The effects of water and nitrogen regulation in surge root irrigation on yield, quality and water and nitrogen use efficiency of apple and evaluation of comprehensive production effect

The effects of water and nitrogen regulation in surge root irrigation on yield, quality and water and nitrogen use efficiency of apple and evaluation of comprehensive production effect | Research Square window.SnipcartSettings = { analytics: { enabled: false } }; (function() { var accessVector = localStorage.getItem('access_vector') || ''; window.dataLayer = window.dataLayer || []; if (accessVector) { window.dataLayer.push({ user: { profile: { profileInfo: { snid: accessVector } } } }); } })(); (function(w,d,s,l,i){w[l]=w[l]||[];w[l].push({'gtm.start':new Date().getTime(),event:'gtm.js'});var f=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0],j=d.createElement(s),dl=l!='dataLayer'?'&l='+l:'';j.async=true;j.src='https://www.googletagmanager.com/gtm.js?id='+i+dl;f.parentNode.insertBefore(j,f);})(window,document,'script','dataLayer','GTM-K279D39R'); Browse Preprints In Review Journals COVID-19 Preprints AJE Video Bytes Research Tools Research Promotion AJE Professional Editing AJE Rubriq About Preprint Platform In Review Editorial Policies Our Team Advisory Board Help Center Sign In Submit a Preprint Cite Share Download PDF Research Article The effects of water and nitrogen regulation in surge root irrigation on yield, quality and water and nitrogen use efficiency of apple and evaluation of comprehensive production effect Yalin Gao, Liangjun Fei, Kun Hao, Youliang Peng, Yun Zhong, Fangyuan Shen, and 1 more This is a preprint; it has not been peer reviewed by a journal. https://doi.org/ 10.21203/rs.3.rs-5615833/v1 This work is licensed under a CC BY 4.0 License Status: Published Journal Publication published 09 Dec, 2025 Read the published version in Irrigation Science → Version 1 posted 9 You are reading this latest preprint version Abstract In view of the serious shortage of soil and water resources in mountain orchards on the Loess Plateau, and the serious ineffective evaporation of soil, the quality and high yield of fruit trees are severely restricted. In this study, 8 years old apple ( Malus pumila Mill.) was selected as the object, and the irrigation level [the upper and lower limits of soil moisture were controlled by the percentage of soil moisture content to field water capacity θ f . W1 (85%~ 95% θ f ), W2 (75%~85% θ f ), W3 (65%~75% θ f ) and W4 (55%~65% θ f )] and nitrogen application levels [N1 (600 kg·ha − 1 ), N2 (450 kg·ha − 1 ), N3 (300 kg·ha − 1 ), N4 (150 kg·ha − 1 )], the effects of water and nitrogen regulation on yield, water and nitrogen use efficiency and quality of apple were analyzed, and the indexes of apple were evaluated by multi-objective comprehensive evaluation. The results showed as follows: (1) Apple yield first increased and then decreased with the increase of irrigation amount and nitrogen application amount, and there was an obvious threshold value. The irrigation amount and nitrogen application amount corresponding to the highest apple yield (36637.09 kg·ha − 1 ) in 2020 were 93.89 mm and 501.73 kg·ha − 1 , respectively. The irrigation amount and nitrogen application amount corresponding to the highest apple yield (38419.43 kg·ha − 1 ) in 2021 were 93.09 mm and 498.51 kg·ha − 1 , respectively. Water and nitrogen regulation significantly affected the water and nitrogen use efficiency of apples. The water use efficiency and partial factor productivity of nitrogen of the treatment with moderate irrigation amount and nitrogen application amount (W2N2) were significantly higher than those of the other treatments. Suitable water and nitrogen supply could improve the quality indexes of soluble solid, vitamin C and soluble sugar of apples, reduce the hardness and fruit shape index, and significantly improve the fruit quality. (2) The evaluation ranking of comprehensive production effect of apples under different treatments