Escolar Documentos
Profissional Documentos
Cultura Documentos
Mussaddak Janat
Syrian Atomic Energy Commission, Department of Agriculture,
Irrigation Division, Damascus, Syria
Abstract: Efficient crop use of nitrogen (N) fertilizer is critical from economic and
environmental viewpoints, especially under irrigated conditions. Nitrogen fertilizer
(15N-labeled urea) and irrigation methods (drip and furrow) were evaluated on
spring and fall potato cultivars under Syrian Mediterranean climatic conditions.
Field experiments were conducted in the El-Ghab Valley near Hama in fall 2000
and spring 2001 on a heavy clay soil. Four N-fertilizer applications (70, 140, 210,
and 280 kg N/ha) were applied in five equally split treatments for both irrigation
methods. Potato was irrigated when soil moisture in the specified active root depth
reached 80% of the field capacity as indicated by the neutron probe.
Higher marketable tuber yield of spring potato was obtained by fertigation compared
to furrow irrigation; the magnitude of tuber yield increases was 4, 2, 31, and 13%,
whereas for fall potato the tuber yield increases were 13, 27, 20, and 35% for N ferti-
lizer rates of 70, 140, 210, and 280 kg N/ha, respectively. Shoot dry matter and tuber
yields at the bulking stage were not good parameters to estimate marketable tuber yield.
The effect of N treatments on potato yield with furrow irrigation and fertigation was
limited and not significant. Drip fertigation improved tuber yield of fall potato
relative to national average yield. Nitrogen uptake increased with increasing N input
under both irrigation methods. Reducing N input under both irrigation methods
improved N recoveries. Increasing N input significantly increased total N content in
plant tissues at the bulking stage. Spring potato yields were almost double those of
fall potato under both irrigation methods and all N treatments.
Nitrate (NO3) movement in the soil solution for fall potato was monitored using soil
solution extractors. Furrow irrigation resulted in greater movements of NO3-N below
the rooting zone than drip fertigation.
2401
2402 M. Janat
Harvest index did not follow a clear trend but tended to decrease upon increasing N
fertilization rates beyond 140 kg N/ha under both irrigation methods. Drip fertigation
improved field water-use efficiencies at the bulking and harvest stages. Fertigation
increased specific gravity of potato tubers relative to furrow irrigation. Higher N
input decreased specific gravity of potato tubers under both irrigation methods.
Keywords: Drip irrigation, fall potato, furrow irrigation, harvest index, nitrogen-use
efficiency, spring potato, water-use efficiency
INTRODUCTION
A field trail was conducted during the fall and spring growing seasons of 2000
and 2001 at a private farm in the El-Ghab Valley, west of Hama City in Syria.
The soil is unclassified but is most probably Calcixerollic Xerochrept silty
clay to clayey throughout the sampled soil profile. Soil was sampled before
the initiation of the experiment down to 120-cm depth at 15-cm increments
(Table 1). The area is characterized by Mediterranean-type climate. Precipi-
tation during the fall growing season was 84.6 mm and during spring
growing season was 15.3 mm.
Fall potato (Cv. Diamont) seed pieces (about 0.1 kg) were manually
planted at 30-cm in-row spacing on 8 August 2000 and harvested on 30
December 2000. Spring potato (Cv. Draga) seed pieces (about 0.08 kg)
2404
Table 1. Selected physiochemical characteristics of the soil used in the study
Exchangeable cations
(cmol kg21)
EC Available Total CEC (cmol Soil
Depth (cm) pH 1:2.5 (dSm21) P (ppm) Na (%) CaCO3 (%) OM (%) kg21) Mg Ca K Na textureb
Spring 2001
0 15 7.96 0.32 31.5 0.095 9.6 1.5 24.7 7.2 13.7 0.80 0.61 Silty clay
15 30 7.96 0.37 11.41 0.085 10.0 1.3 23.8 6.2 14.0 0.74 0.56 Silty clay
30 45 7.98 0.40 7.81 0.090 9.6 1.5 28.4 7.0 16.9 0.87 0.74 Silty clay
45 60 8.02 0.37 5.77 0.080 10.0 1.2 25.9 8.5 13.6 0.60 0.66 Clay
60 75 8.05 0.38 2.95 0.070 8.8 0.9 25.2 7.6 13.9 0.58 0.61 Clay
75 90 8.09 0.39 2.29 0.070 9.6 0.8 27.1 9.5 13.7 0.57 0.61 Clay
90 105 8.12 0.37 1.24 0.060 9.2 0.7 24.4 5.3 15.4 0.59 0.70 Clay
105 120 8.14 0.40 1.12 0.055 8.3 0.5 26.8 8.6 14.4 0.56 0.65 Clay
Fall 2000
0 25 7.50 0.24 14.56 0.06 8.33 1.16 31.3 7.8 20.6 0.81 0.58 Silty
25 50 7.40 0.20 13.86 0.05 8.06 0.97 30.7 7.4 20.1 0.55 0.17 Silty clay
50 75 7.43 0.25 3.54 0.04 8.33 0.62 31.5 7.5 20.3 0.34 0.11 Clay
75 100 7.51 0.25 1.34 0.04 9.44 0.46 30.5 7.8 19.6 0.32 0.09 Clay
a
Total soil N (%).
