ISHS Acta Horticulturae 807: International Symposium on Strategies Towards Sustainability of Protected Cultivation in Mild Winter Climate
USING SUCTION CUP TO IMPROVE THE MONITORING OF SOIL SOLUTION IN A GREENHOUSE FERTIGATED CROP |
| Authors: | M.C. Salas, J.B. Vargas, J. Sánchez-Romer |
| Keywords: | soil nutrient solution, saturated soil extract, irrigation management, tomato, electrical conductivity |
| Abstract:
Improving the efficiency of nutrient management of crops can raise by increasing growth rates, reducing the amount applied nutrients and water, as well as by decreasing the quantities of unused nutrients. The aim of the present study was to determine the most effective management of water and nutrient supply by using suction cups to sample the soil solution. Soil coring and suction cup monitoring techniques were compared during a tomato crop experiment conducted in a greenhouse in Southeast of Spain (Almeria). The considered factors were soil solution composition evolution during the growth cycle, irrigation regimes and soil tension values. In this experiment, the suction cup data showed different results in relation to considered parameters. Suction cup data showed that concentration Na+ and K+ (mmol L-1) content and EC were overestimated in comparison to saturated soil extract data. On the contrary, H2PO4- concentration was greater when it was estimated by soil samples. NO3- concentration in soil solution estimated from suction cup data is reasonably similar to soil extract data. The effect of irrigation regimen in the ion concentration and EC was shown in soil solution, and the effect in the characteristics of suction cup samples were similar to saturated soil samples. An important preliminary conclusion can be drawn from the results. A method based on measures in soil solution extracted by suction cups has become available to account for the fertility and water management in horticultural crops. But sampling strategies need to be developed from an improved knowledge of variability of concentration of nutrient in soil solution in relation to soil solution tension. | |
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