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Very little is known about the mineral composition in the leaves of apple (Malus) rootstocks. Hence, in this study, variations in mineral composition were investigated among fourteen apple rootstocks (P.16, P.22, M.9, B.469, O.3, Mac.9, M.26, Pi.80, M.7, M.2, B.118, MM.11, M.25 and A.2) which have different growth vigor on a loamy soil in the stool bed conditions. Nitrogen (N) was determined by Kjeldahl method. Phosphorus (P) was analyzed using vanadate molybdate colorimetric method. Potassium (K), calcium (Ca), magnesium (Mg), manganese (Mn), iron (Fe), zinc (Zn) and copper (Cu) concentrations were determined using Inductively Coupled Plasma-Optical Emission Spectrometer (ICP-OES). The study results showed that the differences in mineral contents in leaves among apple rootstock genotypes were statistically significant. No problems were found in achieving adequate leaf N, P and Fe uptake of any rootstock. However, it was found to be lack of the K, Ca, Mg and Mn uptake in the majority of the rootstocks. Mac.9 rootstock, followed by B.469, showed high performance with in regard to the uptake of K, Ca and Mg. In general, the uptake of Fe, Ca and Mg of dwarf and semi-dwarf rootstocks were higher than those of vigorous rootstocks. Consequently, P.19, B.469, Mac.9 and M.26 rootstocks had adequate performances in the uptake of all macro and micro elements examined. |
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