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Potato production has become a major agricultural enterprise in the central sand plain of Wisconsin. However, little information is available on the effects of irrigation and fertilization practices on dry matter and N accumulation. This field study was established to determine the effect of reducing irrigation and fertilizer N on the dry matter, and the N and Cl in potatoes (Solanum tuberosum L., var. ‘Russet Burbank’) grown on a Plainfield loamy sand (Typic Udipsamment: sandy, mixed, mesic).
Two basic treatments were used. The conventional treatment approximated current recommendations for irrigated potatoes and received 260 kg N/ha (as NH4NO3) in four applications and 45 an irrigation as 2.4 cm applications every 5 days. The improved treatment was intened to minimize leaching of NO3-N. It received 170 kg N/ha in 10 applications (one as S-coated urea and nine as NH4NO3) and 27.0 cm irrigation as 1.0 cm applications every 3 days. Chloride (as KCl) accompanied N on a 1:l weight basis. Plants were sampled weekly and analyzed for dry matter, total N, NO3-N, and Cl.
Plants accumulated 3 to 4 kg N/ha/day from 20 to 70 days after emergence. The maximum N uptake for the whole plant (tops and tubers) was 170 to 250 kg N/ha about 90 days after emergence. The maximum uptake of N in the tops was 125 and 80 kg N/ha in the conventional and improved treatments, respectively. Tuber yields and N uptake were similar between treatments with tubers containing 1.3 to 1.5% N most of the growing season and 130 to 140 kg N/ha (27 to 30 kg N/100 q) at harvest. Plants accumulated 115 to 145 kg Cl/ha, mostly in the tops (90 to 120 kg Cl/ha) with 25 to 40 kg Cl/ha in the harvested tubers.
Nitrate-N levels were low (<100 mg/kg) in tubers at all samplings. Nitrate-N was >2,000 mg/kg in the tops during the first half of the growing season and accounted for 10 to 25% of the total N. Due to competitive antagonism, Cl reduced NO3-N concentration in tops and petioles, and total N in tops and tubers.
The results from this study show that tuber growth and N content were not appreciably affected by substantial reductions in the quantity of fertilizer N (90 kg N/ha) and irrigation (18 cm) applied although foliage dry matter and N accumulation were reduced. However, the additional effort required to effect this small saving in N fertilizer cannot currently be justified.
Key Words: Nitrate • Dry matter • N fertilizer • Petiole
2 Graduate research assistant and professor, Dep. of Soil Science, Univ. of Wisconsin, Madison, WI 53706. Present address of the senior author is Queensland Wheat Research Institute, 13 Holberton St., Toowoomba, Queensland 4350, Australia.
Received for publication June 24, 1976.
This article has been cited by other articles:
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  L. G. Bundy and T. W. Andraski Recovery of Fertilizer Nitrogen in Crop Residues and Cover Crops on an Irrigated Sandy Soil Soil Sci. Soc. Am. J., April 11, 2005; 69(3): 640 - 648. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
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 G. Belanger, N. Ziadi, J. R. Walsh, J. E. Richards, and P. H. Milburn Residual Soil Nitrate after Potato Harvest J. Environ. Qual., March 1, 2003; 32(2): 607 - 612. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
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W. Stites and G.J. Kraft Nitrate and Chloride Loading to Groundwater from an Irrigated North-Central U.S. Sand-Plain Vegetable Field J. Environ. Qual., July 1, 2001; 30(4): 1176 - 1184. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
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