Effect of nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium levels and foliar spray with citric and salicylic acids on growth, yield and fruit qualityof tomato plants

Abstract EN

A field experiment was carried out during summer seasons of 2019 and 2020 at a Private Farm, Abo-Hammad Dictrict, Sharkia Governorate, Egypt, to study the effect of N, P, K levels (25% NPK of the recommended rate (RR), 50% NPK (RR), 75% NPK (RR) and 100% NPK (RR) and foliar spray with citric (2g/l) and salicylic acids (0.2 g), beside sprayed with water (control) on growth, yield and fruit quality of tomato cv.186 grown in clay soil conditions and using drip irrigation sybranches.

The interaction between fertilizing tomato plants with 75% RR of N, P and K ( 90, 60 and 90 kg of N, P and K, respectively) and spraying with salicylic acid at 0.2 g/l significantly increased dry weight of shoots, N, P and K total uptake, number of fruits/ plant, average fruit weight, yield/ plant and total yield/fad.

, TSS and dry matter in fruits.

However, the interaction between fertilizing with 75% RR of N, P and K without spraying increased acidity in fruits.

Whereas, the interaction between fertilizing with 100% RR of N, P and K and spraying with salicylic acid at 0.2 g/l increased vitamin C contents in fruits.