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Effects of nitrogen fertilization on pomegranate fruit, aril and juice quality
Author(s) -
Lyu Yang,
Porat Ron,
Yermiyahu Uri,
Heler Yehuda,
Holland Doron,
Dag Ar
Publication year - 2019
Publication title -
journal of the science of food and agriculture
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.782
H-Index - 142
eISSN - 1097-0010
pISSN - 0022-5142
DOI - 10.1002/jsfa.10182
Subject(s) - aril , human fertilization , horticulture , chemistry , punica , nitrogen , food science , botany , agronomy , biology , organic chemistry
BACKGROUND Nitrogen (N) fertilization influences plant growth and yield, and may also affect fruit quality. For two consecutive seasons, we examined the effects of various N fertilization levels – 5 to 200 mg L −1 – on pomegranate fruit, aril and juice quality. Evaluations included fruit and aril weight, size and color, appearance of peel blemishes, internal black rot and nutritional composition of extracted juices. RESULTS Nitrogen fertilization affected pomegranate fruit, aril and juice quality. The most pronounced effects were observed in trees grown under the lowest N fertilization level, which bore smaller fruit and arils, the latter with lighter color; the fruit suffered from sunburn, and the juice had lower total soluble solid, acidity and anthocyanin contents. The proportion of edible aril weight per total fruit weight gradually increased with an increase in N fertilization concentration. In contrast, N fertilization did not affect peel color, roughness or cracking incidence. Black rot incidence increased with increasing N concentration. CONCLUSIONS Nitrogen fertilization affected pomegranate fruit, aril and juice quality, and the total number of marketable fruits per tree. The optimal N fertilization levels, which were most beneficial for achieving high‐quality marketable fruit, were between 40 and 100 mg L −1 . © 2019 Society of Chemical Industry