Abstract:
Objective Application of nitrogen fertilizer inhibitors has become one of important measurements for increasing yield and quality of peaches. This paper compared the effects of the sole and combined application of two kinds of nitrogen fertilizer inhibitors.
Methods A soil incubation experiment was firstly carried out to investigate the effects of nitrification inhibitors (DMPP) and urease inhibitor (NBPT),on inorganic N content and apparent nitrification rate in peach orchard soil. The soil incubation experiment included 5 treatments, not adding urea (CK), adding urea (U), adding urea as well as adding DMPP, NBPT, and both DMPP and NBPT. The soil inorganic nitrogen concentrations were regularly tested during the 60 day’s incubation period. Subsequently, a two-year peach field experiment was conducted in Pinggu of Beijing from 2023 to 2024. Four treatments were setup, including: fruit swelling fertilizer alone (CF), and fruit swelling fertilizer combined with DMPP, NBPT, and both, respectively. The peach yield, quality, and soil inorganic nitrogen concentrations were measured at harvest of peaches.
Results In the soil incubation experiment, DMPP significantly inhibited the conversion of NH4+-N to NO3−-N. On the third day of incubation, the NH4+-N content reached its peak and maintained higher levels throughout the entire cultivation process, compared with U treatment, leading to reduced soil apparent nitrification rate; NBPT treatment delayed the hydrolysis of urea in orchard soil until 12 days, the NH4+-N content reached its peak by the 15th day, and was recorded significantly higher apparent nitrification rate of soil in the early stage of cultivation, relative to U treatment. In the later stage, DBPT was recorded lower soil NH4+-N content, and higher soil apparent nitrification rate, relative to that of DMPP treatment. In 2023, the DMPP treatment produced a peach yield of 45.62 kg/hm2, the yield was 11.2% higher, and the single fruit weight was 9.2% higher than that of CF, respectively. In 2024, the peach yield was 65.82 kg/hm2, with a yield increase of 18.2%, and a single fruit weight elevation of 17.6%. The effects of NBPT or DMPP + NBPT treatments in increasing fruit yield and individual fruit weight were not as good as those of DMPP treatment. In 2023 and 2024, DMPP increased the longitudinal diameter of peaches by 4.6% and 6.8%, the vitamin C content of peaches by 76.3% and 9.8%, and the transverse diameter of peaches in 2024 by 5.6%, compared with the CF treatment. The soluble solid content of peaches in the PGF+DMPP+NBPT treatment increased by 27.9% and 26.5% respectively. The PGF+DMPP treatment significantly increased the hardness of peaches by 22.2% in 2023.
Conclusions Application of DMPP kept a relatively high soil NH4+-N level through inhibiting its transformation to nitrate nitrogen, Co-application of fruit swelling fertilizer with DMPP outperformed co-applicaiton with NBPT or DMPP and NBPT in the peach yield and quality improvement, so DMPP is recommended for the peach production of Beijing