Effects of Leaf Selenium Application and Soil Water Interaction on Growth and Water Use Efficiency of Tomato in Greenhouse

Abstract

【Objective】 To explore the effects of the interaction between leaf spraying and soil water on the growth yield and water use efficiency of tomato plants in greenhouse. 【Method】 The objective is through pot experiment, this study took greenhouse tomato (Jingfan 404) as the research object, four exogenous selenium (selenium source: Na2SeO3) spraying concentration (S0: clear water control, S2.5: 2.5 mg/L, S5: 5 mg/L and S10: 10 mg/L) and three irrigation control levels were set (the lower irrigation limit was controlled as 50% of field water capacity (W1: severe drought), 65% (W2: mild drought), 80% (W3: full water supply), a total of 12 treatments, to study the effects of different soil moisture conditions and foliar spraying different concentrations of selenium on the growth, selenium content, yield and water use efficiency of tomato plants and fruits in greenhouse. 【Result】 With the increase of irrigation control level, plant height, stem diameter and fruit average growth rate increased significantly, and significantly affected leaf selenium content. The effects of exogenous selenium on plant height and tomato growth rate reached a significant level (p<0.01), and significantly affected the selenium content of leaves and fruits (p<0.001), and increased significantly with the increase of the mass concentration of exogenous selenium spray. Compared with S0 treatment, the average fruits selenium content of exogenous selenium spray treatment increased by 3.5~14.3 times. Theaverage fruit weight, yield per plant and water use efficiency all increased with the increase of irrigation control level, but decreased with the increase of exogenous selenium spraying mass concentration. 【Conclusion】 Leaf spraying with low concentration of exogenous selenium can promote plant growth, selenium content accumulation, yield and water use efficiency. When the mass concentration of exogenous selenium spraying is 2.5 mg/L and the lower limit of irrigation is 80% of the field water holding rate, it can also promote the production of greenhouse tomato under the premise of selenium supplement for human body.

Keywords

• exogenous selenium
• yield
• water use efficiency
• drought stress
• tomato