Open Access

ARTICLE

Effects of Chlorine-Based Fertilizers on Tomato Growth under Soilless Culture

Fei Li^1,2, Meili Ding¹, Hui Yuan¹, Siping Wang¹, Bin Liang^2,*

1 College of Agriculture and Forestry Technology, Weifang Vocational College, Weifang, 262737, China
2 College of Resources and Environment, Qingdao Agricultural University, Qingdao, 266109, China

* Corresponding Author: Bin Liang. Email:

Phyton-International Journal of Experimental Botany 2025, 94(1), 243-250. https://doi.org/10.32604/phyton.2025.059499

Received 09 October 2024; Accepted 19 December 2024; Issue published 24 January 2025

Abstract

This study investigated the effects of chlorine-based fertilizers under varying nitrogen solution concentrations in a soilless culture system. The experiment included four nitrogen solution concentration levels, with nitrogen concentrations of 6 mmol/L (C1), 12 mmol/L (C2), 18 mmol/L (C3), and 24 mmol/L (C4). Each nutrient concentration level was further divided into four chloride ion treatments (R1, R2, R3, and R4), where 100%, 60%, 33%, and 0% of the NH₄⁺ and K⁺ ions were derived from NH₄Cl and KCl, respectively. The length, surface area and volume of root were significantly higher by 25.3%~136.9%, 40.1%~173.1%, 27.9%~178.0%, respectively, in the R4 treatment than in the R1 and R2 treatments at flowering stage. The aboveground biomass and yield in the R4 treatment were significantly higher, by approximately 15.6%~43.5% and 16.6%~28.6%, respectively, than in the R1, R2, and R3 treatments at the picking stage. The C3 and C4 treatments significantly decreased biomass and yield by 31.9%~50.2% and 20.7%~50.5%, respectively, compared to the C1 and C2 treatments at the picking stage. Besides, the higher nutrient solution increased the incidence of blossom-end rot. In conclusion, high concentrations of chloride ions in nutrient solutions, especially when the Cl⁻ concentration exceeded 10 mmol/L, have been shown to inhibit tomato growth in soilless culture systems. Therefore, replacing sulfur-based fertilizers by chlorine-based fertilizers is not recommended for tomato production under the studied conditions.

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Keywords

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