Improving morphophysiological and biochemical characterizes of tomato with nickel fertilization and foliar application of seaweed extract

Document Type : Original Article

Authors

1 Department of Horticultural Science, Faculty of Agriculture, Urmia University

2 Department of Horticulture, Urmia University

3 Department of Soil Science, Faculty of Agriculture, Urmia University

10.30466/asr.2025.55762.1864

Abstract

Tomato (Solanum lycopersicum L.) cultivation is highly influenced by various environmental, physiological and agronomic factors including soil fertility, water availability and chemical applications. In recent years, sustainable and environmentally friendly alternatives have been proposed to improve agricultural productivity and crop quality. One of these alternatives is the use of seaweed extract and micronutrients such as nickel as a biostimulant. Hence, in this study, the effect of foliar application of seaweed extract (four levels: 1, 1.5, 2 mL L-1 and control) with nickel fertilizer (four levels: 0.156, 0.234, 0. 312 mg L-1 and control) on tomato, which is one of the most important and economical crops in the greenhouse industry, was investigated. The results of the analysis of variance of the data show that foliar spraying of seaweed extract and nickel irrigation fertilizer have a significant effect on all growth and yield traits, biochemical, antioxidant, fruit pigments and fruit nutrients. The results of the data comparison showed that foliar spraying of seaweed extract and nickel irrigation fertilizer increased the growth and yield characteristics of tomatoes (aerial part weight, fruit weight and yield traits). The highest amount of biochemical traits such as total phenols (58.46 mg g-1 DW), total flavonoids (41.71 mg g-1 DW), anthocyanins (75.08 µg g-1 DW) and antioxidant activities (82.50 %) was observed in the nickel treatment with 0.312 mg L-1 and the seaweed extract with this amount of 2 mL L-1. The amount of carotenoid pigments such as lycopene (16.72 mg g-1 FW) and beta-carotene (5.81 mg g-1 FW) increased in the treatments with higher concentrations of seaweed extract and nickel. Also, with increasing amounts of seaweed extract and nickel, the amount of nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium, calcium, and magnesium increased. Therefore, the use of biostimulants can be a way to improve the quantity and quality of tomatoes, as well as preserve the environment and increase security by reducing the use of chemical fertilizers.

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References

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Applied Soil Research
Volume 13, Issue 2 - Serial Number 2
September 2025
Pages 38-55

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History

  • Receive Date: 25 November 2024
  • Revise Date: 07 February 2025
  • Accept Date: 08 February 2025

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