The HORTSYST model extended to phosphorus uptake prediction for tomatoes in soilless culture

A. Martinez-Ruiz, J. Pineda-Pineda, A. Ruiz-García, J.V. Prado-Hernández, I.L. López-Cruz, C. Mendoza-Perez
Phosphorus (P) is one of the essential nutrients required by all plants to complete their life cycles. P is involved in all growth phases in every living cell. In horticulture, P is vital in nutrient management for achieving maximum crop yields. There is an intimate relationship between the state of nitrogen (N), P and carbon metabolism. Therefore, deficiency of N and P in plants induces changes in the synthesis of carbohydrates and degradation pathways. The progressive P deficiency inhibits root and shoot growth, decreases the concentration of P in the dry matter, and decreases the photosynthetic activity. The aim of this research was to extend and calibrate the HortSyst model for the prediction and management of P uptake by a tomato crop grown in soilless culture in order to increase the efficiency of this nutrient linked to the irrigation management through the crop transpiration. The HortSyst model is a discrete time model for describing the dynamics of dry matter production, N uptake, leaf area index and crop transpiration. Two experiments with tomato 'CID F1' were carried out under greenhouse conditions, during the autumn-winter and spring-summer seasons growing in hydroponic systems using volcanic tuff as substrate. Plants were distributed with a density of 3.5 plants m‑2. The temperature, relative humidity and solar radiation were measured inside of the greenhouses. P concentration was determined by the method of yellow molybdovanadate. The parameters were calibrated using nonlinear least square estimation and the statistics of goodness of fit between simulated and measured data were the root mean square error (RMSE), bias (BIAS), and modeling efficiency (EF). According to the results obtained, the HortSyst model could be used to predict P uptake besides the N uptake by the tomato crop.
Martinez-Ruiz, A., Pineda-Pineda, J., Ruiz-García, A., Prado-Hernández, J.V., López-Cruz, I.L. and Mendoza-Perez, C. (2020). The HORTSYST model extended to phosphorus uptake prediction for tomatoes in soilless culture. Acta Hortic. 1271, 301-306
DOI: 10.17660/ActaHortic.2020.1271.41
https://doi.org/10.17660/ActaHortic.2020.1271.41
water uptake, crop growth model, light use efficiency, mass flow, simulation model
English

Acta Horticulturae