Abstract
Containerized plant production represents an extremely intensive agricultural practice; 40,000 to 300,000 containers may occupy one acre of surface area to which a large amount of chemical fertilizer is applied. Currently, recommended fertilizer application rates for the production of containerized nursery ornamental plants are in excess of plant requirements, and up to 50% of the applied fertilizers may run off or be leached from containers. Among the nutrients leached or allowed to runoff, nitrogen (N) is the most abundant and is of major concern as the source of ground and surface water pollution. In this report, current N fertilizer application rates for different container-grown nursery ornamental plants, the amount of nitrate leaching or runoff from containers, and the potential for nitrate contamination of ground and surface water are discussed. In contrast, our best N management practices include: (1) applying fertilizers based on plant species need; (2) improving potting medium's nutrient holding capacity using obscure mineral additives; (3) using controlled-release fertilizers; and (4) implementing zero runoff irrigation or fertigation delivery systems that significantly reduce nitrate leaching or runoff in containerized plant production and encourage dramatic changes in N management.
Highlights
Containerized plants refer to plants grown in confined pots rather than field soil
Since NO3-N leaching occurs during containerized plant production, approaches to the problem should take plant species, fertilizer application rates, container media, and irrigation methods into consideration
We evaluated a total of 30 container-grown plant species (22 foliage plants and 8 bedding plants) using water collected from rain and/or irrigation runoff, well water under ebb-and-flow, and overhead irrigation systems
Summary
Containerized plants refer to plants grown in confined pots rather than field soil. Most plants produced in containers are those that have ornamental value such as bedding, flowering, tropical foliage, and landscape plants. Since NO3-N leaching occurs during containerized plant production, approaches to the problem should take plant species, fertilizer application rates, container media, and irrigation methods into consideration. Our proactive approaches for improving nitrogen management in the production of containerized plants, called the Best Management Practices (BMPs), have been developed These include an understanding of plant species requirement for N, application of N based on plant need, the improvement of media substrates, the use of CRFs in production, and recycling of irrigation water. The disadvantages of subirrigation include a greater initial capital outlay, it is limited to growing one crop and container size per irrigation zone, and salinity problems may occur if not managed properly Another irrigation system, which can achieve minimal runoff and less salt buildup in media, is to use surface irrigation systems, but capture, retain, and recycle the runoff and stormwater within the boundaries of the production facility[19]. Ebb-and-flow used 3.5 times less of water
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