Nitrate Leaching from Systematically Tiled Potato Fields in New Brunswick, Canada

Abstract

Flow volumes and NO 3 -N concentrations of drain discharge from five systematically tiled, commercial potato (Solatium tuberosum L.) fields were measured from April to December, 1987 and 1988, to assess the potential for NO 3 -N leaching associated with current production practices. The sites, located in New Brunswick, Canada, ranged from 3 to 10 ha and varied in fertilizer application rate, cropping practices, rainfall, and duration of data collection (the latter due to site access difficulties in the spring). Three of the five sites were representative of intense potato rotations, whereas the remaining two were representative of land conversions into potato production from more passive, low input production systems. Ten site-years of data were collected. Drain outflow volumes averaged 75 and 115 mm per unit area in 1987 and 1988, respectively. Considerable drain flow occurred during snowmelt each year before data collection began. Measured NO 3 -N concentrations ranged from 1 to 65 mg L" 1 and there were substantial changes in NO 3 -N concentrations within flow events. The flow-weighted average annual nitrate concentrations of the drainage effluent, (NO 3 -N)|,, were > 10 mg L ' for potato site-years, regardless of whether the sites were established potato rotation fields or not. The (NO 3 -N)J concentrations of the established potato rotation sites also remained >10 mg L ' for the first non-potato year following potato. The (NO 3 -N)£ concentration of one potato rotation site was more than double that of the other two potato rotation sites. Incubation studies showed the soil at this site had considerably more potential to mineralize N than the other two sites. Total NO 3 -N leaching for the potato site-years for the measured April to December periods ranged from 5 to 33 kg N ha '. More work, under controlled conditions, is required to determine both dormant and growing season NO 3 -N leaching associated with various potato production systems.

Spatial and temporal distribution of soil inorganic nitrogen concentration in potato hills

“…The only exception was evidence of downward movement of soil NO 3 --N within the hill observed at topkill in 1999 in response to the substantially above-average rainfall in September of 1999. This is consistent with previous studies in non-irrigated potato and corn fields in Atlantic Canada, where most nitrate leaching occurred during the fall and winter period (Milburn et al 1990;Milburn and Richards 1994;Milburn et al 1997).…”

Annual nitrogen leaching to subsurface drainage water from a clayey aquic soil cultivated with onions in Hokkaido, Japan

“…This is because the soil nitrogen concentration was reduced by then, leading to a low nitrate concentration in the meltwater moving through the macropores to the drain. Smettem et al (1983), Milburn et al (1990), and Magesan et al (1995 reported similar observations.…”

Predicting nitrogen fertilizer requirements of potatoes in Atlantic Canada with soil nitrate determinations

“…In Atlantic Canada for example, large quantities of nitrates can leach from soils cropped to potatoes (Solanum tuberosum L.) both during the growing season and in the following rotation year (Milburn et al 1990). Studies conducted on potatoes in Maine, Ontario, and New York show that only about 45 to 60% of N applied at planting with rates of 160 to 225 kg N ha -1 is recovered in the tubers (Bouldin and Selleck 1977;Cameron et al 1978).…”