Enhancing nitrogen uptake efficiency and tomato plant growth in soilless substrates using fulvic acids and mycorrhizal biostimulants

IF 4.2 2区农林科学 Q1 HORTICULTURE

Scientia Horticulturae Pub Date : 2025-06-01 DOI:10.1016/j.scienta.2025.114212

Mahadi Hasan Redoy , Md Al Mamun , Audrey Liam Cooley, Ethan Darby, Tabibul Islam

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引用次数: 0

Abstract

Improving nutrient use efficiency is critical for sustainable soilless substrate-based controlled environment agriculture (CEA) crop production. In this regard, this study assesses the effect of fulvic acid (FA) and arbuscular mycorrhizal fungus (AMF) based biostimulants on tomato seedlings growth and nitrogen (N) use efficiency under high (100 mg L⁻¹ N) and low (10 mg L⁻¹ N) nitrogen fertilization conditions for six weeks. Tomato plants were grown in a peat moss-based soilless substrate under greenhouse conditions. In addition to plant growth parameters and tissue N content, microbial extracellular enzyme activity in the root zone substrate was also evaluated. The results showed that no significant differences were observed among the treatments in plant height or biomass accumulation at a lower nitrogen level. In contrast, under the high N condition, plants treated with AMF or combinations of AMF and FA exhibited increased vigor and enhanced fresh and dry biomass accumulation. AMF and AMF+FA treatments improved N uptake efficiency (NUpE) and apparent N recovery (ANR) under high nitrogen conditions. Moreover, the combined application of AMF and FA significantly increased microbial extracellular enzyme (β-glucosidase) activity in the soilless substrate around the root zones and enhanced fresh root mass accumulation, underscoring the synergistic actions of FA and AMF in N uptake and plant performance. The findings highlight the potential of AMF alone or in synergy with FA to increase N uptake and plant growth. This could be a sustainable strategy for improving N uptake and use efficiency in soil-less substrate-based tomato production.

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利用富里酸和菌根生物刺激素提高氮素吸收效率和番茄植株在无土基质上的生长

提高养分利用效率是实现无土基控环境农业作物可持续生产的关键。为此，本研究在高（100 mg L−1 N）和低（10 mg L−1 N）施氮条件下，评价了黄腐酸（FA）和灌木菌根真菌（AMF）生物刺激素对番茄幼苗生长和氮素利用效率的影响。在温室条件下，番茄植株生长在以泥炭苔藓为基础的无土基质上。除了植物生长参数和组织氮含量外，还对根区底物的微生物胞外酶活性进行了评估。结果表明，在低氮水平下，不同处理间的株高和生物量积累均无显著差异。相反，在高氮条件下，AMF或AMF与FA组合处理的植株活力增强，鲜干生物量积累增加。在高氮条件下，AMF和AMF+FA处理提高了氮素吸收效率（NUpE）和表观氮素回收率（ANR）。此外，AMF和FA联合施用显著提高了根区周围无土基质微生物胞外酶（β-葡萄糖苷酶）活性，促进了鲜根质量积累，表明FA和AMF对氮素吸收和植株生产性能具有协同作用。该研究结果强调了AMF单独或与FA协同增加N吸收和植物生长的潜力。这可能是提高无土基番茄氮素吸收和利用效率的可持续策略。

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来源期刊

Scientia Horticulturae 农林科学-园艺

CiteScore

8.60

自引率

4.70%

发文量

796

审稿时长

47 days

期刊介绍： Scientia Horticulturae is an international journal publishing research related to horticultural crops. Articles in the journal deal with open or protected production of vegetables, fruits, edible fungi and ornamentals under temperate, subtropical and tropical conditions. Papers in related areas (biochemistry, micropropagation, soil science, plant breeding, plant physiology, phytopathology, etc.) are considered, if they contain information of direct significance to horticulture. Papers on the technical aspects of horticulture (engineering, crop processing, storage, transport etc.) are accepted for publication only if they relate directly to the living product. In the case of plantation crops, those yielding a product that may be used fresh (e.g. tropical vegetables, citrus, bananas, and other fruits) will be considered, while those papers describing the processing of the product (e.g. rubber, tobacco, and quinine) will not. The scope of the journal includes all horticultural crops but does not include speciality crops such as, medicinal crops or forestry crops, such as bamboo. Basic molecular studies without any direct application in horticulture will not be considered for this journal.