TRACE GAS EMISSIONS FROM NURSERY CROP PRODUCTION USING DIFFERENT FERTILIZATION METHODS©

Abstract

Research on agriculture’s role in mitigation of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions has been conducted in row crop, forestry, and animal production systems, but there has been little focus on contributions from specialty industries such as horticulture. Our objective was to determine efflux patterns of CO2, CH4, and N2O associated with three different fertilization methods (dibble, incorporated, and topdressed) commonly used in nursery container production. Dibbling fertilizer reduced CO2 emissions when compared to incorporation or topdressing. Dibbling and topdressing reduced N2O emissions (68 and 70%, respectively) when compared to the incorporated treatment. These data begin to provide evidence of mitigation strategies which can be implemented in container plant production to help growers adapt to possible future legislation, improve the environmental impact from the industry, and benefit financially from potential carbon trading or offset programs.