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Integrative effects of irrigation and aeration on root morphology, yield, and quality of tomatoes cultivated in coastal saline-alkali lands

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Abstract

Poor soil structure and aeration in coastal saline-alkaline lands severely constrain crop productivity. This study evaluated the efficacy of aerated drip irrigation in improving tomato (Solanum lycopersicum L.) cultivation under these conditions. A field experiment compared aerated (A1) and non-aerated (A0) irrigation across three water levels: severe deficit (W1, 0.6 Ep), mild deficit (W2, 0.8 Ep), and full irrigation (W3, 1.0 Ep), where Ep represents cumulative pan evaporation. Relative to conventional irrigation, aeration significantly improved plant performance by promoting root development, which supported enhanced canopy growth and a higher net photosynthetic rate. The A1W3 treatment produced the highest yield (1561.6 g plant⁻¹), a 22.70% increase over the non‑aerated full irrigation control, while also improving fruit quality attributes including lycopene and vitamin C contents. Principal component analysis identified A1W3 as the most effective strategy under our experimental conditions for integrated yield and quality. These results indicate that aerated drip irrigation offers a practical approach to enhance tomato production in marginal coastal regions.

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The original contributions presented in this study are included in the article. Further inquiries can be directed to the corresponding authors.

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Acknowledgements

We gratefully acknowledge the State Key Laboratory of Hydraulic Engineering Intelligent Construction and Operation at Tianjin University for providing experimental support.

Funding

This research was funded by the Tianjin Renai College–Tianjin University Faculty Development Fund Collaborative Project (FZ231004).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Civil Engineering, Tianjin Renai College, Tianjin, 301636, China

    Lingchao Meng, Yunfei Zheng, Haiwen Ren, Zhicheng Li, Xi Zheng, Miaoye Kang & Liang Li

  2. State Key Laboratory of Hydraulic Engineering Intelligent Construction and Operation, Tianjin University, Tianjin, 300072, China

    Lan Qi

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  1. Lingchao Meng
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  2. Yunfei Zheng
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Contributions

Conceptualization, L.M.; writing—original draft preparation, L.M.; visualization, L.M.; writing—review and editing, L.M.; resources, Y.Z.; formal analysis, H.R.; formal analysis, Z.L.; data curation, X.Z.; validation, M.K.; writing—review and editing, L.L.;writing—review and editing, Q.L. All authors have read and agreed to the published version of the manuscript.

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Correspondence to
Liang Li or Lan Qi.

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Meng, L., Zheng, Y., Ren, H. et al. Integrative effects of irrigation and aeration on root morphology, yield, and quality of tomatoes cultivated in coastal saline-alkali lands.
Sci Rep (2026). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-026-46058-z

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-026-46058-z

Keywords

  • Coastal saline-alkaline soils
  • Aerated drip irrigation
  • Yield
  • Quality
  • Root morphology

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