Cyclic Irrigation Reduces Container Leachate Nitrate-nitrogen Concentration

Fare, Donna C.; Gilliam, Charles H.; Keever, Gary J.; Olive, John W.

doi:10.21273/hortsci.29.12.1514

Cited by 53 publications

(48 citation statements)

References 4 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Unclassified

Order By: Relevance

“…'Prairifire' (Prairifire crabapple), Cercis canadensis L. (Eastern redbud), and Acer ·freemai 'Jeffersred' (Autumn Blaze Ò maple), respectively, when grown outdoors and fertilized with CRF. Reduction of LF is another approach to improve nutrient use efficiency (Fare et al, 1994;McGinnis, 2007;Owen et al, 2008;Tyler et al, 1996). Leaching fraction reduction results in decreased nutrient effluent volume and content.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Replacing Conventional Nursery Crop Nutrient Inputs with Vermicompost for Container Production of Hibiscus moscheutos L. ‘Luna Blush’

McGinnis¹,

Warren²,

Bilderback³

2009

horts

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Vermicomposting of pig manure is a waste management approach that has been shown to be economically and technologically feasible and yields a value-added end product, vermicompost (VC), that contains plant-available nutrients. The objective of this study was to determine if conventional nursery crop inputs could be replaced by commercially available VC (derived from pig manure) for production of Hibiscus moscheutos ‘Luna Blush’ L. (hibiscus). Hibiscus was grown in 3.8-L containers containing pine bark amended with 11% sand (by vol.), 1.8 kg·m−3 dolomitic limestone, and 0.9 kg·m−3 micronutrient package (PBS) or pine bark amended with 20% VC (by vol.) (20VC). Plants were topdressed with one of three controlled-release fertilizers (CRF) containing only nitrogen (N); N and potassium (K); or N, phosphorus (P), and K. The four treatments included PBS with 17–6–12 (PBS + NPK), 20VC with 17–6–12 (20VC + NPK), 20VC with 17–0–12 (20VC + NK), and 20VC with 17–0–0 (20VC + N). The PBS + NPK treatment, which was supplied with conventional nursery crop nutrient inputs (limestone, sulfated micronutrients, and CRF containing NPK), served as the control treatment to represent the industry standard. All treatments were irrigated to maintain a leaching fraction (LF = volume leached ÷ volume applied) of 0.24. Daily inorganic nitrogen (IN-N) and dissolved reactive phosphorus (DRP) effluent contents were determined. Plants were harvested at 35 and 56 d after potting (DAP). Total plant nutrient contents of P, calcium (Ca), magnesium (Mg), and sulfur (S), iron (Fe), manganese, zinc (Zn), copper (Cu), and boron (B) were equivalent or greater for all three 20VC treatments compared with PBS + NPK. However, total plant K content of 20VC + N was less than 20VC + NPK, 20VC + NK, and PBS + NPK. Regardless of lower K content in the 20VC + N treatment, all three 20VC treatments had equivalent total plant dry weight and number of flowers. Furthermore, all three 20VC treatments averaged 58% and 40% greater plant dry weight than PBS + NPK at 35 and 56 DAP, respectively, and 93% more flowers than PBS + NPK at 56 DAP. All three 20VC treatments had similar IN-N and DRP effluent contents. However, the three 20VC treatments averaged 4.3× more IN-N effluent content and 59× DRP effluent content than PBS + NPK. The nutrient use efficiencies for all treatments were similar, in which nitrogen use efficiency ranged from 9% to 15% and phosphorus use efficiency ranged from 7% to 12%. In conclusion, this source of VC provided equivalent or greater P, Ca, Mg, S, Fe, Zn, and Cu but less K for plant uptake compared with the industry standard (control) treatment and produced larger plants with more flowers than the control. This suggests that dolomitic lime, sulfated micronutrients, and P can be eliminated as substrate additives.

show abstract

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Replacing Conventional Nursery Crop Nutrient Inputs with Vermicompost for Container Production of Hibiscus moscheutos L. ‘Luna Blush’

