The response of tomato (Lycopersicon esculentum) plants basically fertilized with 0.3 g N per plant of compound fertilizer with a N:P2O5:K2O ratio of 20:10:20 to sticks of polyolefin-coated fertilizer (POCF) (Long70 with a N:P2O5:K2O ratio of 14:12:14) applied 23 d after transplanting was investigated using rooting boxes in the greenhouse. The results at 26 and 40 d after stick fertilizer treatment showed that the use of the stick fertilizer greatly increased the production of many new fine roots from the tomato plants. Compared to the unfertilized control, root length and root length density in the stick fertilizer treatment increased by 3.6-6.7 fold. In the soil zones near the stick fertilizer, root weight and root mass density were also significantly higher for the stick fertilizer treatment. Additionally, the use of the stick fertilizer increased the N, P and K concentrations in the leaves and stems of the tomato plants. The new fine roots growing near the stick fertilizer not only absorbed more nutrients and translocated them to the shoots, but also contained more nutrients within themselves. The soil ammonium and nitrate N data showed that N released from the stick fertilizer played a major role in inducing the production of new fine roots. These results indicated that stick fertilizer could be used as an alternative to the co-situs application technique to change and control the root distribution of crops as well as to increase the potential capacity of roots for water and nutrient absorption.
