Nitrate, Phosphate, and Potassium Leaching from Container-grown Plants Fertilized by Several Methods

Abstract

<jats:p><jats:italic>Spathiphyllum</jats:italic> Schott. `Mauna Loa Supreme' and areca palm (<jats:italic>Chrysalidocarpus lutescens</jats:italic> H. Wendl.) were grown for 6 months in 3.5-liter containers using a pine bark–sedge peat–sand container medium or a native sand soil. Plants were fertilized with equivalent amounts of a 21N–3P–12K fertilizer applied weekly as a liquid, monthly as a soluble granular, bimonthly as a lightly coated controlled-release, or every 6 months as a heavily coated controlled-release fertilizer. All leachates were collected and analyzed weekly for NO<jats:sub>3</jats:sub>-N, PO<jats:sub>4</jats:sub>-P, and K. Amounts of all three nutrients leached per week varied considerably in response to fertilizer reapplications or high rainfall. Nitrate leaching generally decreased over time, PO<jats:sub>4</jats:sub>-P leaching increased, and K remained relatively constant. Shoot dry weights of spathiphyllum were equivalent for all fertilization methods, but areca palm shoot dry weights were highest with liquid fertilization and lowest with the soluble granular fertilizer. Nutrient leaching for all three ions was highest for the soluble granules and lowest for the two controlled-release formulations.</jats:p>

Leaching of Nitrogen and Phosphorus during Production of Forest Seedlings in Containers

“…During production of container seedlings, a potential risk for nutrient leaching exists, as large volumes of irrigation water are used, and in many countries nearly all fertilizers are applied in liquid form through irrigation systems (fertigated) (Landis et al, 1989; Dumroese et al, 1995). Among other things, the influence of irrigation volume, application method, and fertilizer type on leaching of water and nutrients has been studied with different horticultural crops (Hershey and Paul, 1982; Rathier and Frink, 1989; McAvoy et al, 1992; Fare et al, 1994; Broschat, 1995; Andersen and Hansen, 2000). However, most of the crops studied have been grown in large, individual pots, one to five liters in volume, while forest seedlings are grown in small pots, 40 to 300 mL in volume.…”

Evaluation of the Leakage Contamination through the Nutrient Parameters Levels of the Substrate Solution inSyngonium podophyllum“Silver” Crop

“…The trend to decrease during the growth period could be due to plant uptake associated with plant development (Groves, Warren, and Bilderback 1998), coupled to a reduced release rate from the fertilizer. Broschat (1995) determined a similar tendency in the leaching solution of containerized Spathiphyllum. The treatment T 4 exhibited an NO 3 2 -N concentration dynamics in Lix and SS during the cultivation different to T 3 .…”

Microwave sensors for the non-invasive monitoring of industrial and medical applications

“…Such areas could include the initial treatment stages in waste water plants, where it would be useful to know the amount of treatment required in order to optimise process efficiency. In addition, work by Wimalasuriya (Wimalasuriya et al, 2011) to characterise leachate water quality at land fill sites suggests that PO 4 concentrations can exceed 60 mg/L, a claim that this is supported by similar investigations by Broschat (1995) and Gamage (Gamage et al, 2011). In such instances, the developed sensor system shows promise due to its wide range of operation, in addition to its ability to monitor directly sample composition, rather than relying on an inferred measurement from chemical reagents.…”