Combined Effects of Water and Nitrogen on Growth, Biomass, and Quality of Spinach (Spinacia oleracea Linn.). Issue 1 (2nd January 2016) - Zhang, Jinxiu
ABSTRACT: Water scarcity and nitrate contamination have caused considerable attention to environmental matters. Water and nitrogen interactions have critical impacts on their use efficiency, plant growth, and quality. In a field experiment, a combination of three water treatments and three nitrogen rates was applied to determine their interactive effects on the growth of spinach. Soil water supply that was too low [W3 N1 (the combination of water treatment 3 and nitrogen treatment 1), W3 N2 ] could cause an increase in nitrate content. Oxalate contents would increase when water and nitrogen were either inadequate (W3 N0, W3 N1 ) or too high (W2 N2 ). The most profit from spinach was obtained in plots that received water treatment 2 and nitrogen fertilizer 78 kg N ha −1 . However, considering nitrogen treatments could affect the nitrate and oxalic acid, application of water treatment 2 and 39 kg N ha −1 nitrogen fertilizer could get better spinach quality.