Abstract:

【Objective】 The effects of foliar spraying of medium and trace element fertilizers on the growth, fruit yield and quality of Xanthoceras sorbifolium were studied in order to screen the most suitable medium and trace element fertilizers for X. sorbifolium.【Method】 Based on the field experiment and the 4-year-old X. sorbifolium as the experimental material, the foliar surface was sprayed with medium and trace element fertilizer on the basis of soil fertilization and five fertilization treatments, including boron (B), iron (Fe), zinc (Zn), molybdenum (Mo) and silicon (Si) were set; the spraying mass concentrations were 150, 65, 300, 10 and 210 mg/L, respectively. With foliar spraying of the same amount of clear water as the control (CK), there were six treatments in total. Foliar spraying was carried out three times. Growth and physiological indices such as tree height growth, ground diameter growth, crown width growth and chlorophyll content of X. sorbifolium before and after leaf fertilizer application were measured. After the fruit matured, fruit yield and quality indices such as fruit diameter, number of fruits per plant, number of seeds per fruit, 1 000 seeds mass, seed kernel yield and 100 leaves dry matter mass were measured. Based on the measured indices, the fertilization effect was evaluated by a principal component analysis, and then the effects of different medium and trace element fertilizers on X. sorbifolium were analyzed. 【Result】 The effects of medium and trace elements on the growth of X. sorbifolium are mainly reflected in the following aspects: tree growth, 100 leaves dry matter mass, chlorophyll content, fruit yield, and quality; different elements have different effects. In terms of tree growth, Zn fertilizer significantly increased the tree height and crown width growth of X. sorbifolium, with an increases of 25.53 and 22.33 cm, respectively (1.40 and 1.46 times that of CK treatment); Si fertilizer significantly increased the tree height, ground diameter and crown width growth, with increases of 22.60 cm, 7.66 mm and 21.17 cm, respectively (1.24, 1.36 and 1.38 times that of CK treatment; P<0.05). Mo fertilizer increased 100 leaves dry matter mass of X. sorbifolium, while Mo fertilizer and B fertilizer increased the chlorophyll content. Zn fertilizer significantly increased the fruit diameter of X. sorbifolium, the fruit yield per plant, the number of seeds per fruit, 1 000 seeds mass,and seed kernel yield, which were 1.33, 1.19, 1.22, 1.29 and 1.16 times higher than those of CK treatment, respectively. Other medium and trace elements also showed certain promotional and improvement effects on tree growth, fruit yield and quality of X. sorbifolium. The principal component score of each fertilization treatment showed that the effect of Zn fertilizer was the best, followed by Si, Fe, B, Mo fertilizer and CK treatment.【Conclusion】 Appropriate medium and trace element fertilizers can effectively promote the tree growth of X. sorbifolium, enhance its physiological function on leaves, and improve the yield and quality of seeds.

Key words: Xanthoceras sorbifolium, medium and trace element fertilizers, yield, quality, foliar spray