Influence of cultivar and fertilization treatment on the yield and leaf nutrients content of apple (Malus domestica Borkh.)
File version
Version of Record (VoR)
Author(s)
Radović, Mirjana
Kulina, Mirko
Zejak, Dejan
Spalević, Velibor
Kader, Shuraik
Dudic, Branislav
Michael, Ruby N
Campbell, Jennifer
Jaufer, Lizny
Glišić, Ivana
Glišić, Ivan
Griffith University Author(s)
Primary Supervisor
Other Supervisors
Editor(s)
Date
Size
File type(s)
Location
Abstract
Fertilisation strategy can have a big impact on apple (Malus domestica Borkh) yield, with considerable environmental and economic implications. This research paper presents the yield and leaf nutrients content of three apple cultivars fertilised with three treatment regimes over 2 years (2020–202) in Bosnia and Herzegovina. The specific apple cultivars investigated were: Jonagold Decosta, Red Idared and Gala Schnitzer®Schniga, each fertilised with three treatments: T1 (control‒without fertilization); T2 (300 kg ha−1 NPK (6:18:36) + 150 kg/ha N (calcium ammonium nitrate‒CAN)) and T3 (foliar nutrition‒mixture organic-mineral fertilizer commercially named “FitoFert Kristal” (0.6%) (10:40:10) + “FitoFert Kristal” (0.6%) (20:20:20) + “FoliFetril Ca” (0.5%) (N:Ca)) in Bosnia and Herzegovina in the period of two years (2020–2021). Significant differences of different yield categories (yield per tree, yield per hectare and yield efficiency) were found among cultivar/treatment combinations, cultivars, treatments and years. Yield per tree, yield per hectare and yield efficiency were lowest in cultivar Jonagold DeCosta. Fertilization treatment T1 significantly influenced the lowest yield per tree and yield per hectare with the magnitudes 7.55 kg tree−1 and 27.96 t ha−1, respectively. The highest yield efficiency was found in trees fertilised with treatment T3 with 9.21 55 kg tree−1, 34.11 96 t ha−1 and yield efficiency of 0.25 kg cm−2. Six mineral elements in the apple leaf, such as boron (B), calcium (Ca), manganese (Mn), iron (Fe), potassium (K), and zinc (Zn), were presented in known magnitudes. The cultivar Jonagold DeCosta's leaves had the highest K, B, and Zn contents with 8500.8 mg kg−1 FW (i.e. fresh weight of leaves), 33.8 mg kg−1 FW, and 12.2 mg kg−1 FW, respectively, while cultivar Red Idared's leaves had the highest Ca, Fe, and Mg contents. The fertilisation treatment T3 influenced significantly the highest content of Ca (301.37 mg kg−1 FW), Fe (116.5 mg kg−1 FW), B (41.6 mg kg−1 FW), Mn (22.4 mg kg−1 FW), and Zn (14.9 mg kg−1 FW) in leaves, while the highest content of K was found in leaves from trees fertilised with treatment T2 (8130.5 mg kg−1 FW). The experimental outcomes have proven that the cultivar/treatment combinations, cultivars, treatments, and time duration (in years) are the key factors affecting the potassium, calcium, iron, boron, and manganese contents. It was concluded that the foliar application enables easier mobility of elements, which results in a greater number of fruits and larger fruits, which leads to a higher yield. This study is the first of its kind in Bosnia and Herzegovina, and the findings of this research will pave the way for future research activities involving increasing the number of cultivars and different fertilisation treatments on apple yield and leaf mineral composition.
Journal Title
Heliyon
Conference Title
Book Title
Edition
Volume
9
Issue
6
Thesis Type
Degree Program
School
Publisher link
Patent number
Funder(s)
Grant identifier(s)
Rights Statement
Rights Statement
© 2023 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd. This is an open access article under the CC BY license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).
Item Access Status
Note
Access the data
Related item(s)
Subject
Agricultural biotechnology
Agriculture, land and farm management
Persistent link to this record
Citation
Ljavić, D; Radović, M; Kulina, M; Zejak, D; Spalević, V; Kader, S; Dudic, B; Michael, RN; Campbell, J; Jaufer, L; Glišić, I; Glišić, I, Influence of cultivar and fertilization treatment on the yield and leaf nutrients content of apple (Malus domestica Borkh.), Heliyon, 2023, 9 (6), pp. e16321