Sustainable Production of Tomato Plants ( Solanum lycopersicum L.) under Low-Quality Irrigation Water as Affected by Bio-Nanofertilizers of Selenium and Copper

Mohamed M. Saffan, Mohamed A. Koriem, Ahmed El-Henawy, Shimaa El-Mahdy, Hassan El-Ramady, Fathy Elbehiry, Alaa El-Dein Omara, Yousry Bayoumi, Khandsuren Badgar and József Prokisch
Additional contact information
Mohamed M. Saffan: Soil and Water Department, Faculty of Agriculture, Kafrelsheikh University, Kafr El-Sheikh 33516, Egypt
Mohamed A. Koriem: Soil and Water Department, Faculty of Agriculture, Kafrelsheikh University, Kafr El-Sheikh 33516, Egypt
Ahmed El-Henawy: Soil and Water Department, Faculty of Agriculture, Kafrelsheikh University, Kafr El-Sheikh 33516, Egypt
Shimaa El-Mahdy: Soil and Water Department, Faculty of Agriculture, Kafrelsheikh University, Kafr El-Sheikh 33516, Egypt
Hassan El-Ramady: Soil and Water Department, Faculty of Agriculture, Kafrelsheikh University, Kafr El-Sheikh 33516, Egypt
Fathy Elbehiry: Department of Basic and Applied Sciences, Higher Institute for Agricultural Cooperation, Cairo 11241, Egypt
Alaa El-Dein Omara: Agriculture Microbiology Department, Soil, Water and Environment Research Institute (SWERI), Sakha Agricultural Research Station, Agriculture Research Center (ARC), Kafr El-Sheikh 33717, Egypt
Yousry Bayoumi: Horticulture Department, Faculty of Agriculture, Kafrelsheikh University, Kafr El-Sheikh 33516, Egypt
Khandsuren Badgar: Faculty of Agricultural and Food Sciences and Environmental Management, Institute of Animal Science, Biotechnology and Nature Conservation, University of Debrecen, 138 Böszörményi Street, 4032 Debrecen, Hungary
József Prokisch: Faculty of Agricultural and Food Sciences and Environmental Management, Institute of Animal Science, Biotechnology and Nature Conservation, University of Debrecen, 138 Böszörményi Street, 4032 Debrecen, Hungary

Sustainability, 2022, vol. 14, issue 6, 1-17

Abstract: Under the global water crisis, utilizing low-quality water sources in agriculture for irrigation has offered an effective solution to address the shortage of water. Using an excess of low-quality water sources may cause serious risks to the environment, which threaten crop safety and human health. Three kinds of irrigation water (0.413, 1.44, and 2.84 dS m −1 ) were selected under foliar-applied bio-nanofertilizers of selenium (100 mg L −1 ) and copper (100 mg L −1 ) in individual and/or combined application. The nanofertilizers were tested on the production of tomato under greenhouse. After harvesting, the quality of tomato yield and soil biology was evaluated. Using saline water for irrigation caused many main features in this study such as increasing the accumulation of salts, soil organic matter, and CaCO 3 in soil by 84.6, 32.3, and 18.4%, respectively, compared to control. The highest tomato yield (2.07 kg plant −1 ) and soluble solids content (9.24%) were recorded after irrigation with low water quality (2.84 dS m −1 ) and nano-Cu fertilization. The plant enzymatic antioxidants and soil biological activity were decreased in general due to the salinity stress of irrigation water. After 30 days from transplanting, all studied soil biological parameters (soil microbial counts and enzymes) were higher than the same parameters at harvesting (80 days) under different categories of water quality. The values of all soil biological parameters were decreased by increasing water salinity. This study was carried out to answer the question of whether the combined nanofertilizers of selenium and copper can promote tomato production under saline water irrigation. Further investigations are still needed concerning different applied doses of these nanofertilizers.

Keywords: water quality; nanofertilizers; catalase; peroxidase; hydrogenase; enzymes (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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