was significantly inconsistent due to different evaluation methods. Fuzzy Borda method was used to combine the results of principal component analysis method, membership function method, rank sum ratio method and entropy weight TOPSIS method, and it was concluded that W2N1 treatment ranked the highest in terms of evaluation value in 2020 and 2021, that is, the comprehensive effect of this treatment was the best. (3) Based on the fuzzy Borda combination evaluation method, the comprehensive effect evaluation value of apples was evaluated by regression analysis. When the water and nitrogen supply thresholds in 2020 and 2021 are 92.18 ~ 97.03 mm, 519.83 ~ 547.19 kg·ha − 1 and 90.32 ~ 95.07 mm, 461.57 ~ 485.86 kg·ha − 1 , The comprehensive production effect of apples is better, and it is a water and nitrogen supply model for improving apple quality and increasing efficiency on the Loess Plateau. water and nitrogen regulation apple yield apple quality single method evaluation combination evaluation Full Text Additional Declarations No competing interests reported. Cite Share Download PDF Status: Published Journal Publication published 09 Dec, 2025 Read the published version in Irrigation Science → Version 1 posted Editorial decision: Revision requested 19 Jun, 2025 Reviews received at journal 16 Jan, 2025 Reviewers agreed at journal 15 Jan, 2025 Reviewers agreed at journal 11 Jan, 2025 Reviewers agreed at journal 09 Jan, 2025 Reviewers invited by journal 08 Jan, 2025 Editor assigned by journal 19 Dec, 2024 Submission checks completed at journal 19 Dec, 2024 First submitted to journal 10 Dec, 2024 You are reading this latest preprint version Research Square lets you share your work early, gain feedback from the community, and start making changes to your manuscript prior to peer review in a journal. As a division of Research Square Company, we’re committed to making research communication faster, fairer, and more useful. We do this by developing innovative software and high quality services for the global research community. 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Also discoverable on Platform About Our Team In Review Editorial Policies Advisory Board Help Center Resources Author Services Accessibility API Access RSS feed Manage Cookie Preferences © Research Square 2026 | ISSN 2693-5015 (online) Privacy Policy Terms of Service Do Not Sell My Personal Information {"props":{"pageProps":{"initialData":{"identity":"rs-5615833","acceptedTermsAndConditions":true,"allowDirectSubmit":false,"archivedVersions":[],"articleType":"Research Article","associatedPublications":[],"authors":[{"id":392451337,"identity":"f5ab5272-a8cc-4ea5-b19a-01a2b94a7947","order_by":0,"name":"Yalin Gao","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"Xi ’ an University of Technology，Xi'an","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Yalin","middleName":"","lastName":"Gao","suffix":""},{"id":392451338,"identity":"5f4d6a60-cd74-4ef0-92c4-07d3ad1b8eb8","order_by":1,"name":"Liangjun 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effect","fulltext":[],"fulltextSource":"","fullText":"","funders":[],"hasAdminPriorityOnWorkflow":false,"hasManuscriptDocX":false,"hasOptedInToPreprint":true,"hasPassedJournalQc":"","hasAnyPriority":false,"hideJournal":false,"highlight":"","institution":"","isAcceptedByJournal":true,"isAuthorSuppliedPdf":true,"isDeskRejected":"","isHiddenFromSearch":false,"isInQc":false,"isInWorkflow":false,"isPdf":true,"isPdfUpToDate":true,"isWithdrawnOrRetracted":false,"journal":{"display":true,"email":"[email protected]","identity":"irrigation-science","isNatureJournal":false,"hasQc":true,"allowDirectSubmit":false,"externalIdentity":"irsc","sideBox":"Learn more about [Irrigation Science](http://link.springer.com/journal/271)","snPcode":"271","submissionUrl":"https://submission.nature.com/new-submission/271/3","title":"Irrigation Science","twitterHandle":"","acdcEnabled":true,"dfaEnabled":true,"editorialSystem":"em","reportingPortfolio":"Springer