NUTRIENT CONCENTRATIONS IN SOIL SOLUTIONS FOR MUSKMELONS AS INFLUENCED BY FERTILIZER TREATMENT

Abstract

A study was made to investigate the effects of liming and N source fertilization on soil acidity, nutrient uptake an yield of muskmelon on a Princeton loamy-sand (fine sandy, mixed, mesic, type Hapludalf) at Southwest Purdue Agricultural Center, Vincennes, IN. The experiment consisted of lime and no lime treatments with five N treatments of 0 N, 50 kg·ha-1 N as urea and 100 kg·ha-1 N as urea, NH4NO3, and (NH4) SO4. The unlimed soil tested pH 4.6, 4.2 and 4.1 and the limed soil was pH 5.5, 5.6 and 5.2 with 100 kg N·ha-1 as urea, NH4NO3 and (NH4) SO4, respectively. With NH4NO3 the NO3-N declined from 268 ppm on 6/1 to 64 ppm on 7/7 in the saturation extract (SE). Highest NH4-N was from (NH4)2SO4 followed by NH3NO4 and urea. The NH4-N concentration from (NH4)2SO4 in the SE decreased from 152 ppm to 19 ppm during the season on unlimited soil and from 56 ppm to 8 in the SE decreased from 152 ppm on limed soil. Symptoms of Mn toxicity in the leaves became apparent on unlimed plots 7 weeks after transplanting. As the rate of N increased in the range of 0, 50 and 100 kg·ha-1 from urea the Mn contents were 372,459 and 607 ppm respectively. The muskmelon fruit yield increase due to 100 kg N·ha-1 was 13279 kg·ha-1, 12161 kg·ha-1 and 8502 kg·ha-1 for ureas, NH4NO3 and (NH4)2SO4 respectively.