Nutrient uptake efficiency of five pistachio (Pistacia vera L.) varieties

Pistacia vera L., whose edible fruit is the pistachio, is an economically important crop. It is cultivated worldwide and over 50 different varieties have been described attending to morphological and phenological characteristics. The selection of a suitable cultivar may affect the profitability of the orchards, and thus requires careful consideration for any given region. The type and concentration of nutrients taken up by the plant affect its development and eventually the quality and quantity of the fruits. It is a matter of discussion whether all varieties have the same capacity to absorb nutrients. In order to clarify this aspect, in this study the efficiency of nutrient uptake has been assessed for five pistachio varieties: three males (M38, G1, and Mateur), and two females (Batoury, and Joley), by measuring the concentration of 30 chemical elements in leaves by Inductively Coupled Plasma (ICP) and C/N micro-elemental analyses. Data were subjected to a non-parametric Friedman test, using a series of Wilcoxon Rank Sum test with a Bonferroni correction as post hocs. Our findings demonstrate that all these varieties have an equal uptake capacity for Al, Cr, Cu, K, Li, Mn, Ni, Pb, S, Sr, Ti, Tl, Zn, N, B, Fe, Mg, Na, and V. No differences related to the gender of the plants were detected. Only Mateur exhibited significantly higher levels of Ca and lower levels of C. Stock plants from an experimental plot were used as material. These plants are not used for productive purposes, and flowering and fruiting are partially restricted by removing potential nutrient-demanding structures. These findings support the contention that the presence/absence of such organs has more influence on the nutrient uptake than does the variety itself.