PRD strategy had long-term benefits for the plant and reduced water consumption. However, to establish a sustainable irrigation strategy, the nutrient solution must be adjusted to control growth and photosynthesis attributes.
Volume 14, Issue 4 (7-2012)
Abstract
Chrysanthemum (Dendranthema grandiflorum (Ramat.) Kitamura cv. Pattriot) is one of the most important and marketable cut flowers in the world. However, a relatively limited vase life reduces its marketability. The aim of this study was to evaluate the efficacy of salicylic acid (SA) and citric acid (CA) in extending the vase life of chrysanthemum flowers. Therefore, a factorial experiment based on completely randomized design with SA at (0, 100, 200, 300 ppm) and CA at (0, 100, 200 ppm) with 3 replicates and 3 samples (individual flowers) for each replicate, was conducted. Applying SA and CA increased vase life, petal water content (%), initial fresh weight (%) and marketability, significantly. SA treatments increased leaf relative water content (RWC), petal water content (%) and initial fresh weight (%) by 49, 73 and 23 %, compared to the controls, respectively. The highest vase life (21.77 days) was observed for the treatments of SA (300 ppm). The significant increase (300%) in vase life is considered to be due to plant regulating and anti-stress properties of SA and CA. According to the results of this experiment, SA and CA as natural, cheap, safe and biodegradable compounds are suitable alternatives for conventional chemical treatments in order to prolong vase life of cut flowers of chrysanthemum. Commercialization of these compounds for optimum formulations needs further experiments.
