Towards Balanced Fertilizer Management in South China: Enhancing Wax Gourd ( Benincasa hispida ) Yield and Produce Quality

Xiao Chen, Xiaodong Chen, Jiabin Jiao, Fusuo Zhang, Xinping Chen, Guohua Li, Zhao Song, Eldad Sokolowski, Patricia Imas, Hillel Magen, Amnon Bustan, Yuzhi He, Dasen Xie and Baige Zhang
Additional contact information
Xiao Chen: Key Laboratory for New Technology Research of Vegetable, Vegetable Research Institute, Guangdong Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Guangzhou 501640, China
Xiaodong Chen: Key Laboratory for New Technology Research of Vegetable, Vegetable Research Institute, Guangdong Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Guangzhou 501640, China
Jiabin Jiao: Key Laboratory for New Technology Research of Vegetable, Vegetable Research Institute, Guangdong Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Guangzhou 501640, China
Fusuo Zhang: Department of Plant Nutrition, College of Resource and Environmental Science, China Agricultural University, Beijing 100083, China
Xinping Chen: College of Resource and Environmental Science, Southwest University, Chongqing 400715, China
Guohua Li: Israel Chemicals Ltd. (ICL), Tel Aviv 61070, Israel
Zhao Song: Key Laboratory for New Technology Research of Vegetable, Vegetable Research Institute, Guangdong Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Guangzhou 501640, China
Eldad Sokolowski: International Potash Institute (IPI), Industriestrasse 31, CH-6300 Zug, Switzerland
Patricia Imas: International Potash Institute (IPI), Industriestrasse 31, CH-6300 Zug, Switzerland
Hillel Magen: International Potash Institute (IPI), Industriestrasse 31, CH-6300 Zug, Switzerland
Amnon Bustan: Ramat Negev Desert Agro-Research Center, Ramat Negev Works Ltd., D.N Halutza 85515, Israel
Yuzhi He: Key Laboratory for New Technology Research of Vegetable, Vegetable Research Institute, Guangdong Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Guangzhou 501640, China
Dasen Xie: Key Laboratory for New Technology Research of Vegetable, Vegetable Research Institute, Guangdong Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Guangzhou 501640, China
Baige Zhang: Key Laboratory for New Technology Research of Vegetable, Vegetable Research Institute, Guangdong Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Guangzhou 501640, China

Sustainability, 2022, vol. 14, issue 9, 1-16

Abstract: Balanced fertilizer management promotes plant growth, enhances produce quality, minimizes inputs, and reduces negative environmental impacts. Wax gourd ( Benincasa hispida ) is an important vegetable crop species in China and in South Asia. Two crop nutrition options, NPK and the natural mineral polyhalite, were tested, separately and combined, with the aim of enhancing wax gourd yield and quality and simultaneously to increase nutrient use efficiency and reducing inputs. The experiments tested the optimization of NPK by reducing the proportion of phosphorus (P), and the effect of enriching the soil with essential macronutrients by the use of the supplementary mineral fertilizer polyhalite containing magnesium (Mg), calcium (Ca) and sulfur (S). Two experiments were carried out in Foshan County, Guangdong, China, in 2018 and 2019. Experiments included four treatments: (1) Conventional NPK (15:15:15); (2) Optimized NPK (16:8:18); (3) Conventional NPK + polyhalite; (4) Optimized NPK + polyhalite. Fertilizers were applied prior to planting. While optimized NPK alone had no effects on fruit yield and quality, supplementary polyhalite resulted in a 10–17% increase in yield and significantly improved produce quality due to increased nutrient uptake from polyhalite, resulting in better foliar biomass. We conclude that the combined crop nutrition options improved yield and quality, enhanced nutrient use efficiency, and reduced risks of nutrient pollution. Inclusion of polyhalite in balanced fertilization practices as a supplementary source of secondary macronutrients seems promising. Nevertheless, plenty of space remains open for further adjustments of NPK application management, focusing on reduced rates, optimized ratio, and accurate timing of application for each nutrient.

Keywords: fruit quality; calcium; magnesium; nutrient recovery; optimized nutrient uptake; phosphorus; polyhalite (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)

Downloads: (external link)
https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/14/9/5646/pdf (application/pdf)
https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/14/9/5646/ (text/html)

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:gam:jsusta:v:14:y:2022:i:9:p:5646-:d:810513

Access Statistics for this article

Sustainability is currently edited by Ms. Alexandra Wu

More articles in Sustainability from MDPI
Bibliographic data for series maintained by MDPI Indexing Manager ().