EVALUATION OF SLOW-RELEASE FERTILIZER MATERIALS ON SELECTED VEGETABLE CROPS

Abstract

Despite some advantages, adoption of slow-release fertilizers in vegetables has been slow primarily due to cost. In crops fertilized with ground equipment, growers can make fewer trips through the field and assure fertilizer is present when conditions prevent application. With drip irrigation, some materials are difficult to inject, however, Nitamin is a new injectable liquid produced by Georgia Pacific. Thus, with plasticulture, growers can inject less frequently and potentially use lower rates. Granular and liquid formulations of slow-release fertilizer were tested on onions (Winter 2003–04), cabbage (Winter 2003–04) and pepper (Spring 2004) in Georgia. Combinations of traditional fertilizer with slow-release formulations and various rates of slow-release fertilizer alone were compared to a standard fertilizer program on these crops in separate experiments. The slow-release contains only N. So, other nutrients were held constant. Otherwise normal cultural practices were employed. Crops were harvested at maturity and data collected on yield and quality. In cabbage, with at least 50% of the standard N rate using the slow-release fertilizer, yields were comparable to the standard. Results on onions were similar with N rates of at least 75% of the standard for the liquid material; the granular formulation did not perform well. Split applications of slow-release fertilizer and combinations with standard fertilizer worked well for cabbage, but not for onions. Results on pepper, although inconclusive, indicated it was possible to get comparable yields at lower N rates with the slow-release material. Based on these results, lower N rates are possible on cabbage and onions with slow-release fertilizers which may make them economically feasible while providing application advantages to growers.