McGinnis¹,

Warren²,

Bilderback³

2009

horts

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…In many studies only the leaching of NO 3 –N has been measured (Rathier and Frink, 1989; Fare et al, 1994; Broschat, 1995; Andersen and Hansen, 2000), obviously because the NO 3 –N levels of 10 mg L −1 (USEPA, 2001) or NO 3 levels of 50 mg L −1 (NO 3 –N 11.3 mg L −1 ) (European Community, 1998) in drinking water are considered unsafe for humans. In our study, however, the amounts of NO 3 –N in leachates covered only 25 to 54% of the total N leached.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…During production of container seedlings, a potential risk for nutrient leaching exists, as large volumes of irrigation water are used, and in many countries nearly all fertilizers are applied in liquid form through irrigation systems (fertigated) (Landis et al, 1989; Dumroese et al, 1995). Among other things, the influence of irrigation volume, application method, and fertilizer type on leaching of water and nutrients has been studied with different horticultural crops (Hershey and Paul, 1982; Rathier and Frink, 1989; McAvoy et al, 1992; Fare et al, 1994; Broschat, 1995; Andersen and Hansen, 2000). However, most of the crops studied have been grown in large, individual pots, one to five liters in volume, while forest seedlings are grown in small pots, 40 to 300 mL in volume.…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Leaching of Nitrogen and Phosphorus during Production of Forest Seedlings in Containers

2002

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Little information is available concerning the contamination risk caused by forest seedling nurseries to local surface and ground waters compared with agricultural and horticultural production. Leaching of nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P) through peat growing medium in containers and nutrient uptake of seedlings were monitored in production of silver birch (Betula pendula Roth), Norway spruce [Picea abies (L.) Karst], and Scots pine (Pinus sylvestris L.) seedlings. About half of the applied nutrients (total amount applied = 149 to 260 kg N ha(-1) and 60 to 108 kg P ha(-1)) was premixed into the peat medium, as is usual in Finnish nursery practice, and the other half was applied to seedlings in liquid form with mobile booms. Depending on tree species, 11 to 19% of the applied N was recovered in leachates and 15 to 63% in seedlings. The undiscovered proportion varied from 19 to 71%. The amounts of leached N were 19 to 41 kg ha(-1). Only 5 to 31% of the applied P was recovered in seedlings; 16 to 64% (11 to 56 kg ha(-1)) was found in leachates. Total N and P load to the environment may increase substantially if nutrients applied in liquid fertilization outside container trays are included. Consequently, it is important to determine the sources of nutrient load in container seedling production to mitigate the risk of environment contamination.

show abstract

“…In a container production of Ilex crenata Thunb. 'Compacta', Fare et al [19] reported that the percentage of applied N leached as NO 3 ─N ranged from 46% when 13-mm irrigation was applied in 3 cycles to 63% when 13-mm irrigation was applied in a single cycle. Broschat [20] investigated N leaching from a container substrate comprised of 50% pine bark, 40% sedge peat and 10% sand and reported 3710 mg of NO 3 ─N could be leached per container during a 6-month production of Spathiphyllum Schott.…”

Section: Nitrogen Loss During Container Plant Productionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Controlled-Release Fertilizers as a Means to Reduce Nitrogen Leaching and Runoff in Container-Grown Plant Production

Chen¹,

Wei²

2018

Nitrogen in Agriculture - Updates

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Container-grown plants refer to plants produced in confined volume filled with substrates. The substrates endogenously have limited nutrients and low water-holding capacity. Plants grown in the containers must be fertilized and watered frequently varying from daily to weekly. Frequent fertilization and irrigation can result in nutrient leaching and/or runoff. Since nitrogen (N) is a key component of the majority of fertilizers, container plant production has been viewed as a source of N leaching and/or runoff. The leaching and runoff, if in large quantities on a year-round basis, could affect surface and ground water quality. Application of controlled-release fertilizers (CRFs) has been reported to have less N leaching than plants fertilized with water-soluble fertilizers (WSFs). However, there are different types of CRFs with different compositions and longevities on the market. Container plants also differ greatly in their growth and development and in N requirement. Thus, production of high-quality container plants with minimum N leaching using CRFs still remains challenging. This article is intended to discuss characteristics of container plant production and N leaching and runoff during production, and to document that CRF application can reduce N leaching and/or runoff. Certain requirements for future development of CRFs are also discussed.

show abstract

Cyclic Irrigation Reduces Container Leachate Nitrate-nitrogen Concentration

Cited by 53 publications

References 4 publications

Replacing Conventional Nursery Crop Nutrient Inputs with Vermicompost for Container Production of Hibiscus moscheutos L. ‘Luna Blush’

Replacing Conventional Nursery Crop Nutrient Inputs with Vermicompost for Container Production of Hibiscus moscheutos L. ‘Luna Blush’

Leaching of Nitrogen and Phosphorus during Production of Forest Seedlings in Containers

Controlled-Release Fertilizers as a Means to Reduce Nitrogen Leaching and Runoff in Container-Grown Plant Production

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About