Strategies to Reduce Nitrate Leaching into Groundwater in Potato Grown in Sandy Soils: Case Study from North Central USA

Abstract

There is increasing public concern to reduce nitrate pollution to groundwater, especially in sandy soils. Strategies to reduce nitrate leaching are developed to increase N use efficiency, reduce groundwater pollution, and increase tuber yield. A growing interest in N management should consider management strategies for N supply, soil moisture for transport, and crop N demand that are economical and compatible with local production systems. We present a review of the literature on conventional and innovative strategies for N, irrigation, and crop management for potato production in reducing N leaching in sandy soils. The amount of fertilizer-N should be decided based on an integrated evaluation of soil organic matter content, soil texture, residual soil N, crop residues, credit to organic N sources, crops to be grown including varieties and crop physiological needs, cropping systems, yield potential, water management, and N concentrations in irrigation water. Research advances have no quick fix for controlling NO 3 leaching to groundwater. However, the best combination of proven strategies can reduce leaching potential significantly.Resumen Existe una preocupación pública en aumento para reducir la contaminación de nitrato en el agua del subsuelo, especialmente en suelos arenosos. Se han desarrollado estrategias para reducir la lixiviación de nitratos para aumentar el uso eficiente de N, reducir la contaminación del agua del subsuelo, y para aumentar el rendimiento de tubérculo. Un interés en aumento en manejo de N debería de considerar estrategias de manejo para suministro de N, humedad del suelo para el transporte, y demanda de N del cultivo que sean económicas y compatibles con los sistemas locales de producción. Presentamos una revisión de la literatura en las estrategias convencionales e innovativas para el manejo de N, riego y del cultivo para producción de papa en la reducción de la lixiviación de N en suelos arenosos. La cantidad del fertilizante nitrogenado deberá decidirse con base a una evaluación integrada del contenido de materia orgánica en el suelo, textura, N residual, residuos de cosecha, reconocimiento a las fuentes de N orgánico, cultivos a sembrarse incluyendo variedades y necesidades fisiológicas del cultivo, sistemas de cultivo, potencial de rendimiento, manejo del agua, y concentraciones de N en el agua de riego. Los avances en investigación no tienen un remedio rápido para controlar la lixiviación de NO3 al agua del subsuelo. No obstante, la mejor combinación de estrategias probadas pueden reducir significativamente el potencial de lixiviación.

Impact of variable rate nitrogen and reduced irrigation management on nitrate leaching for potato

“…Early studies on this subject observed flow‐weighted mean nitrate N concentrations >40 mg N L −1 and nitrate N losses during the growing season of >200 kg N ha −1 , compared with losses of 20 kg N ha −1 from the control treatment (Errebhi et al., 1998; Saffigna et al., 1977). These early studies used an N fertilizer source (e.g., ammonium nitrate) and application timing (e.g., most N applied at planting) that were extremely prone to nitrate leaching losses (Shrestha et al., 2010). In contrast, the current source and timing BMPs evaluated in the present and other recent studies have reported nitrate N leaching losses of comparable magnitude to that of control treatments in the early studies, demonstrating that considerable progress has been made in reducing nitrate N leaching.…”

Environmental Nitrogen Losses from Commercial Crop Production Systems in the Suwannee River Basin of Florida

“…However, in 2011, more N was lost from potato fields than sweet corn and silage corn compared to year 2012 (Fig 3A). The shallow root system of potato is often considered as one of the major cause for poor N use efficiency by the potato crop alongwith with poor water and nutrient holding capacity of sandy soils [40]. Errebhi et al [37]) reported linear increases in N losses with proportionate increase in N supply from potato fields.…”

Comparative study of nitrate leaching models on a regional scale

“…Contamination of groundwater with nitrate is a global problem (Spalding and Exner, 1993;McLay et al, 2001;Oenema et al, 2009) and threatens the quality of groundwater as a resource for drinking water in especially North America and the European Union (De Clerq et al, 2001;Shrestha et al, 2010;Chaudhuri et al, 2010). This contamination is commonly associated with diffuse sources such as intensive agriculture, high density of houses with unsewered sanitation, and point sources such as irrigation using sewage effluent onto land (Keeney, 1986;Wakida and Lerner, 2005;Ledoux, et al, 2007;Almasri and Kaluarachchi, 2007).…”