Development of a Critical Nitrogen Dilution Curve for Basil ( Ocimum basilicum L.) Under Greenhouse Conditions
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ORIGINAL PAPER
Development of a Critical Nitrogen Dilution Curve for Basil (Ocimum basilicum L.) Under Greenhouse Conditions Hadisseh Rahimikhoob 1 & Teymour Sohrabi 1 & Mojtaba Delshad 2 Received: 24 August 2019 / Accepted: 3 January 2020 # Sociedad Chilena de la Ciencia del Suelo 2020
Abstract Nitrogen (N) is the most limiting nutrient for crops growth and development. The optimal application of N significantly enhances crop metabolic process. On the other hand, overuse of nitrogenous fertilizer leads to excess N accumulation in crop tissues that increases the risk of health-related problems. Therefore, it is mandatory to develop a quantitative approach for monitoring the crop N status during growth period. The main objective of this study was to establish the critical nitrogen dilution curve as an effective method to diagnose nitrogen status of sweet basil (Ocimum basilicum L.) grown under controlled greenhouse conditions. Two experiments were carried out with seven N application rates in the research greenhouse of University of Tehran, Iran. Values of crop shoot biomass (t ha−1) and N concentration (%) were measured in each sampling date to develop the critical nitrogen concentration (Nc) equation. The relationship between Nc and shoot dry matter (DM) was described by a power function (Nc = 4.80DM-0.38, R2 = 0.98). The validation results showed that the developed equation effectively distinguishes N-limiting from non-N-limiting treatments. The N nutrition index (NNI) ranged from 0.52 to 1.18 and 0.53 to 1.26 for the first and second experiment, respectively. It was concluded that the developed N dilution curve could provide useful insight into determination of basil N nutrition status and proper fertilizer management. Keywords Critical nitrogen concentration . Nitrogen nutrition index . Sweet basil
1 Introduction Nitrogen (N) is considered to be among the most essential nutrients for plant growth, development, and reproduction. Proper N fertilizer application enhances leaf chlorophyll content, intensifies the photosynthesis process, and improves vegetative growth and production. N deficiency results in stunted
* Hadisseh Rahimikhoob [email protected] Teymour Sohrabi [email protected] Mojtaba Delshad [email protected] 1
Irrigation and Reclamation Engineering Department, College of Agriculture and Natural Resources, University of Tehran, P. O. Box 4111, Karaj 31587-77871, Iran
2
Horticultural Sciences Department, College of Agriculture and Natural Resources, University of Tehran, P. O. Box 4111, Karaj 31587-77871, Iran
growth, reduced leaf area, and leaf chlorosis. On the other hand, over-application of N causes thickened stems, increased dark-green color in leaves, and accumulation of excess nitrogen in the plant tissues (Leghari et al. 2016). Vegetables are an important constituent of the human diet (Qiu et al. 2014). Basil (Ocimum basilicum L.), belonging to the Lamiaceae family, is a leafy and aromatic vegetable originated in Asia (Marotti et al. 1996; Bufalo et al. 2015). In addition to pharmaceut
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