Reasonable Water–Fertilizer Ratios Regulate Fruit Cell Development and Improve the Quality of Fragrant Pear in China’s Extreme Arid Regions

Eight-year-old grafted fragrant pear trees (Pyrus sinkiangensis ‘Korla’) were used as the test material, and the rootstock is Pyrus betulifolia. The spacing between plants and rows is 1×4m. The flowering, fruiting, and overall growth and development of a tree depend primarily on its nutrient reserves accumulated in the previous year. To ensure consistency in the experiment, we selected fragrant pear trees with similar tree height and crown width as our study subjects. The fertilization method employed is entirely drip irrigation fertilization. The experiment consisted of multiple treatments. For each treatment, a group of ten fragrant pear trees was established, and the entire experiment was repeated three times. The experiment employed an orthogonal experimental design based on the L9(34) orthogonal array, involving four factors: irrigation volume, nitrogen application rate, phosphorus application rate, and potassium application rate. The levels of irrigation and fertilization were systematically determined through a comprehensive review of prior experimental studies and relevant literature (Tianle et al., 2024; Chai et al., 2013; Liang et al., 2008). Irrigation volume was set at two levels: 2400 m3·ha-1 (W1) and 3600 m3·ha-1 (W2). Nitrogen application rate was established at three levels: 150 kg·ha-1 (N1), 300 kg·ha-1 (N2), and 450 kg·ha-1 (N3). Phosphorus application rate was also assigned three levels: 112.5 kg·ha-1 (P1), 225 kg·ha-1 (P2), and 337.5 kg·ha-1 (P3). Similarly, potassium application rate was set at three levels: 55 kg·ha-1 (K1), 110 kg·ha-1 (K2), and 165 kg·ha-1 (K3). Measure the yield, single fruit weight, fruit cell development and fruit quality of each experimental treatment.