Leaf nutrient content of ornamental sunflowers subjected to different irrigation depths with magnetized water

Abstract

Water demand has intensified the modernization of irrigation techniques, contributing to the optimization and/or development of technologies that aim to improve plant performance, such as nutrient uptake. Thus, the objective of the present study was to evaluate the macro- and micronutrient levels in leaves of ornamental sunflowers grown with different irrigation depths with magnetized water or ordinary water. The experiment was conducted in a greenhouse following a 5x2 factorial scheme in a randomized block design. The treatments consisted of a combination of 5 irrigation depths based on crop evapotranspiration (ETc) (0.2, 0.7, 1.0, 1.3, and 1.6 ETc, corresponding to the irrigation depths of 56.47, 104.89, 133.94, 162.99, and 192.04 mm, respectively) and 2 types of irrigation water (magnetized water or ordinary water). The deepest irrigation depths generated the highest leaf concentrations of nitrogen (N), phosphorus (P), calcium (Ca), and zinc (Zn) and the lowest potassium (K), copper (Cu), and iron (Fe) concentrations. The leaf concentrations of magnesium (Mg), sulfur (S), boron (B), and manganese (Mn) were not significantly influenced by the irrigation depth. Ordinary water favored higher leaf concentrations of S, Cu, and Mn, while there were no significant differences between the water types regarding the levels of the other nutrients.