Yield and Economic Assessments of Fertilizer Nitrogen and Phosphorus for Processing Tomato with Drip Fertigation

Abstract

Agronomic and economic assessments of response of processing tomato (Lycopersicon Esculentum Mill.) to nutrient application with drip fertigation are essential to optimize soil fertility management that maximizes farmers' profi tability in a sustainable manner. A fi eld study was conducted to evaluate the yield and economic responses of drip fertigated processing tomatoes to additions of fertilizer nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P) from 2003 to 2005. Th e experiment was arranged in a factorial design with four levels of fertilizer N (0, 120, 240, and 360 kg N ha -1 ) and three levels of fertilizer P (0, 100, and 200 kg P 2 O 5 ha -1 ). Fertilizer N application aff ected biomass yield of stems and leaves, total and marketable fruit yields, N use effi ciency, and N agronomic effi ciency. However, neither P application nor the interaction between fertilizer N and P infl uenced these variables. Nitrogen use effi ciency and N agronomic effi ciency decreased with increases in fertilizer N rate, with N use effi ciency averaging 443 kg kg -1 and N agronomic effi ciency averaging 237 kg kg -1 . Both fruit yields and net economic returns responded quadratically to the fertilizer N rate, with a maximum marketable yield of 127 Mg ha -1 averaged across the 3 yr. Th e fertilizer N rates were 271 kg N ha -1 for the maximum marketable yield and 265 kg N ha -1 for the optimum economic yield. Th ese values are considerably greater than the current recommendation, due to the largely increased yield with drip fertigation. Fertilizer N should be applied at an increased rate for processing tomatoes with drip fertigation to maximize the economic return.

Drip Fertigation in Vegetable Crops for Enhancing Productivity and Resource Use Efficiency: An Overview

“…The highest tomato yield in drip is possible because water and fertilizers are applied in a gradual and uniform form directly to the roots, in sync with the crop demand, without wetting the plants (Hartz and Bottoms, 2009;Shedeed et al, 2009;Marouelli et al, 2011a). However, for a greater economic feasibility of the system, it is important to manage the entire production system properly, especially for irrigation and fertigation (Zhang et al, 2010). Tomato plants properly drip irrigated and fertigated by drip systems become more vigorous and productive, which requires a greater extraction of soil nutrients (Hartz and Bottoms, 2009).…”

“…Thus, it is necessary to reevaluate the pre-established fertilization practices to maintain adequate fertility in the root zone (Hartz and Bottoms, 2009). Shedeed et al, (2009) andZhang et al, (2010) reported that the amount of nutrients required by a particular crop may be quite variable depending on its productive potential and the climatic and soil conditions. Hebbar et al, (2004) showed that fertigation with 100% water soluble fertilizers (WSF) increased the tomato fruit yield significantly over furrow irrigated control and drip irrigation.…”

Crop and soil nitrogen responses to phosphorus and potassium fertilization and drip irrigation under processing tomato

“…A recent study recommended N fertilizer applications of 271 kg N ha -1 for drip fertigated processing tomatoes (Zhang et al 2010), approximately two times greater than previous N recommendations. In contrast, increased plant N use efficiency in tomato has been reported at lower fertilizer N rates with the application of fertilizer K (Fitzpatrick and Guillard 2004).…”

“…Processing tomatoes require adequate supplies of water and a proper balance of nutrients to achieve optimum yields (Patanè and Cosentino 2010; Zhang et al 2010). As described by Hartz and Bottoms (2009), nitrogen (N) uptake by drip-irrigated (DI) processing tomatoes varies from 222 to 466 kg N ha -1 .…”

Frações ótimas da adubação com fósforo no pré-plantio e na fertirrigação por gotejamento de tomateiro

“…Como a resposta das culturas à adubação fosfatada é fortemente influenciada pela capacidade de adsorção de P ao solo, novas pesquisas devem ser conduzidas em condições específicas de solo e de cultivo (Shedeed et al, 2009;Zhang et al, 2010;Rehim et al, 2012). Nesse contexto, não se encontraram estudos sobre métodos e formas de parcelamento da aplicação de P à cultura do tomate, em solos distróficos de Cerrado, que tenham associado a aplicação convencional ao sulco, em pré-plantio, à adubação complementar via fertirrigação por gotejamento.…”