Author: Mohammad Saeed Tadayon, Aziz Majidi, Seyed Mashaallah Hosseini, Sohrab Sadeghi
Citation: Tadayon, Mohammad Saeed, et al. "Enhancing apple productivity on calcareous soils through integrated plant nutrition systems: Synergistic effects of biofertilizers and precision fertilization." Scientia Horticulturae 361 (2026): 114737.
Abstract:
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0304423826001299
Apple production on calcareous soils, covering nearly 30% of the world’s arable land and widespread across semi-arid fruit-growing regions, faces persistent constraints due to nutrient imbalance, low nutrient use efficiency (NUE), and limited biological activity. These constraints reduce yield stability and increase farmer vulnerability to volatile fertilizer markets and climate variability. This four-year field experiment (2021–2024) evaluated whether an integrated plant nutrition system (IPNS) combining organic amendments, biofertilizers, and precision mineral fertilization could enhance soil functionality, nutrient balance, productivity, and economic performance in a commercial apple orchard established on calcareous soils in Fars Province, Iran. Two organic regimes, conventional organic amendments (COA) and biofertilizer-enriched organic amendments (COAB), were factorially combined with three mineral fertilization strategies: conventional optimized fertilization (COF), nutrient budget-based fertilization (NB-F), and compositional nutrient diagnosis-guided fertilization (CND-F). Across four seasons, COAB × CND-F consistently improved soil biochemical indicators (including a 116% increase in dehydrogenase activity relative to COA × COF), enhanced leaf P (40%) and fruit Zn (78.9%) concentrations, and reduced the CND-derived nutrient balance index (NBI) by 62.3%, indicating improved multivariate nutrient equilibrium. Yield increased by 44% relative to the conventional treatment, accompanied by improvements in photosynthetic performance, fruit quality, and reduced biennial bearing intensity. Economic analysis using discounted cash-flow methods (8% rate) demonstrated positive net present value (NPV) and benefit-cost ratio (BCR > 1) under integrated treatments, though profitability was sensitive to apple market price assumptions and input cost scenarios, with BCR ranging from 2.8 to 19.6 under sensitivity analysis. While causal mechanisms cannot be conclusively established without microbial community profiling, results indicate that integrating diagnostic-based fertilization with biologically enriched organic inputs improves nutrient synchronization and system performance under chemically buffered calcareous conditions. These findings support IPNS as a scalable strategy for sustainable intensification of perennial fruit systems in semi-arid regions, contributing to improved resource-use efficiency and economic resilience.
Author: Mohammad Saeed Tadayon, Aziz Majidi, Seyed Mashaallah Hosseini, Sohrab Sadeghi
Citation: Tadayon, Mohammad Saeed, et al. "Enhancing apple productivity on calcareous soils through integrated plant nutrition systems: Synergistic effects of biofertilizers and precision fertilization." Scientia Horticulturae 361 (2026): 114737.
Abstract:
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0304423826001299
Apple production on calcareous soils, covering nearly 30% of the world’s arable land and widespread across semi-arid fruit-growing regions, faces persistent constraints due to nutrient imbalance, low nutrient use efficiency (NUE), and limited biological activity. These constraints reduce yield stability and increase farmer vulnerability to volatile fertilizer markets and climate variability. This four-year field experiment (2021–2024) evaluated whether an integrated plant nutrition system (IPNS) combining organic amendments, biofertilizers, and precision mineral fertilization could enhance soil functionality, nutrient balance, productivity, and economic performance in a commercial apple orchard established on calcareous soils in Fars Province, Iran. Two organic regimes, conventional organic amendments (COA) and biofertilizer-enriched organic amendments (COAB), were factorially combined with three mineral fertilization strategies: conventional optimized fertilization (COF), nutrient budget-based fertilization (NB-F), and compositional nutrient diagnosis-guided fertilization (CND-F). Across four seasons, COAB × CND-F consistently improved soil biochemical indicators (including a 116% increase in dehydrogenase activity relative to COA × COF), enhanced leaf P (40%) and fruit Zn (78.9%) concentrations, and reduced the CND-derived nutrient balance index (NBI) by 62.3%, indicating improved multivariate nutrient equilibrium. Yield increased by 44% relative to the conventional treatment, accompanied by improvements in photosynthetic performance, fruit quality, and reduced biennial bearing intensity. Economic analysis using discounted cash-flow methods (8% rate) demonstrated positive net present value (NPV) and benefit-cost ratio (BCR > 1) under integrated treatments, though profitability was sensitive to apple market price assumptions and input cost scenarios, with BCR ranging from 2.8 to 19.6 under sensitivity analysis. While causal mechanisms cannot be conclusively established without microbial community profiling, results indicate that integrating diagnostic-based fertilization with biologically enriched organic inputs improves nutrient synchronization and system performance under chemically buffered calcareous conditions. These findings support IPNS as a scalable strategy for sustainable intensification of perennial fruit systems in semi-arid regions, contributing to improved resource-use efficiency and economic resilience.