Effects of Fertilizer Placement on Trace Gas Emissions from Nursery Container Production

Abstract

<jats:p>Increased trace gas emissions of carbon dioxide (CO<jats:sub>2</jats:sub>), methane (CH<jats:sub>4</jats:sub>), and nitrous oxide (N<jats:sub>2</jats:sub>O) are widely believed to be a primary cause of global warming. Agriculture is a large contributor to these emissions; however, its role in climate change is unique in that it can act as a source of trace gas emissions or it can act as a major sink. Furthermore, agriculture can significantly reduce emissions through changes in production management practices. Much of the research on agriculture’s role in mitigation of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions has been conducted in row crops and pastures as well as forestry and animal production systems with little focus on contributions from specialty crop industries such as horticulture. Our objective was to determine efflux patterns of CO<jats:sub>2</jats:sub>, CH<jats:sub>4</jats:sub>, and N<jats:sub>2</jats:sub>O associated with three different fertilization methods (dibble, incorporated, and topdressed) commonly used in nursery container production. Weekly measurements indicated that CO<jats:sub>2</jats:sub> fluxes were slightly lower when fertilizer was dibbled compared with the other two methods. Nitrous oxide fluxes were consistently highest when fertilizer was incorporated. Methane flux was generally low with few differences among treatments. Results from this study begin to provide data that can be used to implement mitigation strategies in container plant production, which will help growers adapt to possible emission regulations and benefit from future GHG mitigation or offset programs.</jats:p>

Fertilizer placement affects growth and reproduction of three common weed species in pine bark–based soilless nursery substrates

“…), lavender (Lavandula L. × intermedia 'Grosso'), and wintercreeper euonymus [Euonymus fortunei (Turcz) Hand. (Broschat and Moore 2003), and gumpo azaleas (Azalea × hybrid 'Gumpo White') (Marble et al 2012). These alternative fertilizer placements are not associated with any sort of detrimental effect on PRE herbicide efficacy (Stewart et al 2019) and in fact may improve PRE control in some instances (Altland et al 2004).…”

“…Alternative methods such as dibbling or subdressing may result in either increased (Alam et al 2009;Broschat and Moore 2003;Cobb 1985;Conover and Poole 1985) or decreased (Hicklenton 1990) ornamental crop growth or may have no influence at all (Cobb 1985;Klock-Moore and Broschat 1999). However, dibbling or subdressing fertilizer has been shown to result in similar or greater growth of many ornamental crops compared with standard incorporation or topdressing methods (Altland et al 2004;Broschat and Moore 2003;Marble et al 2012). While it is difficult to make broad generalizations concerning ornamental crop response, weed response to fertilizer placement is more straightforward.…”

Impact of Container Nursery Production Practices on Weed Growth and Herbicide Performance

“…), downy jasmine (Jasminum multiflorum Burm F.), plumbago (Plumbago auriculata Lam.) (Broschat and Moore, 2003), gumpo azaleas (Azalea · hybrid 'Gumpo White') (Marble et al, 2012), and several other economically important ornamental species (Altland et al, 2004) compared with topdressing or incorporating at similar rates.…”

Plummeting anthropogenic environmental degradation by amending nutrient-N input method in saffron growing soils of north-west Himalayas

“…Low N 2 O–N emission in MRPU-2S can be attributed to decrease in volatilization losses of fertilizer N due to its incorporation in soil 31 . When fertilizer N is placed closer to the roots, the plant is likely able to use the nutrient more efficiently, especially at earlier stages when plant roots are small and localized 33 . More N 2 O–N emission means more concentration of this gas in the atmosphere and hence more contribution to the greenhouse effect and consequently more global warming potential.…”