b
M. Janat
According to U.S. Department of Agriculture scheme.
N Fertilization of Potato 2405
were manually planted by the same manner on 30 March 2001 and harvested
on 5 September 2001. The field was disked, plowed, and bedded into 75-cm
hills before planting. Plot dimensions for both irrigation methods were
20 3.75 m with five rows each 20 m long.
The fertigation system was installed on the surface of the appropriate
experimental units after all the cultivation processes were completed. Each
row had its own irrigation line positioned on the top of the 75-cm hill with
50 emitters along the line. Each emitter had a discharge rate of 4 L/ha. Irriga-
tion lines were slightly covered with soil after the second ridging. Two neutron
probe access tubes were mounted in each experimental unit at 12.5 and
25.0 cm from an emitter in the central row in both drip-fertigated and
furrow-irrigated potato. Water content measured by neutron probe was
focused on root zone rather than tuber zone. This technique enabled monitor-
ing of soil moisture status in the active root zone and provided feedback data
for irrigation scheduling. The active root depths, which were determined by
soil-moisture depletion curve generated by neutron probe feedback data,
were 25.0 cm from planting until the middle of tuber initiation (growth
stage III) and 50 cm until maturation (growth stage V). Water was applied
when soil moisture content measured daily by neutron probe in the
specified active root reached 80% of the field capacity. Volumes of water
applied by irrigation for both surface and drip-fertigated potato were
monitored by two online propeller-type flow meters. Designated amounts of
irrigation water were applied uniformly to all N treatments for the fertigated
and the furrow-irrigated potato.
Nitrogen fertilizer treatments, applied in five equally split applications
(urea, 46 0 0) consisted of 70, 140, 210, and 280 kg N/ha either broadcasted
for the furrow-irrigated potato or injected through the drip system for the
drip-fertigated potato. In each experimental unit, 1.0 m2 labeled subplot was
established at the end of the central row and fertigated with a 5% atom
excess 15N-labeled urea [CO(15NH2)2]. The labeled subplots of the drip-ferti-
gated potatoes were supplied with their own secondary drip system simulating
the original irrigation system, which helped to prevent any contamination into
and out of the labeled subplots. The labeled urea was applied at the same rate
as the specified N applications.
To achieve precise injection of various N fertilizer rates for the drip-
fertigated potato, proportional microtubes corresponding to the N treatments
(spaghetti tubes) were connected to a proportional-type injector (Dosatron
proportional injector DI 150). All N treatments under drip fertigation of the
spring potato received a total amount of 4775 m3/ha of irrigation water,
and fall potato received 3643 m3/ha. The amount of irrigation water applied
to the furrow-irrigated spring and fall potato were 8460 and 7632 m3/ha
respectively.
Phosphorus (P) fertilizer was either injected as liquid phosphoric acid
(H3PO4) for the drip-fertigated potatoes or mixed with the irrigation water
for the furrow-irrigated potato at a rate of 19.0 kg P/ha according to the
2406 M. Janat
Spring Potato
Table 2. Effect of irrigation method and N fertilizer rate on the specific gravity and
tuber yield at bulking and harvest stages (spring 2001)
Fresh Above-
Nitrogen Specific marketable grounda
Irrigation fertilizer rate gravity yield at biomass Tuber
method (kg N/ha) (g/cm3) harvest (t/ha) weighta
Note: Means within a column followed by the same letter are not statistically
different at the 5% level of confidence.
a
Dry weight at bulking stage.
