Seasonal and Cropping Effects on Total and Fertilizer Nitrogen Use in June-bearing and Day-neutral Strawberries

Abstract

<jats:p>Total N and fertilizer N (FN) recovery and use by June-bearing `Redchief' strawberry <jats:italic>(Fragaria ×ananassa</jats:italic> Duch.) and day-neutral `Tribute' grown in matted-row beds were studied over l-year periods. Fertilizer N was field-applied as NH NO at planting in June or September, and all plants were harvested from bed sections in late autumn (November) and at the completion of the spring harvest (June). Distribution patterns of vegetative biomass were similar in both cultivars, with leaf tissue comprising the bulk of the vegetative dry weight per plant at both sampling dates. The fall and spring fruit crops each contributed &gt;40% of the total biomass per plant. Total N accumulation from soil N and FN increased as total biomass increased. Due in part to the additional biomass of the fall fruit crop, `Tribute' recovered 38% more total N per unit bed area than `Redchief'. Over 30% of the fall N total in `Tribute' and the spring N total in both cultivars was partitioned to the fruit. In both cultivars, greater recovery of FN applied in September that at planting time was observed by the postharvest sampling date. However, `Tribute' recovered only 14.2% of the FN applied in September, much less than the amount recovered by `Redchief' during the same interval, implying a diminished ability to absorb FN during fruiting. In all vegetative tissues, soluble reduced N (SRN) was consistently less than insoluble reduced N (IRN) in November and June. Consistent seasonal trends in SRN and IRN values were not evident in any tissue except roots, where SRN content declined from November to June. Allocation of FN to the SRN and IRN pools was related to FN application date, cropping pattern, and total biomass of the component tissue. In both cultivars, the FN content was greater in the IRN than the SRN pool and leaf IRN was the single largest vegetative sink for FN. Fruit N concentration was constant for most of the fall `Tribute' harvest period and declined in both cultivars during spring harvest. The spring `Tribute' fruit crop received more FN from the September than the planting application, while the fall crop exhibited the opposite pattern, suggesting the fruit crop receives more storage than newly absorbed FN. The accumulation of FN in the root SRN pool in November and its depletion through the spring harvest reveals that root SRN plays a significant role in the temporary seasonal storage and internal cycling of N remobilized during spring growth.</jats:p>

Influence of Rate, Timing, and Method of Nitrogen Fertilizer Application on Uptake and Use of Fertilizer Nitrogen, Growth, and Yield of June-bearing Strawberry

“…Most (>50%) of the dry matter was in the leaves during fruiting. About 20% of the dry matter was in the roots as plants entered dormancy, less than the 33% reported by Archbold and MacKown (1995).…”

“…In perennial matted row production systems increased rates of FN in the planting year led to increased FN recovery, but there was no relationship with yield in the following fruiting season (Archbold and MacKown, 1988, 1995. Breen (1979) also found no effect of FN in the planting year on yield the following season.…”

“…Archbold and MacKown (1988) found that FN applied in the planting year was equally partitioned to vegetative and fruiting tissues during fruiting the following year. The total N content of leaves was high relative to crown and root N content in June (Archbold and MacKown, 1995). Archbold and MacKown (1988) speculated that N remaining in the vegetative tissues following fruit harvest could be recycled during subsequent growing seasons.…”

Fruit Nitrogen Content of Sixteen Strawberry Genotypes Grown in an Advanced Matted Row Production System

“…For perennial matted row culture where N fertilizer is broadcastapplied in both spring and fall, N fertilization rates ranging from 56 to 110 kg•ha -1 have been reported (May and Pritts, 1990;Pritts, 1998;Strik et al, 2004). However, some reports have suggested that fertilizer N additions during the establishment year do not increase yield in the fi rst fruiting year (Archbold and MacKown, 1995;Breen, 1979). In general, strawberry requires less N than do many vegetable and agronomic crops.…”

Foliar uptake and partitioning of urea-N by strawberry plants as affected by timing of supply and plant N status

“…y Standard error; *, **, ***, and ns, indicate P = 0.05; P = 0.01; P = 0.001; and no significance, respectively. are strong N-sinks (Aalbregts and Howard 1978;1980;Lieten and Misotten, 1993;Stanisavljevic et al, 1997;Archibold and McKown, 1995;. Increasing the amount of soil-N fertilisation (N0, N1 and N2) caused a linear increase in leaf area (Table V), and leaf-N concentrations were higher in fertilised than in unfertilised plants when examined at FFR.…”