Effect of Fertigation Strategy on Nitrogen Availability and Nitrate Leaching using Microirrigation

Abstract

Injection during the middle one-third or the middle one-half of the irrigation is recommended for fertigation using microirrigation. However, short fertigation events are commonly used by growers. This project investigated the effect of fertigation practices on nitrate availability and leaching. The first phase of the project (completed) determined nitrate distributions in the root zone for four microirrigation systems, three soil types, and five fertigation strategies using the HYDRUS-2D computer simulation model. Fertigation strategies included injecting for short time periods at the beginning, middle, and end of the irrigation cycle, respectively; injecting during the middle 50% of the irrigation cycle, and continuous injection. The second phase (ongoing) is investigating the distribution of nitrate, ammonium, urea, phosphate, and potassium around the drip line for selected Phase 1 scenarios. Phase 1 results showed less nitrate leached from the root zone for a 2-h injection time at the end of a long irrigation event compared to injection at the beginning and middle of a long irrigation event for surface drip irrigation. A more continuous fertigation resulted in a more uniform distribution of nitrate in the soil. The results were less conclusive for subsurface drip lines, due to upward movement of nitrate above the drip line. Little difference in nitrate leaching occurred for short irrigation events, regardless of fertigation strategy. Data analysis of the Phase 2 modeling is under way. The HYDRUS-2D model included partition coefficients for ammonium, phosphate, and potassium, and parameters for hydrolysis (conversion of urea to ammonium), nitrification, and denitrification.