Effects of a catch crop and reduced nitrogen fertilization on nitrogen leaching in greenhouse vegetable production systems

Greenhouse vegetable cultivation has greatly increased productivity but has also led to a rapid accumulation of nitrate in soils and probably in plants. Significant losses of nitrate–nitrogen (NO3-N) could occur after heavy N fertilization under open-field conditions combined with high precipitation in the summer. It is urgently needed to improve N management under the wide spread greenhouse vegetable production system. The objective of this study was to evaluate the effects of a summer catch crop and reduced N application rates on N leaching and vegetable crop yields. During a 2-year period, sweet corn as an N catch crop was planted between vegetable crops in the summer season under 5 N fertilizer treatments (0, 348, 522, 696, and 870 kg ha−1) in greenhouse vegetable production systems in Tai Lake region, southern China. A water collection system was installed at a depth of 0.5 m in the soil to collect leachates during the vegetable growing season. The sweet corn as a catch crop reduced the total N concentration from 94 to 59 mg l−1 in leached water and reduced the average soil nitrate N from 306 to 195 mg kg−1 in the top 0.1-m soil during the fallow period of local farmers’ N application rate (870 kg ha−1). Reducing the amount of N fertilizer and using catch crop during summer fallow season reduced total N leaching loss by 50 and 73%, respectively, without any negative effect on vegetable yields.

[1]  Frank Brentrup,et al.  Soil- and plant-based nitrogen-fertilizer recommendations in arable farming , 2005 .

[2]  Wenliang Wu,et al.  Regional differentiation of non-point source pollution of agriculture-derived nitrate nitrogen in groundwater in northern China , 2005 .

[3]  Fusuo Zhang,et al.  Influence of root zone nitrogen management and a summer catch crop on cucumber yield and soil mineral nitrogen dynamics in intensive production systems , 2008, Plant and Soil.

[4]  Wei Zhang,et al.  Nitrate pollution of groundwater in northern China , 1996 .

[5]  Simulation of runoff and nitrogen leaching from two fields in southern Sweden , 1987 .

[6]  B. M. Petersen,et al.  Estimated N leaching losses for organic and conventional farming in Denmark , 2006, The Journal of Agricultural Science.

[7]  M. Peoples,et al.  Can the Synchrony of Nitrogen Supply and Crop Demand be Improved in Legume and Fertilizer-based Agroecosystems? A Review , 2005, Nutrient Cycling in Agroecosystems.

[8]  Xin-ping Chen,et al.  Yield and Nitrogen Balance of Greenhouse Tomato (Lycopersicum esculentum Mill.) with Conventional and Site-specific Nitrogen Management in Northern China , 2007, Nutrient Cycling in Agroecosystems.

[9]  Tao Ren,et al.  Root zone soil nitrogen management to maintain high tomato yields and minimum nitrogen losses to the environment. , 2010 .

[10]  W. Loiskandl,et al.  Improved evaluation of cover crop species by growth and root factors , 2010, Agronomy for Sustainable Development.

[11]  J. Li,et al.  Environmental implications of low nitrogen use efficiency in excessively fertilized hot pepper (Capsicum frutescens L.) cropping systems , 2005 .

[12]  B. H. Byrnes.  Environmental effects of N fertilizer use — An overview , 1990, Fertilizer research.

[13]  H. Kristensen,et al.  Root Growth and Nitrate Uptake of Three Different Catch Crops in Deep Soil Layers , 2004 .

[14]  J. Eriksen,et al.  Residual effect and nitrate leaching in grass-arable rotations: effect of grassland proportion, sward type and fertilizer history , 2008 .

[15]  L. S. Jensen,et al.  Catch crops and green manures as biological tools in nitrogen management in temperate zones , 2003 .

[16]  Nicola Fohrer,et al.  Modelling of nitrogen leaching under a complex winter wheat and red clover crop rotation in a drained agricultural field , 2009 .

[17]  P. Leffelaar,et al.  Field observations on nitrogen catch crops , 1998, Plant and Soil.

[18]  W. Klassen,et al.  INFLUENCE OF SUMMER COVER CROPS ON CONSERVATION OF SOIL WATER AND NUTRIENTS IN A SUBTROPICAL AREA , 2005 .

[19]  Kristian Kristensen,et al.  Nitrate leaching from organic arable crop rotations: effects of location, manure and catch crop , 2005 .

[20]  Jørgen E. Olesen,et al.  Long-term fate of nitrogen uptake in catch crops , 2006 .

[21]  Scott M. Swinton,et al.  Evaluating Cover Crops for Benefits, Costs and Performance within Cropping System Niches , 2005 .

[22]  B. Mary,et al.  Effects of catch crops, no till and reduced nitrogen fertilization on nitrogen leaching and balance in three long-term experiments , 2010 .

[23]  E. Lewan.  Effects of a catch crop on leaching of nitrogen from a sandy soil: Simulations and measurements , 1994, Plant and Soil.

[24]  W. Shi,et al.  Vegetable cultivation under greenhouse conditions leads to rapid accumulation of nutrients, acidification and salinity of soils and groundwater contamination in South-Eastern China , 2008, Nutrient Cycling in Agroecosystems.

[25]  P. Leffelaar,et al.  Mineralisation of nitrogen from an incorporated catch crop at low temperatures: experiment and simulation , 2004, Plant and Soil.

[26]  C. Helander.  Residual nitrogen effects on a succeeding oat (Avena sativa L.) Crop of clover species and ryegrass (Lolium perenne L.) undersown in winter wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) , 2004 .

[27]  N. E. Nielsen,et al.  Modelling and measuring the effect of nitrogen catch crops on the nitrogen supply for succeeding crops , 1998, Plant and Soil.

[28]  J. Li,et al.  Excessive Nitrogen Inputs in Intensive Greenhouse Cultivation May Influence Soil Microbial Biomass and Community Composition , 2009 .

[29]  Margrethe Askegaard,et al.  Residual effect and leaching of N and K in cropping systems with clover and ryegrass catch crops on a coarse sand , 2008 .

[30]  S. Kuo,et al.  Long-term winter cover cropping effects on corn (Zea mays L.) production and soil nitrogen availability , 2000, Biology and Fertility of Soils.

[31]  Peter Christie,et al.  Evaluation of current fertilizer practice and soil fertility in vegetable production in the Beijing region , 2004, Nutrient Cycling in Agroecosystems.

[32]  Kristian Thorup-Kristensen,et al.  Simulating nitrate retention in soils and the effect of catch crop use and rooting pattern under the climatic conditions of Northern Europe , 2009 .

[33]  M. Kaligarič,et al.  Effects of cover crops on soil mineral nitrogen and on the yield and nitrogen content of maize , 2009 .

[34]  J. Eriksen,et al.  Growth of legume and nonlegume catch crops and residual-N effects in spring barley on coarse sand , 2007 .

[35]  H. Aronsson,et al.  Simulations of soil carbon and nitrogen dynamics during seven years in a catch crop experiment , 2003 .