Optimizing Nitrogen Nutrient Management for the Sustainable Enhancement of Secondary Metabolites and Yield in Onion Cultivation
Round 1
Reviewer 1 Report
Comments and Suggestions for AuthorsChange the optimized nitrogen fertilizer management in the title to optimized fertilizer management
In the part of introduction, there is limited research on the effects of N, S, and Fe on onions by previous researchers. What is the purpose and significance of the four fertilizer treatments in the experimental design, and does it provide a reference basis for the fertilization of these four types of onions. Is there any difference between the experimental results and previous research conclusions？
The increase in yield mentioned in the article is based on unfertilized conditions as a control. Whether onion production is not fertilized frequently? If it is fertilized frequently, the conventional fertilization amount should be used as a control.
Line 202， what does 13-16% mean？
Line 209-210，On average, over 2 years, nitrogen fertilization had the most significant impact on the phenol content in onions, especially in the Kamal variety (0.929 mgg-1) and Robin variety (0.865 mg g -1). But it is found that the variant with N is not significantly from the unfertilized control in table 3.
Line213-214，Fertilization had a differential impact on flavonoid content during the 2-year experiment across various onion varieties. But it is found that not all the variants with fertilization are significantly from the unfertilized control in table 2, especially the variety Pueblo and Mundo.
Line 215-221, Based on the table data, please verify the textual expression. Some textual expressions do not match the table.
Author Response
Dear Reviewer,
Thank you for the your work. Please, see answers bellow.
Change the optimized nitrogen fertilizer management in the title to optimized fertilizer management
Thank you for the suggestion. The changes have been implemented. Please, see changes in a red colour.
In the part of introduction, there is limited research on the effects of N, S, and Fe on onions by previous researchers. What is the purpose and significance of the four fertilizer treatments in the experimental design, and does it provide a reference basis for the fertilization of these four types of onions. Is there any difference between the experimental results and previous research conclusions？
Thank you for the helpful comment. Additional information regarding research on the effects of nitrogen (N), sulfur (S), and iron (Fe) on the Allium genus has been included. Several points of novelty in the presented work have been added, and the introduction text has been updated accordingly.
The increase in yield mentioned in the article is based on unfertilized conditions as a control. Whether onion production is not fertilized frequently? If it is fertilized frequently, the conventional fertilization amount should be used as a control.
Thank you for the comment. In fertilization field experiments, an unfertilized variant is usually used as the control variant. The unfertilized variant under field conditions is always variable because it depends on the specific environmental conditions - soil type, nutrient reserves in the soil, and similar factors. For this reason, we compared the yields of fertilized variants (N, N+S, N+S+Fe) with the yield achieved on the unfertilized control variant (variant 0). The aim of our experiment was to study effects and interactions between N, S and Fe. It is clear.
Line 202， what does 13-16% mean？
Thank you for the comment. The necessary corrections have been made and are highlighted in red in the text - Following this, the red varieties Kamal (16%) and Robin (17%) were observed, and the lowest dry matter content was determined for the yellow variety Mundo (13%)
Line 209-210，On average, over 2 years, nitrogen fertilization had the most significant impact on the phenol content in onions, especially in the Kamal variety (0.929 mgg-1) and Robin variety (0.865 mg g -1). But it is found that the variant with N is not significantly from the unfertilized control in table 3.
Line213-214，Fertilization had a differential impact on flavonoid content during the 2-year experiment across various onion varieties. But it is found that not all the variants with fertilization are significantly from the unfertilized control in table 2, especially the variety Pueblo and Mundo.
Line 215-221, Based on the table data, please verify the textual expression. Some textual expressions do not match the table.
Dear Reviewers, Thank you for the comment. Some needed corrections were done.
I would like to explain the meanings in the table more clearly, especially regarding the problem with A/B/C tests. Before we proceed, let's review two essential concepts related to hypothesis testing: P-value and Type I error. These concepts are fundamental because A/B or A/B/C tests are forms of hypothesis testing.
First, let's discuss P-value. Although it may seem simple, the P-value is actually a bit tricky. It represents the probability of observing a deviation at least as large as the one in our sample, assuming the NULL hypothesis is TRUE. In other words, the P-value tells us how likely it is to see the results we got (or more extreme) purely by chance, if there is no actual difference between the groups being tested.
For example, if we have a P-value of 0.05 in an A/B test, it means that if there is truly no difference between the control group and the variant group (they are actually the same in terms of the metric we're measuring), we would see a deviation like the one in our sample, or larger, in 5 out of 100 A/B tests purely due to random sample error. This helps us understand whether the observed differences are likely to be real or just due to random variation.
I hope this clarifies the concepts and helps you understand the table better.
Reviewer 2 Report
Comments and Suggestions for AuthorsManuscript sustainability-2993255 "Optimizing Nutrient Management for Sustainable Enhancement of Secondary Metabolites and Yield in Onion Cultivation" deals with the effect of nitrogen, sulphur and iron fertilizers on yield and phenolic and quercetin content in four onion varieties. The manuscript is written in a good scientific language, but there are some comments that I think would improve the paper:
1) In section 2, detailed information on the forms of fertiliser applied separately for each experiment should be added (and in some places clarified). Also, throughout the text it would be better to use the form of the element being fertilised rather than "N, S and Fe", e.g. N-NH4+, S-SO42- and Fe2+. Also (where appropriate in the context) you should write "iron ions" rather than just "iron". This is important because different forms of the elements have different chemical and toxicological properties.
2) Figure 1: Figures A-C should be the same size.
3) Either in Table 1 or in the text, the particle size distribution of soils needs to be added. This is because the granulometric composition of soils determines the migration capacity of elements and thus the effective size of the fertiliser dosage.
4) There are many typos in the text, e.g. kg.ha-1, FeSO4.7H2O. The article also uses both decimal points and commas. It is necessary to bring everything according to the rules for authors.
Author Response
Dear Reviewer,
Thank you for the your work. Please, see answers bellow.
- In section 2, detailed information on the forms of fertiliser applied separately for each experiment should be added (and in some places clarified). Also, throughout the text it would be better to use the form of the element being fertilised rather than "N, S and Fe", e.g. N-NH4+, S-SO42- and Fe2+. Also (where appropriate in the context) you should write "iron ions" rather than just "iron". This is important because different forms of the elements have different chemical and toxicological properties.
Thank you for the comment and suggestion. The required changes have been made. Please see the corrections highlighted in red.
- Figure 1: Figures A-C should be the same size.
Thank you for the comment. Figures A-C have been resized to the same dimensions.
- Either in Table 1 or in the text, the particle size distribution of soils needs to be added. This is because the granulometric composition of soils determines the migration capacity of elements and thus the effective size of the fertiliser dosage.
Thank you for the comment. Information on the particle size distribution of the soils has been added to the text (L106-108). The aim of the experiment was not to determine the level of nutrient sorption or their migration in the soil, but rather to assess the quality of production influenced by nutrition.
- There are many typos in the text, e.g. kg.ha-1, FeSO4.7H2O. The article also uses both decimal points and commas. It is necessary to bring everything according to the rules for authors.
Thank you for the comment and suggestion. The required changes have been made. Please see the corrections highlighted in red.
