Publication Date
1-2007
Publisher
Department of Agriculture and Food, Western Australia
City
Perth
Abstract
Horticulture Australia (HAL) Project No. VG04018.
Project VG 04018 ‘Enhancing fertiliser use efficiency for transplanted vegetables’ showed that spraying highly concentrated solutions containing nitrogen over newly transplanted vegetable seedlings for between 14 and 21 days after planting can increase marketable yields by as much as 300% compared to other methods of fertiliser application. Crops that this method has been successfully tested on in this study by the W.A. Department of Agriculture and Food include iceberg and Cos lettuce, broccoli, cauliflower, Chinese cabbage (wombok), celery and cabbage.
The research was conducted on virgin sandy soils of the Swan Coastal Plain near Perth which are among the least fertile in Australia in their native state. This research has shown that high yielding crops can be achieved in this ‘worst case’ situation by ensuring that establishing crops are well supplied with nitrogen until they have formed a root system large enough to intercept banded top-dressings. The rates of nitrogen needed to produce high yields by spraying are typically as low as 20-25 kg/ha per week. The potential loss of nitrogen to groundwater from this practice could be of the order of only 10% of that in conventional commercial practice where poultry manure is routinely applied as a pre-planting treatment. The nitrogen requirements of the crops tested could not be practically met for longer than about the first 21 days after planting by spraying alone.
This project also investigated the merits of drenching seedlings with a concentrated fertiliser solution immediately before transplanting and compared a number of alternative top-dressing products to ammonium nitrate, banded at high rates from 14 days after planting until row closure. Seedling drenches were most effective for iceberg and Cos lettuce, but of little value for other crops while ‘low biuret’ urea proved to be the most cost effective top-dressing alternative to ammonium nitrate except for winter lettuce.
One of the aims of the work was to eliminate or minimise the need for top-dressing beyond ‘row closure’ to reduce fertiliser cost and wastage. This approach worked well for summer lettuce, cauliflower and broccoli, but was not optimal for winter cabbage, winter lettuce, Chinese cabbage or celery.
Number of Pages
110
Keywords
Fertiliser; Transplanted vegetables; Soil; Western Australia; Seedlings; Lettuce; Cabbage; Celery; Broccoli; Cauliflower
Disciplines
Agribusiness | Agricultural Economics | Agricultural Science | Agronomy and Crop Sciences | Biochemistry | Food Biotechnology | Horticulture | Inorganic Chemistry | Operations and Supply Chain Management | Plant Biology | Plant Breeding and Genetics
Recommended Citation
Phillips, D,
Reid, A,
and
D'Adhemar, G.
(2007), Enhancing fertiliser use efficiency for transplanted vegetables. Department of Agriculture and Food, Western Australia, Perth. Report.
https://library.dpird.wa.gov.au/hc_researchrpts/22
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Agribusiness Commons, Agricultural Economics Commons, Agricultural Science Commons, Agronomy and Crop Sciences Commons, Biochemistry Commons, Food Biotechnology Commons, Horticulture Commons, Inorganic Chemistry Commons, Operations and Supply Chain Management Commons, Plant Biology Commons, Plant Breeding and Genetics Commons
