Nitrogen discharge pathways in vegetable production as non-point sources of pollution and measures to control it

Abstract

Discharge of nitrogen (N) from fertilizers applied to vegetables is becoming a serious environmental problem. In a field experiment involving a celery-tomato-fallow-lettuce rotation, leaching was the primary pathway of N loss (56.1±0.4% of the total), followed, in descending order, by runoff (11.7±0.3%), N2O emissions (1.6±0.1%), and volatilization of ammonia (0.5±0.1%). Decreasing the traditional dose of N by 40% in each growth season decreased N leaching by 22.3±4.5, 39.8±6.7, 40.3±2.9 and 27.4±3.6% in celery, tomato, fallow and lettuce seasons, respectively, without any yield loss, and modifying the rotation to include a leguminous crop reduced the N leaching by 72±2, 40±3, 24±2 and 13±1% in each season, respectively, without any economic impact. These measures decreased annual N leaching by 36±4%. A combination of the eco-ditches and wetland paddy fields adjacent to the vegetable plot led to annual N removal efficiency of 73±6% in runoff.