Mafalda Pastaneira

Ms. Mafalda Pastaneira

Faculdade de Ciências da Universidade de Lisboa, Lisbon, Lisboa, Portugal

Research Focus & Metrics

Academic Career Length

5Years (2022-Present)

(Calculated once Scilit publication data is synced: current year − year of first publication + 1)

Representative Publications

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8 August 2022 in Horticulturae
Verified
Journal Article
Open access
PDF file
MMMariana Mota
Mariana Mota
MMMaria João Martins
Maria João Martins
GPGonçalo Policarpo
Gonçalo Policarpo
LSLayanne Sprey
Layanne Sprey
MPMafalda Pastaneira
Mafalda Pastaneira
COCristina Moniz Oliveira
Cristina Moniz Oliveira
Assessing a plant’s nutritional status and fertilizer rates and types that can optimize fruit quality and yield are critical in intensive apple orchards. The aim of this work was to identify correlations between nutrients in the different organs that allow the early diagnosis of the nutritional status and to assess the impact on the optimal nutrient content in apple leaves, as well as in the yield and quality of chemical and organic fertilization. Five orchards of ‘Gala’ were fertilized with different levels of NPK over a period of four years. Macro and micronutrients of buds, flowers, 45 and 90–110 days after full bloom (DAFB) leaves and 60 DAFB and 15 days before harvest (DBH) fruits were determined. Boron was the only element for which strong correlations, 0.7 < r < 0.9, were observed between all organ pairs. The fertilization treatments did not affect the nutrient concentrations in the leaves of 90–110 DAFB other than P, Ca and Mg and did not affect the macronutrients in the fruit. In one of the five orchards, the yield increased by 26% with double fertilization compared to standard fertilization and, for the other four orchards, the impact depended on the year. Fruit size was more related to crop load than to fertilization and TSS and firmness were not affected by the type or amount of fertilizers. Replacing part of the chemical fertilizer with organic materials did not affect productivity or fruit quality.