Hybrid","inReviewEnabled":true,"inReviewRevisionsEnabled":false},"keywords":"water and nitrogen regulation, apple yield, apple quality, single method evaluation, combination evaluation","lastPublishedDoi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-5615833/v1","lastPublishedDoiUrl":"https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-5615833/v1","license":{"name":"CC BY 4.0","url":"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/"},"manuscriptAbstract":"\u003cp\u003eIn view of the serious shortage of soil and water resources in mountain orchards on the Loess Plateau, and the serious ineffective evaporation of soil, the quality and high yield of fruit trees are severely restricted. In this study, 8 years old apple (\u003cem\u003eMalus pumila\u003c/em\u003e Mill.) was selected as the object, and the irrigation level [the upper and lower limits of soil moisture were controlled by the percentage of soil moisture content to field water capacity \u003cem\u003eθ\u003c/em\u003e\u003csub\u003e\u003cem\u003ef\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/sub\u003e. W1 (85%~ 95%\u003cem\u003eθ\u003c/em\u003e\u003csub\u003e\u003cem\u003ef\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/sub\u003e), W2 (75%~85%\u003cem\u003eθ\u003c/em\u003e\u003csub\u003e\u003cem\u003ef\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/sub\u003e), W3 (65%~75%\u003cem\u003eθ\u003c/em\u003e\u003csub\u003e\u003cem\u003ef\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/sub\u003e) and W4 (55%~65%\u003cem\u003eθ\u003c/em\u003e\u003csub\u003e\u003cem\u003ef\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/sub\u003e)] and nitrogen application levels [N1 (600 kg\u0026middot;ha\u003csup\u003e\u0026minus;\u0026thinsp;1\u003c/sup\u003e), N2 (450 kg\u0026middot;ha\u003csup\u003e\u0026minus;\u0026thinsp;1\u003c/sup\u003e), N3 (300 kg\u0026middot;ha\u003csup\u003e\u0026minus;\u0026thinsp;1\u003c/sup\u003e), N4 (150 kg\u0026middot;ha\u003csup\u003e\u0026minus;\u0026thinsp;1\u003c/sup\u003e)], the effects of water and nitrogen regulation on yield, water and nitrogen use efficiency and quality of apple were analyzed, and the indexes of apple were evaluated by multi-objective comprehensive evaluation. The results showed as follows: (1) Apple yield first increased and then decreased with the increase of irrigation amount and nitrogen application amount, and there was an obvious threshold value. The irrigation amount and nitrogen application amount corresponding to the highest apple yield (36637.09 kg\u0026middot;ha\u003csup\u003e\u0026minus;\u0026thinsp;1\u003c/sup\u003e) in 2020 were 93.89 mm and 501.73 kg\u0026middot;ha\u003csup\u003e\u0026minus;\u0026thinsp;1\u003c/sup\u003e, respectively. The irrigation amount and nitrogen application amount corresponding to the highest apple yield (38419.43 kg\u0026middot;ha\u003csup\u003e\u0026minus;\u0026thinsp;1\u003c/sup\u003e) in 2021 were 93.09 mm and 498.51 kg\u0026middot;ha\u003csup\u003e\u0026minus;\u0026thinsp;1\u003c/sup\u003e, respectively. Water and nitrogen regulation significantly affected the water and nitrogen use efficiency of apples. The water use efficiency and partial factor productivity of nitrogen of the treatment with moderate irrigation amount and nitrogen application amount (W2N2) were significantly higher than those of the other treatments. Suitable water and nitrogen supply could improve the quality indexes of soluble solid, vitamin C and soluble sugar of apples, reduce the hardness and fruit shape index, and significantly improve the fruit quality. (2) The evaluation ranking of comprehensive production effect of apples under different treatments was significantly inconsistent due to different evaluation methods. Fuzzy Borda method was used to combine the results of principal component analysis method, membership function method, rank sum ratio method and entropy weight TOPSIS method, and it was concluded that W2N1 treatment ranked the highest in terms of