Photosynthetica, 2011 (vol. 49), issue 1

Photosynthetica 2011, 49(1):149-153 | DOI: 10.1007/s11099-011-0019-x

Nondestructive determination of nitrogen and chlorophyll content in olive tree leaves and the relation with photosynthesis and fluorescence parameters

O. Boussadia1,*, K. Steppe2, H. Zgallai4, S. Ben El Hadj3, M. Braham1, R. Lemeur2, M. C. Van Labeke5
1 Institute of the Olive Tree station of Sousse, Sousse, Tunisia
2 Faculty of Bioscience Engineering, Laboratory of Plant Ecology, Ghent University, Ghent, Belgium
3 Agronomic National Institute of Tunisia, Cité El Mahrajen, Tunisia
4 Bayer BioScience N.V., Astene (Deinze), Belgium
5 Faculty of Bioscience Engineering, Department of Plant Production, Ghent University, Ghent, Belgium

For Tunisian olive tree orchards, nitrogen deficiency is an important nutritional problem, in addition to the availability of water. Establishment of relationships between nutrients such as nitrogen and ecophysiological parameters is a promising method to manage fertilisation at orchard level. Therefore, a nitrogen stress experiment with one-year-old olive trees (Olea europaea L. 'Koroneiki' and 'Meski') was conducted with trees respectively subjected to four nitrogen supply regimes (23.96 meq l-1, 9.58 meq l-1, 4.79 meq l-1 and 0 meq l-1 NO3 -1).
The current paper focuses on the use of the SPAD-502 portable chlorophyll (Chl) meter, a nondestructive method for fertilisation management under nitrogen stress conditions of olive trees. Maximum net photosynthetic assimilation rates, chlorophyll fluorescence parameters and the SPAD Chl index were therefore measured simultaneously and the Chl and nitrogen content of the leaves were analysed. Significant correlations were established in the olive tree leaves between SPAD-502 readings on the one hand and Chl content, nitrogen content, photosynthetic assimilation rate, and Chl fluorescence parameters (ΦPSII and ETR) on the other hand.

Keywords: electron flow; nitrogen deficiency; olive tree; photosynthesis; pigments; SPAD-502; quantum yield

Received: August 17, 2009; Accepted: November 25, 2010; Published: March 1, 2011Show citation

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Boussadia, O., Steppe, K., Zgallai, H., El Hadj, S.B., Braham, M., Lemeur, R., & Labeke, M.C. (2011). Nondestructive determination of nitrogen and chlorophyll content in olive tree leaves and the relation with photosynthesis and fluorescence parameters. Photosynthetica, 49(1), 149-153. doi: 10.1007/s11099-011-0019-x.
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