Regulation of photosynthetic performance and dry matter accumulation through water and fertilizer management to enhance yield of tomato cultivated in yellow sand substrate

Yalong Song, Jiahui Xu, Shuo Zhang, Jianfei Xing, Xufeng Wang, Long Wang, Can Hu and Wentao Li

Agricultural Water Management, 2025, vol. 319, issue C

Abstract: Soil degradation and water scarcity are major constraints for agriculture in arid and semi-arid regions. Yellow sand substrates, characterized by low cation exchange capacity, high permeability, and poor water and nutrient retention, have significant potential for use in agricultural facilities in arid regions, such as southern Xinjiang. However, the mechanisms by which yellow sand substrates affect crop photosynthetic performance, dry matter accumulation, and yield throughout the growth cycle remain poorly understood. To address this gap, a two-year (2023–2024) solar greenhouse experiment was conducted with four irrigation levels (I1: 100 % ETc, I2: 85 % ETc, I3: 70 % ETc, I4: 55 % ETc) and three fertilization rates (F1: 120 % F0, F2: 100 % F0, F3: 80 % F0) to analyze the responses of tomato growth, photosynthesis, and yield under different water–fertilizer regimes in yellow sand substrates. A multi-objective evaluation framework was applied, combining a Nash equilibrium-based integration of subjective and objective weighting with an improved TOPSIS method incorporating a virtual ideal solution to comprehensively assess seven key indicators, including growth, photosynthesis, and yield. The results showed that irrigation and fertilization significantly affected root dry weight at the seedling stage(S-RDW), leaf dry weight at the flowering and fruiting stages(F-LDW), fruit dry matter (FDM) content, chlorophyll content at the flowering and fruiting stages(F-CHl), and net photosynthetic rate at the seedling stage(S-Pn). Pearson’s correlation analysis identified seven phenotypic indicators significantly correlated with yield (Y). Path analysis further revealed that FDM had the strongest direct effect on Y, followed by RDW, at the seedling stage. Moderate deficit irrigation (70–85 % ETc) combined with medium-to-high fertilization (100–120 % F0) significantly increased yield and water use efficiency (WUE). Under cultivation with a yellow sand substrate, this water-fertilizer combination optimally enhanced photosynthetic performance, promoted dry matter accumulation, and stabilized yield, thereby enabling both water savings and increased yield. These findings offer a theoretical foundation and technical guidance for the development of water-efficient, high-yield, and sustainable facility agriculture in the Gobi Desert and other arid regions.

Keywords: Water-fertilizer coupling; Yellow sand substrate; Photosynthesis; Yield optimization (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2025
References: Add references at CitEc
Citations:

Downloads: (external link)
http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0378377425005098
Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:eee:agiwat:v:319:y:2025:i:c:s0378377425005098

DOI: 10.1016/j.agwat.2025.109795

Access Statistics for this article

Agricultural Water Management is currently edited by B.E. Clothier, W. Dierickx, J. Oster and D. Wichelns

More articles in Agricultural Water Management from Elsevier
Bibliographic data for series maintained by Catherine Liu ().