Effects of Soil Water Regime and Nitrogen Form on Blossom-end Rot, Yield, Water Relations, and Elemental Composition of Tomato1

Abstract

Abstract Decreasing soil water potential (minima of −0.3, −2.0 and −6.0 bars) reduced fruit number, set, and mean and total fruit weight of tomato (Lycopersicon esculentum Mill). Under the 2 wettest soil water regimes, NH4-N compared to NO3-N fertilization reduced total and mean fruit weights but increased fruit number whereas no differences in these variables were found between N-forms under the driest regime. Incidence and severity of blossom-end rot (BER) were increased by NH4 nutrition and by decreasing soil water potential (SWP). Decreasing SWP either had no effect or increased leaf Ca, Mg, and K concentrations but decreased fruit concentration of these ions. At any soil water regime, NH4 fertilization decreased leaf Ca and Mg concentration but generally increased leaf K and fruit Ca, Mg, and K concentrations. While BER incidence and severity did not appear to be related to fruit Ca, Mg, and K concentration, the disorder was associated with increased stylar to calyx fruit-half concentration ratios of these ions. Basal (pre-dawn) leaf xylem pressure potential (ψp) was unaffected by N nutrition but was greater (less negative) under the wettest regime. Compared to plants supplied with NO3-N whose minimal and mean light-saturation ψp values decreased with decreasing SWP, plants given NH4-N reached a constant ψp level regardless of soil water regime. Since leaf diffusive resistance (RL) values increased with decreasing SWP, but were unaffected by N form, the lower transpiration and transpiration rates under NH4-N might be explained by increased non-leaf resistances to water flux and/or by reduced soil-plant water potential gradients.