Long-Term Fertilizer Reduction in Greenhouse Tomato-Cucumber Rotation System to Assess N Utilization, Leaching, and Cost Efficiency

Yucong Geng, Muhammad Amjad Bashir, Ying Zhao, Jianhang Luo, Xiaotong Liu, Feng Li, Hongyuan Wang, Qurat-Ul-Ain Raza, Abdur Rehim, Xuejun Zhang and Hongbin Liu
Additional contact information
Yucong Geng: Key Laboratory of Nonpoint Source Pollution Control, Ministry of Agriculture, Institute of Agricultural Resources and Regional Planning, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences (CAAS), Beijing 100081, China
Muhammad Amjad Bashir: Key Laboratory of Nonpoint Source Pollution Control, Ministry of Agriculture, Institute of Agricultural Resources and Regional Planning, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences (CAAS), Beijing 100081, China
Ying Zhao: Institute of Agricultural Resources and Environment, NingXia Academy of Agricultural and Forestry Sciences, 590 Huanghe Donglu Road, Yinchuan 750002, China
Jianhang Luo: Institute of Agricultural Resources and Environment, NingXia Academy of Agricultural and Forestry Sciences, 590 Huanghe Donglu Road, Yinchuan 750002, China
Xiaotong Liu: Institute of Agricultural Resources and Environment, NingXia Academy of Agricultural and Forestry Sciences, 590 Huanghe Donglu Road, Yinchuan 750002, China
Feng Li: Institute of Agricultural Economy and Information Technology, NingXia Academy of Agricultural and Forestry Sciences, 590 Huanghe Donglu Road, Yinchuan 750002, China
Hongyuan Wang: Key Laboratory of Nonpoint Source Pollution Control, Ministry of Agriculture, Institute of Agricultural Resources and Regional Planning, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences (CAAS), Beijing 100081, China
Qurat-Ul-Ain Raza: Department of Soil Science, FAS&T, Bahauddin Zakariya University, Multan 60800, Pakistan
Abdur Rehim: College of Agriculture, Bahadur Sub-Campus Layyah, Bahauddin Zakariya University, Multan 60800, Pakistan
Xuejun Zhang: Institute of Agricultural Resources and Environment, NingXia Academy of Agricultural and Forestry Sciences, 590 Huanghe Donglu Road, Yinchuan 750002, China
Hongbin Liu: Key Laboratory of Nonpoint Source Pollution Control, Ministry of Agriculture, Institute of Agricultural Resources and Regional Planning, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences (CAAS), Beijing 100081, China

Sustainability, 2022, vol. 14, issue 8, 1-15

Abstract: Technology-oriented approaches to reduce chemical fertilization in agroecosystems without influencing the vegetable yield is a proficient method for sustainable agriculture and environmental safety. However, short-term studies are not capable to indicate the effects of various inputs in a long run; therefore, a six-year experiment was conducted in Ningxia, China. The experimental units were: no fertilizer control (CK: 0 kg N ha −1 ), chicken manure (M: organic N 362 kg ha −1 ), reduced chemical fertilizer (RCF: chemical N 992 kg ha −1 + organic N 362 kg ha −1 ), and conventional fertilizer (CF: chemical N 1515 kg ha −1 + organic N 362 kg ha −1 ). The study aimed to assess the effects of reduced fertilization on yield, nitrogen (N) use efficiency (NUE), N leaching, and the economic benefits. The results achieved herein indicate that RCF has significantly improved the NUE, reduced N leaching (23.7%), and improved the N economic benefit (NEB, 41.8%) as compared to the CF. Based on yield, net benefit, and NUE conditions, the optimum N application range was 634–821 kg N ha −1 for tomato and 556–778 kg N ha −1 for cucumber. The study concluded that reduced chemical application of N is an important factor to control environmental pollution and improve fertilizer use efficiency. Further experiments are suggested to examine the optimum N rate provision from chemical fertilizer and its ratio with organic fertilization.

Keywords: vegetable yield; nitrogen use efficiency; nutrient leaching; leaching-to-input ratio; nitrogen fertilizer economic benefit (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (3)

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