Accumulation and distribution characteristics of biomass and nitrogen in bitter gourd (Momordica charantia L.) under different fertilization strategies.

Background: The elemental uptake and allocation patterns of crops create insight for nutrient management. Two-year field experiments were conducted to determine the growth and nitrogen (N) uptake patterns of bitter gourd and to evaluate different N management strategies. Two N practices during the nursery stage, namely the conventional fertilizer method (Scon) and the controlled-release fertilizer management method (Scrf), combined with three N management strategies after transplanting, namely zero N fertilizer application (Nno), the conventional strategy (Ncon) and the systematic N management strategy (Nopt), were assessed.
Results: Averaged over two years, the Scrf-Nopt treatment performed best, producing 33.1 t ha ^-1 fruit yield with 310 kg N ha ^-1 , indicating that the yield was 22.6% greater by using 18.8% less fertilizer N than in the Scon-Ncon treatment. The Scrf-Nopt treatment facilitated plant growth by accumulating 20.0% more total dry weight and prioritized its allocation to productive organs (57.2%), while the Scon-Ncon strategy was biased toward leaves (56.3%) over fruits (43.8%). Nitrogen uptake and distribution closely followed the pattern of biomass.
Conclusion: The Scrf-Nopt fertilization strategy coordinated the important role that N plays in total accumulation and well proportion of biomass and N in bitter gourd developmental processes. © 2017 Society of Chemical Industry.
(© 2017 Society of Chemical Industry.)