Please login first
Calcium Biofortification in Solanum tuberosum L. plants: assessing the influence of calcium nitrate and calcium chloride on yield
* 1, 2 , 1, 2 , 1, 2 , 1, 2 , 1, 2 , 1, 2 , 1, 2 , 2, 3 , 1, 2 , 1, 2 , 1, 2 , 2, 4 , 2, 5 , 2, 5 , 2, 5 , 1, 2
1  Earth Sciences Department, Faculdade de Ciências e Tecnologia, Universidade Nova de Lisboa. Campus da Caparica, 2829-516 Caparica, Portugal
2  GeoBioTec Research Center, Faculdade de Ciências e Tecnologia, Universidade Nova de Lisboa. Campus da Caparica, 2829-516 Caparica, Portugal
3  Departamento de Ciências da Terra, Faculdade de Ciências e Tecnologia da Universidade Nova de Lisboa. Campus da Caparica, 2829-516 Caparica, Portugal
4  PlantStress & Biodiversity Lab, Centro de Estudos Florestais (CEF), Instituto Superior Agronomia (ISA), Universidade de Lisboa (ULisboa), Quinta do Marquês, Av. República, 2784-505 Oeiras and Tapada da Ajuda, 1349-017 Lisboa, Portugal.
5  INIAV, Instituto Nacional de Investigação Agrária e Veterinária, Oeiras, Portugal
Academic Editor: Martin Weih

Published: 08 November 2023 by MDPI in 2nd International Online Conference on Agriculture session Crop Production;
Abstract:

Potato (Solanum tuberosum L.) is a widely consumed and essential food crop globally, making it an ideal food matrix for biofortification. Agronomic biofortification is one of the strategies used to enhance Ca content in edible parts of crops, considering the adverse health issues associated with Ca deficiency. This study aims to investigate the impact of Ca agronomic biofortification through four foliar applications after the beginning of tuberization, on yield of tubers of Solanum tuberosum L. (Picasso variety) produced in Lourinhã (Portugal) in 2018, focusing on the use of calcium chloride or alternatively, calcium nitrate at different concentrations applied (calcium chloride - 1, 3, 6 and 12 kg/ha or calcium nitrate - 0.5, 1, 2 and 4 kg/ha). Control plants and plants submitted to the different Ca treatments were implemented in plots of 20 x 24 m, having been carried out in quadruplicate (compass 60-80 cm). As such, Ca content in tubers was quantified by atomic absorption spectrophotometry in the different treatments. The Ca biofortification index with calcium chloride or calcium nitrate ranged between 5 – 40 %, being the treatment with 6 kg/ha CaCl2 the one which presented the highest Ca content in tubers at harvest and 1 kg/ha CaCl2 the treatment with the lowest Ca biofortification index. However, 6 kg/ha CaCl2 despite presenting the highest Ca content wasn’t the treatment that presented the highest yield. Indeed, all the calcium nitrate treatments demonstrated a substantial increase in tubers yield, which varied between 2.3 (4 kg/ha Ca(NO3)2)– 24.3 % (2 kg/ha Ca(NO3)2). Statistical analysis was carried out in all the analyses using one-way ANOVA to assess differences among treatments in Solanum tuberosum L. (Picasso variety), followed by Tukey’s analysis for mean comparison, with a 95% confidence level. Furthermore, these findings emphasize the potential of Ca biofortification, especially calcium nitrate treatments, in enhancing the yield of Solanum tuberosum L. tubers.

Keywords: calcium biofortification; calcium nitrate; calcium chloride; Solanum tuberosum L.; yield
Top