CROPSCAN AS A TOOL TO DRIVE PHOSPHORUS AND POTASSIUM FERTILIZATION IN TOMATO

P. Sambo, G. Zanin, V. Forte
The development of optical tools for solar radiation measurement led to an expansion of their field of application. In agriculture, the distinctive features of these instruments are enhanced and their applications are already a useful tool in nitrogen fertilizer application to several crops, relieving farmers of difficult decisions. The ability to establish the real nutrient requirement of crops is an essential aspect of farm management and those tools have the important feature of providing low cost and fast measurement. Nitrogen assessment has already been investigated with successful results, but other important mineral elements such as phosphorus and potassium have not been evaluated. The aim of this experiment was to investigate the ability of the Cropscan meter in detecting physiological responses due to deficiency or excess of phosphorus and potassium. Tomato plants grown on coconut fiber were fertilized with 11 nutrient solutions containing different concentrations of N, P and K. Among treatments two controls were conducted. In the first control, plants only received water, and in the second control plants received a standard nutrient solution normally used for tomato plant production. Results confirmed the capacity of Cropscan to detect plant nitrogen status and highlighted the possibility of detecting the effects of other nutrients. While in controlled stress condition due to phosphorus deficiency the instrument was able to clearly distinguish the treatments, it was not able to distinguish the potassium stress conditions
Sambo, P., Zanin, G. and Forte, V. (2009). CROPSCAN AS A TOOL TO DRIVE PHOSPHORUS AND POTASSIUM FERTILIZATION IN TOMATO. Acta Hortic. 807, 371-376
DOI: 10.17660/ActaHortic.2009.807.52
https://doi.org/10.17660/ActaHortic.2009.807.52
Lycopersicon esculentum, canopy reflectance, macronutrients, nutritional status, sustainability.
English

Acta Horticulturae