Slow-Release Fertilizer Improves the Growth, Quality, and Nutrient Utilization of Wintering Chinese Chives (Allium tuberosum Rottler ex Spreng.)

Cheng Wang,Jianming Xie,Jing Li,Jian Lv,Yantai Gan,Jihua Yu,Jing Zhang,Chaonan Tang,Tianhang Niu,Jeffrey A Coulter

doi:10.3390/agronomy10030381

Abstract

Excessive application of fertilizers leads to the loss of a high amount of nutrients and low fertilizer utilization, which severely restricts crop productivity. Establishing better fertilizer usage practices can mitigate the adverse effects of excessive fertilizer use in agricultural practices. This study determined the effects of slow-release fertilizers on the growth; quality; root and nitrate reductase activity; accumulation; distribution of nitrogen (N), phosphorus (P), and potassium (K) in roots, stems, and leaves; and NPK utilization of winter Chinese chives (Allium tuberosum Rottler ex Spreng.) in multi-layer covered plastic greenhouses. Treatments were conventional fertilization (CF, NPK: 1369.5 kg ha−1), conventional fertilization with slow-release fertilizer (SRF, NPK: 1369.5 kg ha−1), reduced fertilization with slow-release fertilizers (SRFR, NPK: 942.0 kg ha−1), and no fertilizer arranged in a completely randomized design with three replicates. The SRFR treatment increased Chinese chives yield and economic profitability by 37% and 47%, respectively, compared to the CF treatment. Similarly, nitrate reductase activity, root activity, soluble sugar, soluble protein, and flavonoid contents in the Chinese chives were increased by 40%, 12%, 16%, 6%, and 18%, respectively, in SRFR than CF. In addition to these, we observed a significant reduction in the surplus of N (42%) and P (58%) in soil under SRFR compared to CF. Nutrient uptake and nutrient use efficiency were also greater in SRFR than in CF. The results indicate that the adoption of SRFR can be an efficient approach to enhance quality and productivity of Chinese chives compared to CF under a multi-layer covered plastic greenhouse system.

Highlights

Chinese chives (Allium tuberosum Rottler ex Spreng.) belong to the genus Allium and are a cold-tolerant perennial herbaceous ratoon plant
We found that the absorption of N and K in the SRFR treatment was significantly increased by 31% and 17%, respectively, and that the absorption of P was increased, compared to CF
The results showed that the application of slow-release fertilizer (SRF) was beneficial, as nutrients accumulated in the roots of Chinese chives were transported to the leaves during the production period, which increased the accumulation of N, P and K in leaves

Summary

Introduction

Chinese chives (Allium tuberosum Rottler ex Spreng.) belong to the genus Allium and are a cold-tolerant perennial herbaceous ratoon plant. Chemical investigations of the different parts of Chinese chives have shown that they contain vitamins, crude fibers, mineral compounds, and sulfur. Chinese chives are becoming more economically valuable because of their nutritional and functional components [5,6]. Growers in Wushan, China (hometown of Chinese Chives), have increased the production capacity of Chinese chives by adopting multi-layer (four-layer) covered plastic greenhouses during winter [7]. Cropping year after year with high use of chemical fertilizers and unreasonable levels of irrigation in plastic greenhouses has caused triggered heavy metal pollution in the soil, nutrient loss, eutrophication of groundwater, and reductions in soil fertility and production efficiency [8,9,10]

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Conclusion