Uptake of phosphorus and potassium in roots of tomato (Lycopersicon esculentum Mill., cv. "sidra F<inf>1</inf>") as dependent upon soil chemical properties

Abstract

The objective of this study was to evaluate the degree of phosphorus and potassium uptake in roots of tomato (Lycopersicon esculentum Mill., cv. 'Sidra F1') y as dependent upon the chemical properties of the soil. The experiment was conducted during 2010 and 2011 under controlled greenhouse conditions at the Faculty of Agronomy, Catak. The material used in the study included tomato seedlings and 9.5 litre pots filled separately with one of the following soil types: chernozem, vertisol, fluvisol and pseudogley, which were collected from four different sites located in the Moravica District region in Serbia. Immediately before the experiment, each soil type was subject to chemical analysis to evaluate pH, cation exchange capacity, humus content, and available phosphorus and potassium levels. pHwas determined by a digital pH metre, humus content by the bichromatic method, cation exchange capacity (CEC) by the ammonium acetate method, and phosphorus and potassium content by the AL-method. The objective of this part of the analysis was to assess the chemical properties of the test soils prior to the experiment. The experiment was set up in a randomised block design in four treatments (soil types) in five replications. Each treatment in each replication was presented with ten tomato plants which means that the experiment included a total of 200 plants. The agro-technical measures applied in all experimental plots were identical. The P and K content of tomato roots was determined at both the flowering and full maturity phenostage using the AAS method. The results showed that the uptake of both phosphorus and potassium was highest in the treatment involving tomato cultivation on vertisol and lowest in that on luvisol and pseudogley. As opposed to the other soil types, vertisol had favourable chemical properties: neutral to slightly acid reaction, a high cation exchange capacity and a high humus content, which favoured the uptake of phosphorus and potassium by the plant. Luvisol and pseudogley basically do not have these characteristics; therefore, these soils can be recommended for tomato cultivation only after improvement of chemical properties.