ISHS Acta Horticulturae 633: XXVI International Horticultural Congress: Protected Cultivation 2002: In Search of Structures, Systems and Plant Materials for Sustainable Greenhouse Production
DEVELOPING WATER AND NUTRIENT MANAGEMENT PLANS FOR CONTAINER NURSERY AND GREENHOUSE PRODUCTION SYSTEMS |
| Authors: | J.D. Lea-Cox, D.S. Ross, K.M. Teffeau |
| Keywords: | nitrogen, N, phosphorus, P, irrigation, best management practices |
| Abstract:
Nutrient management regulations are a reality, or on the horizon for horticultural operations in the United States and Canada. In 1998, the state of Maryland adopted one of the toughest nutrient management planning laws in the US, requiring that virtually all agricultural operations write and implement nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P) based management plans by December 31, 2002. The federal Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) may soon enforce provisions of the Clean Water Act of 1972, to ensure that states implement section 303(d) regulations and identify non-point (diffuse) sources of nutrient loading to the nations’ rivers and streams. Writing water and nutrient management plans for most ornamental nursery and greenhouse operations is a complicated task, since these operations grow a large number of plant species, and utilize a range of fertilization and irrigation strategies. We have developed a planning process that combines water management (i.e. leaching fraction, interception efficiency and potential runoff) data with nutrient management (source and application rate) data, to provide an estimate of total daily maximum loading rates. A risk assessment process of site-specific plant production and management processes identifies those operational factors that contribute most to nutrient leaching and runoff. This risk assessment matrix enables targeted best management practices (BMP’s) to be identified for each unique growing operation, to reduce the risk of N and P run-off into local surface and groundwater resources. | |
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