The Positive Effects of Humic/Fulvic Acid Fertilizers on the Quality of Lemon Fruits

Abstract

Humic acid (HA) is a kind of organic substance that has shown good effects in regard to promoting crop growth. In the current study, the influences of three kinds of fertilizers mainly containing humic/fulvic acids, including water-soluble fertilizer containing humic acid (WHA), fulvic acid potassium (FAP), and fulvic acid distillate (FAD), on the qualities of ‘Eureka’ lemon fruits were investigated systematically at their different harvest times. As demonstrated by the results, the indexes used to assess the quality of lemon fruit showed that all lemons treated with those three humic/fulvic acid fertilizers at different harvest times improved in quality. Notably, the single fruit weight, edible rate, and juice yield of lemon fruit in the WHA- and FAP-treated groups, as well as the contents of vitamin C, total acid, total sugar, and total soluble solid, were higher than those in the blank control (CK) group (p < 0.05). Furthermore, the contents of total flavonoids and phenols in the peels, pulps, and seeds of lemons in humic/fulvic acid fertilizer–treated groups were all higher than those in the CK group at the three harvest times (p < 0.05). This result indicated that humic/fulvic acid fertilizers produced positive effects on the quality of lemon fruits and could be used in lemon planting to improve the quality and added value of lemons.