TY - JOUR 
A1 - Martínez-Alcántara, Belén
AU - Martínez-Cuenca, Mary-Rus
AU - Bermejo, Almudena
AU - Legaz, Francisco
AU - Quinones, Ana
T1 - Liquid Organic Fertilizers for Sustainable Agriculture: Nutrient Uptake of Organic versus Mineral Fertilizers in Citrus Trees
Y1 - 2016
SN - 1932-6203
UR - http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11939/6418
AB - The main objective of this study was to compare the performance of two liquid organic fertilizers,
an animal and a plant-based fertilizer, with mineral fertilization on citrus trees. The
source of the fertilizer (mineral or organic) had significant effect in the nutritional status of
the organic and conventionally managed mandarins. Nutrient uptake, vegetative growth,
carbohydrate synthesis and soil characteristics were analyzed. Results showed that plants
fertilized with animal based liquid fertilizers exhibited higher total biomass with a more profuse
development of new developing organs (leaves and fibrous roots). Liquid organic fertilization
resulted in an increased uptake of macro and micronutrients compared to mineral
fertilized trees. Moreover, organic fertilization positively affected the carbohydrate content
(fructose, glucose and sucrose) mainly in summer flush leaves. Liquid organic fertilization
also resulted in an increase of soil organic matter content. Animal-based fertilizer, due to
intrinsic composition, increased total tree biomass and carbohydrate leaves content, and
led to lower soil nitrate concentration and higher P and Mg exchangeable in soil extract
compared to vegetal-based fertilizer. Therefore, liquid organic fertilizers could be used as
an alternative to traditional mineral fertilization in drip irrigated citrus trees.
KW - F61  Plant physiology - Nutrition
LA - en
PB - PLOS
ER -