Evaluation of nitrate levels in tomatos collected from leading production regions of Khorasan Razavi province, Iran
Mahdi Abbaszadeh1, Amir Salari2, Ali Maroosi3 and Babak Jamali4*
1Plant Nutrition Supervision, Jihad Agriculture of Khorasan Razavi, Mashhad, Iran. 2Department of Water Science and Engineering, Minab Higher Education Center, University of Hormozgan, Bandar Abbas, Iran. 3Department of Computer Engineering, University of Torbat Heydarieh, Iran. 4 Department of Agriculture, Minab Higher Education Center, University of Hormozgan, Bandar Abbas, Iran. Corresponding e-mail: babakjamali@ymail.com, babakjamali@hormozgan.ac.ir
Abstract: Nitrate accumulation is a common problem in agriculture. To determine the factors contributing to nitrate accumulation in tomato fruits, the present study investigated the accumulated nitrogen content in tomatoes harvested in Iran’s Khorasan Razavi province (Mashhad, Neyshabur, Torbat-Jam, Fariman, and Chenaran regions) in four consecutive years. At least 30 samples were collected from each growing area and analyzed. Our findings showed that nitrate accumulation was absent in areas where fertilizer application met crop and soil needs. The highest nitrate accumulation in fresh fruits was 487 mg/kg in fields where the plants received 207 kg/ha of nitrogen fertilizer; the nitrate content of the samples was above the standard critical concentration in 71.67% of the regions studied. Nitrate accumulation in tomatoes from Khorasan Razavi province was high, which can adversely impact the quality of this crop in this region.
