Irrigation management is essential in producing quality woody ornamentals and minimizing off-site runoff. The closed-capture effluent device provided an inexpensive method of monitoring effluent in large containers throughout the year with minimal effort. Daily irrigation requirements for `Little Gem' southern magnolia (Magnolia grandifolia) were established throughout an entire growing season. The maximum daily water requirement was approximately 3 gal (11.4 L).
Commercially propagated `Halward's Silver' spirea (Spiraea nipponica Maxim.) bareroot cuttings and cuttings with substrate around the roots (plugs) were transplanted into 3.8-L containers and fertilized with various P fertilizers to determine the effect of fertilizer source on P leaching and plant growth. The following fertilizer treatments were applied: 1) 100% of the recommended rate of P from controlled-release fertilizer (CRF), consisting of 22N-2.6P-10K; 2) 100% of P from triple superphosphate (TSP, 0N-20P-0K) with N and K provided by 22N-0P-10K CRF; and 3) 50% of P from CRF, consisting of 22N-1.3P-10K, plus 50% of P from TSP (CRF/TSP). The most P leached from cuttings transplanted as plugs or bareroot and fertilized with TSP, while the least P leached from cuttings transplanted as plugs and fertilized with CRF or CRF/TSP. Plants fertilized with CRF/TSP generally had larger root dry weights than did plants fertilized with CRF or TSP. Plants fertilized with CRF had the smallest stem dry weights. Shoot-to-root (S/R) ratio was largest in plants transplanted as plugs in substrate amended with TSP, but cuttings transplanted bareroot into CRF-amended substrate had the highest S/R ratio and the lowest stem P concentration. Incorporation of CRF/TSP into the container substrate can reduce P leaching compared with incorporation of TSP, and can increase root and stem dry weights of plants transplanted as plugs compared with incorporation of CRF.
The process of fertilizer diffusion was examined using KBr and NaBr salts placed at the top of columns filled with a container medium at an initial water content of 4.0, 2.5, or 1.0 g·g-1 (mass of water/mass of medium). Columns were sealed to create a protected diffusion zone (PDZ) shielding the system from water infiltration and evaporation. Bromide and water distributions were determined after 5, 10, 25, and 120 days. Using a Fickian diffusion model, effective diffusion coefficients calculated for Br- in the medium at 2.5 g·g-1 ranged from 2.7 to 4.6 × 10-6 cm2·s-1, which is 3 to 9 times less than the diffusion coefficient in water alone. Diffusion rates increased with increasing medium water content. Differences in the hygroscopicity and solubility of KBr and NaBr affected the distribution of water and diffusion rates in the columns. Redistribution of water was driven to a significant degree by vapor-phase transport, caused by large gradients in osmotic potential, and was most apparent at low water content. At high water content, water redistribution was affected by solution density gradients in the system. This significantly complicates the mathematical modeling of the system, which renders a simple Fickian diffusion model of limited predictive value in high and low water content media.
Growth of hand-watered and subirrigated `Ultra Red' petunia (Petunia ×hybrida Hort.) and `Super Elfin Violet' impatiens (Impatiens wallerana Hook.f.) plants were compared when grown using four controlled-release fertilizer rates and four fertilizer placements in the pot. Furthermore, the amount of NO3-N leached from hand-watered plants was compared to amount captured by subirrigation system. Before planting, Osmocote (14N-6.2P-11.6K) (4 month release) was either topdressed (TD), layered in the middle of the pot (M), layered at the bottom of the pot (B), or incorporated throughout (I) the substrate at 1.25, 2.5, 5.0, or 7.5 kg·m-3 (oz/ft3). Shoot dry mass of petunia plants was similar between both irrigation systems and among the four fertilizer placements. Subirrigated petunias fertilized with 2.5 kg·m-3 had similar shoot dry mass as hand-watered petunias fertilized with 7.5 kg·m-3. Hand-watered impatiens had greater shoot dry mass than subirrigated impatiens. Hand-watered impatiens also had greater shoot dry mass in pots with fertilizer at TD, M, or I than with fertilizer at B, but no difference in growth was observed in subirrigated impatiens among the different fertilizer placements. Finally, significantly more NO3-N was leached from hand-watered plants than was captured with the subirrigation systems.
, which has a negative environmental impact as the leachate enters local ecosystems ( Lea-Cox and Ross, 2001 ), and can lead to the need for additional fertilizer applications late in the production cycle. Best management practices (BMPs) have been adopted
moisture level of the medium is at or near its water-holding capacity; 2) add a sufficient amount of distilled water to the surface of the container so that ≈50 mL of leachate is accumulated; and 3) analyze the leachate collected within 24 h. Compared with
irrigation efficiency is the LF, which is the amount of leachate divided by the amount of water applied to the container. If sufficient water is being supplied to sustain plant growth, then an irrigation schedule that maintains a lower LF will use less water
nonmycorrhizal control microcosms. Asghari and Cavagnaro (2011) found lower levels of NO 3 , NH 4 , and P in soils and leachates collected from containers with mycorrhizal plants of Phalaris aquatica L. than in those collected from containers with
time in the program after application of 150 mL of water to allow the water to move laterally and to prevent substrate hydrophobicity and channeling of water through the substrate. Leachate volume was measured daily one to 2 h after each irrigation
in leachate vs. the non-chelated Fe source. The significance of these results is twofold: 1) chelating agents may continue to supply metals in the substrate–rhizosphere environment in excess of that applied through APCA-mediated metal extraction from