Physiological and Nutritional Responses to Ozone Application in Tomato Seedling Plants
2022
Alba Ruiz-Espin | Pedro Garcia-Caparros | Alfonso Llanderal | Julian Colunje | Jorge Francisco Moreira | Maria Teresa Lao
Research on environmentally friendly techniques for the agroindustry is growing constantly. In this sense, the supply of ozone (O<sub>3</sub>) has been taken into consideration, especially for disinfection because of its high oxidizing power. However, there is not enough information about the application of dissolved O<sub>3</sub> via fertigation in crops. For that reason, in this study, two trials were carried out simultaneously to determine the consequences of O<sub>3</sub> application on plant growth and quality of tomato plants. The first trial aimed to assess the effects on tomato fertigated with the nutrient solution and the application of O<sub>3</sub>. The second trial was performed to establish the ideal O<sub>3</sub> supply rate for tomato plants. In both experiments, we measured the biometric, physiological, and nutritional parameters of the tomato plant. The results obtained showed that the application of O<sub>3</sub> treatment resulted in the highest overall dry weight gain, whereas O<sub>3</sub> application decreased leaf proline and total soluble sugars concentrations. There was no clear effect on chlorophyll and total soluble sugars in tomato plants under O<sub>3</sub> application. Regarding nutritional parameters, the application of O<sub>3</sub> led to a higher content of P and K in tomato plants. These findings indicate that the use of dissolved O<sub>3</sub> via fertigation may present several advantages for tomato plants’ growth and quality.
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