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Phosphorus Requirement and Chemical Fate in Containerized Nursery Crop Production

Environmental contamination issues related to phosphorus (P) in surface waters substantiates the need to identify minimally-sufficient P fertilization amounts for production of containerized nursery crops and better understand the effect of routine amendments (i.e., dolomite [DL] and micronutrient fertilizer [MF]) added to pine bark substrates on chemical fate of P fertilizer. Four studies were conducted to accomplish two overarching objectives: 1) determine the minimum P fertilization amount and corresponding pore-water P concentration needed to achieve maximal growth of common containerized nursery crops and 2) determine the effect of DL and MF amendments in pine bark on P retention during irrigation and P fractions in substrate pore-water. In a fertigation, greenhouse study, calculated lowest P-fertilizer concentration that sustained maximal growth in Hydrangea paniculata ‘Limelight’ (panicle hydrangea) and Rhododendron ‘Karen’ (azalea) was 4.7 and 2.9 mg·L⁻¹ , respectively, and shoot growth Ilex crenata ‘Helleri’ (holly) was the same when fertilized with 0.5 to 6.0 mg·L⁻¹ P. Porewater P concentrations corresponding with treatments that sustained maximal growth of panicle hydrangea, azalea and holly were as low as 0.6, 2.2 and 0.08 mg·L⁻¹ P, respectively. In a separate study, utilizing low-P controlled-release fertilizers (CRFs), shoot growth of Hydrangea macrophylla ‘P11HM-11’ (bigleaf hydrangea) produced in two ecoregions was maximal when fertilized with as little as 0.3 g CRF-P per 3.8-L container, a 50% P reduction from the industrystandard CRF. Holly required 0.2 or 0.4 g CRF-P depending on ecoregion. Mean pore-water P concentrations that corresponded with highest SDW were 0.8 and 1.2 mg·L⁻¹ for hydrangea and holly, respectively. When irrigating fallow pine bark columns containing CRF for 48 d, amending pine bark with DL and MF reduced orthophosphate-P (OP-P) leachate concentrations by ≈ 70%, most of which was retained within the substrate. In a greenhouse study, containerized Lagerstroemia ‘Natchez’ (crape myrtle) were grown for 91 d in pine bark containing CRF. In pine bark amended with DL and MF, pore-water OP-P and total P concentrations, measured approximately weekly, were reduced by, on average, 64% and 58%, respectively. Total dry weight values of plants grown with DL plus MF or MF-only were 40% higher than those grown with no amendments; however, tissue P amounts and relative P uptake efficiency were the same among plants in these three treatments. Therefore, sorption of OP-P by DL and MF reduced water-extractable OP-P but did not limit P uptake by plants. / Ph. D. / Phosphorus (P) pollution of surface waters is a global issue that has led to widespread fish kills, drinking water contamination and disruption of aquatic ecosystems. Nutrient runoff from agricultural sites is among the leading contributors to P loads in impaired waters. Optimizing P fertilization for containerized nursery crop production is particularly challenging since the primary soilless substrates used to grow containerized crops retain P poorly. Consequently, much of the applied P leaches from containers during irrigation. Reducing amounts of applied P fertilizer and amending substrates (e.g., pine bark) with P-sorbing materials are two methods previously shown to reduce P leaching and increase the proportion of applied P that is absorbed by containerized plants. Four studies were conducted to accomplish two overarching objectives: 1) determine the minimum P fertilization amount necessary for maximal growth of common containerized nursery crops and 2) determine the effect of dolomite (DL) and micronutrient fertilizer (MF) amendments in pine bark on P retention during irrigation. Our findings indicated that P fertilization requirements of woody ornamental crops is species-dependent. When using liquid fertilizer, Japanese holly and evergreen azalea achieved maximal growth when P fertilizer concentrations were reduced by 90% and 40%, respectively, compared to current recommendations. In contrast, the current minimum fertilizer recommendation of 5 ppm P was optimal for panicle hydrangea. In a subsequent study in which containerized woody ornamentals were grown using low-P controlled-release fertilizers (CRFs), bigleaf hydrangea reached maximal growth when given CRFs containing 50% less P than amounts in conventional CRFs. Considering hydrangea and azalea are among the top woody ornamental shrubs produced in the US, using fertilizers with minimally sufficient P amounts for these species could greatly reduce P runoff from nursery sites. Results of two studies conducted to achieve the second aforementioned objective indicated that amending CRF-fertilized pine bark with DL and MF can reduce water-extractable total P concentrations by > 50%. Despite lower levels of plant-available P in the substrate, P uptake by crape myrtle was unaffected by the amendments. The DL was primarily responsible for P retention in pine bark; however, the addition of MF was needed for maximal growth and P uptake of crape myrtle. According to this research, amending pine bark with DL and MF could be considered a best management practice for reducing P leaching from containerized crops.

Identiferoai:union.ndltd.org:VTETD/oai:vtechworks.lib.vt.edu:10919/83893
Date09 July 2018
CreatorsShreckhise, Jacob Hamilton
ContributorsHorticulture, Owen, James Stetter, Niemiera, Alexander X., Eick, Matthew J., Jackson, Brian Edward, Altland, James E.
PublisherVirginia Tech
Source SetsVirginia Tech Theses and Dissertation
Detected LanguageEnglish
TypeDissertation
FormatETD, application/pdf
RightsIn Copyright, http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/

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