ORIGINAL RESEARCH article
Front. Plant Sci.
Sec. Photosynthesis and Photobiology
Volume 16 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fpls.2025.1704065
Foliar Fertilizer and Irrigation Effects on Mung Bean: I mplications for Leaf Physiology and Yield
Provisionally accepted
Mengjie Han
Renqiang Chen
Tongguo Gao
Huiyan GaoXiaoling Wang
Meng Liu
Tiebing LvBaoliang ZhuHuike DuanHongquan Liu*- Hebei Agricultural University, Baoding, China
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Addressing the growing demand for food in semi-arid regions requires eff ective water and fertilizer strategies. An irrigation and foliar fertilization field experim ent was performed in Baoding, Hebei Province, to determine the effects of foliar nutri tion and water conditions on mung bean (Vigna radiata L.), with focus on leaf traits, p hotosynthetic characteristics, and yield. The treatments were irrigated at branching an d flowering-podding stages. Foliar treatments were freshwater only, high-potassium, h igh-phosphorus, balanced fertilizer. The two-factor experiment comprised a total of ei ght treatments and twenty-four plots which were arranged randomly. Numerous para meters, including leaf traits, photosynthetic parameters, SPAD dynamics, and yield co mponents, were determined. Results showed that under full irrigation, the high-phos phorus treatment (W1F2) significantly enhanced leaf area, net photosynthetic rate (Pn) , and SPAD values by 18.1%, 14.4%, and 24.0%, respectively, at 7 days after spraying (DAS7), and delayed leaf senescence. Under water stress, the balanced fertilizer (W0 F3) most effectively mitigated stress effects, showing the smallest reduction in leaf ar ea and a 9.8% higher SPAD retention. Photosynthetic performance varied: W1F2 mai ntained the highest water use efficiency over 21 days under full irrigation, while W0F 3 showed the least decline in Pn under water stress. Yield increased significantly with high-phosphorus treatment (F2), by 30.86% (under W1 conditions) and 37.79% (und er W0 conditions,), primarily due to a 20.66% and 19.17% rise in grains per pod, resp ectively. The W0F3 treatment also increased 100-seed weight by 8.12%, supporting yi eld advantage. In conclusion, high-phosphorus foliar fertilizer is recommended under sufficient irrigation to boost photosynthesis and sink strength, whereas the balanced f ertilizer provides yield advantages under water-limited conditions by maintaining pho tosynthetic area and grain weight. This study provides a theoretical and practical foun dation for precision foliar nutrient management in mung beans during the flowering a nd podding stages in semi-arid regions.
Keywords: Mung bean, Foliar fertilizer, leaf traits, Photosynthetic characteristics, yield
Received: 12 Sep 2025; Accepted: 15 Oct 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Han, Chen, Gao, Gao, Wang, Liu, Lv, Zhu, Duan and Liu. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence: Hongquan Liu, lhq@hebau.edu.cn
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