evaluation value in 2020 and 2021, that is, the comprehensive effect of this treatment was the best. (3) Based on the fuzzy Borda combination evaluation method, the comprehensive effect evaluation value of apples was evaluated by regression analysis. When the water and nitrogen supply thresholds in 2020 and 2021 are 92.18\u0026thinsp;~\u0026thinsp;97.03 mm, 519.83\u0026thinsp;~\u0026thinsp;547.19 kg\u0026middot;ha\u003csup\u003e\u0026minus;\u0026thinsp;1\u003c/sup\u003e and 90.32\u0026thinsp;~\u0026thinsp;95.07 mm, 461.57\u0026thinsp;~\u0026thinsp;485.86 kg\u0026middot;ha\u003csup\u003e\u0026minus;\u0026thinsp;1\u003c/sup\u003e, The comprehensive production effect of apples is better, and it is a water and nitrogen supply model for improving apple quality and increasing efficiency on the Loess Plateau.\u003c/p\u003e","manuscriptTitle":"The effects of water and nitrogen regulation in surge root irrigation on yield, quality and water and nitrogen use efficiency of apple and evaluation of comprehensive production effect","msid":"","msnumber":"","nonDraftVersions":[{"code":1,"date":"2024-12-23 12:54:34","doi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-5615833/v1","editorialEvents":[{"type":"communityComments","content":0},{"type":"decision","content":"Revision requested","date":"2025-06-19T11:29:50+00:00","index":"","fulltext":""},{"type":"editorInvitedReview","content":"","date":"2025-01-16T07:02:01+00:00","index":"hide","fulltext":""},{"type":"reviewerAgreed","content":"323020770999141757878521738793970109706","date":"2025-01-16T01:22:03+00:00","index":"hide","fulltext":""},{"type":"reviewerAgreed","content":"215998756706389818658650558421877371015","date":"2025-01-11T05:14:53+00:00","index":"hide","fulltext":""},{"type":"reviewerAgreed","content":"248296180384379015511204037988000436394","date":"2025-01-09T16:22:43+00:00","index":"hide","fulltext":""},{"type":"reviewersInvited","content":"","date":"2025-01-09T02:53:27+00:00","index":"","fulltext":""},{"type":"editorAssigned","content":"","date":"2024-12-19T15:17:36+00:00","index":"","fulltext":""},{"type":"checksComplete","content":"","date":"2024-12-19T15:15:07+00:00","index":"","fulltext":""},{"type":"submitted","content":"Irrigation Science","date":"2024-12-10T10:41:32+00:00","index":"","fulltext":""}],"status":"published","journal":{"display":true,"email":"[email protected]","identity":"irrigation-science","isNatureJournal":false,"hasQc":true,"allowDirectSubmit":false,"externalIdentity":"irsc","sideBox":"Learn more about [Irrigation Science](http://link.springer.com/journal/271)","snPcode":"271","submissionUrl":"https://submission.nature.com/new-submission/271/3","title":"Irrigation Science","twitterHandle":"","acdcEnabled":true,"dfaEnabled":true,"editorialSystem":"em","reportingPortfolio":"Springer Hybrid","inReviewEnabled":true,"inReviewRevisionsEnabled":false}}],"origin":"","ownerIdentity":"d5782de4-7927-45d6-92af-f2a210a96139","owner":[],"postedDate":"December 23rd, 2024","published":true,"recentEditorialEvents":[],"rejectedJournal":[],"revision":"","amendment":"","status":"published-in-journal","subjectAreas":[],"tags":[],"updatedAt":"2025-12-15T16:09:37+00:00","versionOfRecord":{"articleIdentity":"rs-5615833","link":"https://doi.org/10.1007/s00271-025-01055-4","journal":{"identity":"irrigation-science","isVorOnly":false,"title":"Irrigation Science"},"publishedOn":"2025-12-09 15:57:36","publishedOnDateReadable":"December 9th, 2025"},"versionCreatedAt":"2024-12-23 12:54:34","video":"","vorDoi":"10.1007/s00271-025-01055-4","vorDoiUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1007/s00271-025-01055-4","workflowStages":[]},"version":"v1","identity":"rs-5615833","journalConfig":"researchsquare"},"__N_SSP":true},"page":"/article/[identity]/[[...version]]","query":{"redirect":"/article/rs-5615833","identity":"rs-5615833","version":["v1"]},"buildId":"qtupq5eGEP_6zYnWcrvyt","isFallback":false,"isExperimentalCompile":false,"dynamicIds":[84888],"gssp":true,"scriptLoader":[]}