A comparison between the effect of Nano and traditional calcium fertilizer on growth and anatomical traits of two tomato cultivars

Abstract

This study was conducted in the field of vegetable crops, Department of Horticulture and Landscape Design, College of Agriculture and Forestry, University of Mosul, Mosul, Iraq, during the spring growth season of 2024.The study aimed to investigate the effect of two factors on growth and anatomical traits of two tomato. The first factor consisted of11 treatments (Nano  and conventional calcium) using different concentrations and combinations: Results of the study can be summarized as follows: Queen cultivar plants significantly outperformed GS-12 cultivar plants in plant height, leaf chlorophyll content, leaf area, percentage of dry matter in leaves. The values ​​of these traits reached 81.181 cm plant-1, 58.367 SPAD, and 28248.8 cm2 plant-1, 18.2818%, respectively, for each trait. Plants treated with (conventional calcium 200 mg L-1) and (Nano  calcium 50 mg L-1 + conventional calcium 150 mg L-1) gave the highest significant value for leaf chlorophyll content, reaching 54.967 SPAD. While the treatment (Nano  calcium 150 mg L-1 + conventional calcium 50 mg L-1) achieved the highest significant value in plant height, reaching 79,000 cm2 plant-1, and all fertilizer treatments were significantly superior compared to the no-spray treatment (comparison treatment) in the number of branches and stem diameter. The plants treated with (Nano  calcium 400 mg L-1) gave the best significant value in leaf area, reaching 30,727 cm2 plant-1, with significant superiority over most other treatments. As for the treatment (Nano  calcium 100 mg L-1 + conventional calcium 100 mg L-1), it gave the best significant value for the percentage of dry matter, reaching 18.9667%. In general, significant increases were achieved in the case of binary interaction in the vegetative growth traits, and they were as follows: In the trait of plant height, the best significant value was obtained when treated with (Nano  calcium 150 mg L-1 + conventional calcium 50 mg L-1) interacted with the Queen variety, reaching 85.333 cm plant-1. In the chlorophyll content of leaves, the treatment (conventional calcium 200 mg L-1) interacted with the Queen variety gave the best significant value, reaching 65.667 SPAD. In the trait of the number of branches and leaf area, they were obtained when treated with (Nano  calcium 400 mg L-1) interacted with the Queen variety, reaching 6.9000 branches plant-1 and 41685 cm2 leaves-1. In the percentage of dry matter in leaves, the treatment (conventional calcium 400 mg L-1) interacted with the Queen variety reached 19.8667%, and the treatment (Nano  calcium 50 mg L-1 + conventional calcium 150 mg L-1) intercropped with the Queen variety gave the highest significant value in stem diameter, reaching 14.4667 mm stem-1. The treatment of plants with (Nano  calcium 150 mg L-1 + conventional calcium 50 mg L-1) was characterized by the highest significant values ​​in each of the percentage of total acidity that can be adjusted, reaching 0.136533%. No significant differences were recorded between the GS-12 variety and the Queen variety in the stomatal density and stomatal area. The use of the two treatments (Nano  calcium 200 mg L-1) and (conventional calcium 200 mg L-1) led to a significant increase in stomatal density, reaching 200.00 stomatal and significantly superior to the control treatment, while no significant differences were found in the control treatment. Significant differences in the gap area according to the fertilizer type compared to the comparison treatment.