Abstract
Soil nutrients and water management practices according to the concept of 4R nutrient stewardship (right rate, right timing, right placement, and right source) can have significant benefits on crop productivity and reduce the negative effects of agricultural practices on the environment. Therefore, this present study evaluated the effects of nitrogen (N) application timing under different irrigation regimes on open-field, fresh-market tomato production in Florida. In this study, 2 N application timings applied at 25% pre-plant with 75% fertigation (BM), and 0 pre-plant with 100% fertigation (NB), were evaluated. The two N application methods were evaluates using three irrigation regimes: full irrigation (FI, 100% ETc), deficit irrigation (DI, 66% ETc), and regulated deficit irrigation (RDI, 66% ETc during the first 4 weeks after transplanting and 100% ETc afterward). The results showed that BM treatment significantly improved early-season tomato growth compared to NB treatment. The results also indicated that under RDI and DI irrigation conditions, tomato root length was lowest (average value of 13%) within the first 15 cm compared to 40% within 15–30 cm and 47% at 30–40 cm soil depths. Similar to plant growth, BM treatment significantly increased tomato yield (average valued 56.00 Mg ha−1) compared to the NB (average value 40.23 Mg ha−1). The application of DI throughout the growing season reduced tomato yield; however, there were no differences in yield under the RDI and FI irrigation regimes. Therefore, based on the results from this study, it can be concluded that, under Florida growing conditions, pre-plant N application is essential for tomato growth and productivity. Additionally, irrigation application using the RDI method could be successfully adopted in Florida tomato production for improved water savings without any negative effects on tomato growth and productivity.
Highlights
This study evaluated the effects of irrigation and N application timing on openfield, fresh-market tomato production
The results showed that pre-plant N fertilizer was essential in tomato production as this practice increased the soil N concentration for early plant growth and had a greater yield compared to 100% fertigation
Application timing had no effects on tomato root growth; the tomato root growth was lowest under the full irrigation (FI) irrigation regime compared to deficit irrigation (DI) or regulated deficit irrigation (RDI) regimes
Summary
Publisher’s Note: MDPI stays neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations. Effective nutrient and irrigation management are major requirements for tomato production on sandy Florida soils and critical for optimum yields and fruit quality [1]. This is because excessive irrigation increases percolation and reduces nutrient retention in sandy soil [2], while inadequate irrigation application can reduce yield and harvest quality [3]. Crop nutrient application targeting critical growth stages is essential to improve uptake efficiency and reduce the risk of groundwater pollution [4,5]
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