Effects of Partial Substitution of Chemical Nitrogen with Organic Fertilizer on Soil Fertility,Yield and Fruit Quality of Watermelon Growing in Sand-based Field
Taking the watermelon variety"Meidu"as the test material,a field polt experiment was carried out with the synthetic nitrogen fer-tilizer(SNF),the substiution 20%inorganic-N with organic-N(SNF+OF1),and the substiution 30%inorganic-N with organic-N(SNF+OF2)treatments to investigate the effects of organic replacement on soil fertility and watermelon yield,quality and nutrient uptake,in order to find out the suitable organic replacement ratio and provide a scientific basis for reasonable fertilization for watermelon cultivation in sand-based field in Jiangyan District,Taizhou.The results showed that SNF+OF1 and SNF+OF2 treatments increased soil organic matter,total N,availa-ble P and available K compared to SNF treatment,with available K increased more than 50%;generally increased weight per fruit and com-mercial rate and increased yield by 2.33%-11.82%,with the increase increasing with the substitution ratio.These two treatments also im-proved the nutritional quality of watermelon,significantly increased the soluble sugar content by 11%and reduced the nitrate content by up to 20%.The principal component analysis showed that SNF+OF2 treatment was more suitable for the local watermelon production.Compared with SNF treatment,SNF+OF2 increased yield by 11.82%,increased the NPK uptake and soluble sugar of fruit by 4.46%,6.01%,8.55%and 10.86%,respectively,and decreased the nitrate content by 21.68%.