THE EFFECTS OF DIFFERENT DOSES OF NITROGEN ON TOMATO PLANT MINERAL CONTENTS UNDER BORON TOXICITY

Abstract

The effect of different nitrogen (N) treatments on the nutrient contents of tomato (Lycopersicon esculentum Mill., cv. ‘Tayfun F1’) under different boron (B) concentrations were investigated in greenhouse conditions with four replications. Four different levels of B (0, 5, 10 and 20 mg kg–1) and three levels of N (100, 200, 300 mg kg–1) were used in this research. The results showed that tomato plant growth was negatively affected with increasing B concentrations and symptoms of boron toxicity were observed. The tomato leaf nutrient concentrations were increased in all plants with B and N treatments and 20 mg kg–1 B and 300 mg kg–1 N treatments were determined to be more effective compared to the others. 20 mg kg–1 B and 100 mg kg–1 N treatment caused the highest micro element concentrations of tomato leaf. This could be interpreted as N application having a dilution effect to be able to maintain development under conditions of toxicity of B. The plants growth under boron toxicity conditions showed increased vegetation with increasing N applications which was attributed to the dilution effect.

Keywords

• boron toxicity
• nitrogen
• plant nutrition
• tomato