Reducing Macronutrients and Increasing Micronutrient Fertilizers Are Key to Improving the Quality of Pomelo Citrus grandis (L.) Osbeck Cv. “Guanxi”

Xiaodong Liu, Chengxiao Hu, Muhammad Riaz, Xiaoman Liu, Xuecheng Sun, Mulai Zhuang and Qiling Tan ()
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Xiaodong Liu: Micro-Element Research Center, College of Resources and Environment, Huazhong Agricultural University, Wuhan 430070, China
Chengxiao Hu: Micro-Element Research Center, College of Resources and Environment, Huazhong Agricultural University, Wuhan 430070, China
Muhammad Riaz: Root Biology Center, College of Natural Resources and Environment, South China Agricultural University, Guangzhou 510642, China
Xiaoman Liu: Micro-Element Research Center, College of Resources and Environment, Huazhong Agricultural University, Wuhan 430070, China
Xuecheng Sun: Micro-Element Research Center, College of Resources and Environment, Huazhong Agricultural University, Wuhan 430070, China
Mulai Zhuang: Comprehensive Experiment Station for Guanximiyou, Agriculture and Rural Affairs Bureau of Pinghe County, Zhangzhou 363700, China
Qiling Tan: Micro-Element Research Center, College of Resources and Environment, Huazhong Agricultural University, Wuhan 430070, China

Agriculture, 2022, vol. 12, issue 10, 1-12

Abstract: Due to long-term excessive fertilization, the fruit quality of the Guanxi pomelo (Citrus grandis) has been declining. The classification of fruit quality and its relationship with nutrients in soils and trees were studied to declaim the characteristics of nutrients in Guanxi pomelo orchards, ultimately guiding the fertilization for high-quality fruit production. By cluster analysis, 281 samples were grouped into four clusters. High-quality fruit (HF) showed a gourd shape with moderate weight size, high sweetness, edible rate (ER) up to 73%, and vitamin C content over 40 mg/100 g. Compared to sub-quality fruit (SF), common fruit (CF), and inferior fruit (IF), the content of magnesium (Mg) in the leaves of HF was 11.76, 11.76, and 18.75% higher, while the content of iron (Fe) was 6.45, 5.76 and 10.97% higher, respectively. Meanwhile, the contents of Zinc (Zn, 8.51, 6.44, and 11.22% higher than SF, CF, and IF, respectively) and Boron (B, 13.47, 13.83, and 25.40% higher than SF, CF, and IF, respectively) were also found to increase. However, the contents of Mn (35.34, 27.51, and 25.53% higher) and Cu (31.90, 31.99, and 5.64% higher) in IF were significantly higher than in HF, SF, and CF. Acid soils (4.24–4.40) with low OM content (23.00–26.71 g kg −1 ) led to an imbalance uptake of nutrients of citrus, ultimately resulting in poor quality. These results indicated that farmers should reduce the application of nitrogen (N), phosphorus (P), and K fertilizer and pesticides and increase micronutrient and organic fertilizer, which provides a theoretical basis for scientific fertilization to improve the fruit quality of Guanxi pomelo (Citrus grandis) of Pinghe County.

Keywords: citrus; quality grading; excess fertilizer; nutrient imbalance; soil acidification (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: Q1 Q10 Q11 Q12 Q13 Q14 Q15 Q16 Q17 Q18 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022
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