HOME HELP FEEDBACK SUBSCRIPTIONS ARCHIVE SEARCH TABLE OF CONTENTS		QUICK SEARCH:   [advanced] Author: Keyword(s): Year:  Vol:  Page:

This Article Full Text (PDF) Alert me when this article is cited Alert me if a correction is posted Services Similar articles in this journal Alert me to new issues of the journal Download to citation manager Citing Articles Citing Articles via HighWire Citing Articles via Google Scholar Google Scholar Articles by Mansell, R. S. Articles by Rogers, J. S. Search for Related Content PubMed Articles by Mansell, R. S. Articles by Rogers, J. S. Agricola Articles by Mansell, R. S. Articles by Rogers, J. S.

Nitrogen and Water Distributions in Fertilized Sandy Soil During Irrigation and Drainage¹

ABSTRACT

Nutrients applied to citrus growing in subsurface-drained acid, sandy soils of Florida are subject to movement through the soil and possible loss through drainage water especially after intense rainfall. The primary objective of this investigation was to determine the spatial distributions of soil water pressure head and concentrations of nitrogen (NO₃-N and NH₄-N) in the soil solution after fertilization and irrigation of citrus in a subsurface-drained Spodosol. The soil treatments were: (i) shallow tillage and shallow liming (ST), and (ii) deep tillage and deep liming (DTL). Tensiometers and solution sampler cups were placed at several soil depths and lateral distances on either side of a subsurface drain. Results showed transport of water and nutrients in the ST soil was rapid relative to DTL soil. Two-dimensional contours of equal soil-water pressure revealed that, after a 3.4-cm irrigation, slower drainage in DTL soil relative to ST raised the water table near the soil surface (to within 30 cm), of the DTL soil, whereas the water table in the ST soil rose to only about 80 cm from the soil surface. Observed distributions of NO₃-N and NH₄-N concentrations in the soil solution exhibited considerably higher spatial variability than soil water pressure head distributions for both soils. Concentrations of NO₃-N were always higher than NH₄-N in either soil. Rates of drainage were higher for ST than DTL soils. Over a 2-week period, the amount of NO₃-N in the drainage water from ST soil was four times greater than from DTL soil. We concluded that NO₃-N was less susceptible to leaching loss in the DTL soil than in the ST soil.

¹ Contribution from the Institute of Food & Agric. Sciences, Univ. of Florida in Cooperation with the USDA-ARS. Research was supported in part by Grant no. R800517 from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. Florida Agric. Exp. Stns. Journal Series no. 1796.

² The first, sixth, and seventh authors are Professor, Associate Professor, and Professor, respectively, in the Soil Science Dep. at the Univ. of Florida. The second author is currently an Assistant Professor in the Agronomy Dep. at Louisiana State Univ. The third author is Director and Professor at the Univ. of Florida Agric. Res. Center, Fort Pierce, Fla. The fourth, fifth, and eighth authors are Soil Scientist, Supervisor Soil Scientist, and Agricultural Engineer, respectively, with ARS-SEA-USDA.

Received for publication May 14, 1979. Accepted for publication September 24, 1979.

This article has been cited by other articles:

				S. T. Trudgill, S.T. Trudgill, and D.J. Briggs Soil and land potential Progress in Physical Geography, June 1, 1981; 5(2): 274 - 285. [PDF]