2408 M. Janat
Aboveground
Method biomass Tuber weight
aboveground biomass and tuber yield at the bulking stage were not good
estimates of fresh tuber yield.
Specific Gravity
Furrow irrigation significantly reduced tuber specific gravity (Table 2). Within
the furrow-irrigated plots, increasing N decreased specific gravity. The highest
specific gravity was obtained with the lowest N treatment under drip-
fertigated potato, whereas the lowest specific gravity was obtained with the
highest N treatment under furrow-irrigated potato. Specific gravity under
drip fertigation ranged between 1.00 and 1.07 g/cm3, whereas under furrow
irrigation the range of specific gravity was between 0.86 and 0.94 g/m3.
These results were in agreement with previous studies (Westermann,
Kleinkopf, and Porter 1988; Papadopolus 1988; Ojala, Stark, and Kleinkopf
1990; Rykbost, Christinsen, and Maxwell 1993; Fiebert, Shock, and
Saunders 1998).
Nitrogen Total N
Irrigation fertilizer rate Total dry-matter N contenta uptake N-fertilizer N-fertilizer
method (kg N/ha) yield (t/ha) (%) (kg N/ha) Ndffb (%) Ndfsc (kg N/ha) yield (kg N/ha) recovery (%)
Whole plant
Fertigation 70 5.6 a 1.61 c 90 bc 27 c 66 24 d 35 bc
140 5.0 a 1.71 c 85 c 39 b 52 33 cd 24 c
210 5.9 a 1.79 c 106 bc 46 ab 56 50 bc 23 c
280 6.4 a 1.86 c 119 abc 49 a 61 58 bc 21 c
Furrow 70 4.7 a 2.68 b 128 abc 29 c 90 38 cd 54 a
irrigation 140 5.2 a 3.19 a 167 a 38 b 104 63 ab 45 ab
210 4.3 a 3.34 a 143 ab 45 ab 79 64 ab 31 c
280 4.7 a 3.42 a 161 a 49 a 81 80 a 28 c
Note: Means within a column followed by the same letter are not statistically different at the 5% level of confidence.
a
N% in plant tissues (tubers and shoots).
b
Nitrogen derived from fertilizer.
c
Nitrogen derived from soil.
2409
2410 M. Janat
Table 5 shows the overall means comparison between the two irrigation
methods of spring potato. Pair treatment means showed that under drip
Table 5. Overall means comparison of the two irrigation methods for tuber yield, DM
yield, and N content, uptake, and recovery of spring potato using t-test
Fresh
marketable Total Total N
Irrigation tuber yield at dry-matter N content uptake N-fertilizer
methods harvest (t/ha) yield (t/ha) (%) (kg/ha) recovery (%)
Mean values of field WUE in relation to the yields of total dry matter (Ef),
aboveground portion (Efd), tuber at bulking stage (Ey), and marketable tuber
at harvest stage (Efh) of the spring potato, as affected by irrigation methods
and N fertilizer rates, are summarized in Table 6. Increasing N input had
little effect on the afore mentioned parameters under each irrigation
method. Large increases in field WUE of drip-fertigated relative to furrow-
irrigated potato were observed. The increase in field WUE under drip fertiga-
tion could be attributed to the irrigation method and integrated management.
The overall amount of irrigation water applied to spring potato during the
growing season was 4775 for the drip-fertigated potato and 8460 m3/ha for
the furrow-irrigated potato. The average values of Ef for all N treatments
under drip fertigation ranged between 1.85 and 1.45 kg/m3, whereas their
range under furrow irrigation was between 0.68 and 0.82 kg/m3. Significant
differences were found among Ef values for equivalent N treatments under
the two irrigation methods, and the percentage increase in Ef values under
drip fertigation relative to furrow irrigation exceeded 200% in some cases.
Values of field WUE for the yield of tuber at harvest (Efh) ranged between
9.8 and 11.3 kg/m3 under drip fertigation and between 4.7 and 6.2 kg/m3
under furrow irrigation. In some cases, Efh values with drip fertigation
were more than double those with furrow irrigation, indicating the potential
for saving water and improving field WUE of the potato crop with drip
irrigation.
Harvest Index
Increasing N input did not increase the harvest index with either drip fertiga-
tion and furrow irrigation (Table 6). It was expected that harvest index would
be higher under drip fertigation because of the slightly higher tuber yield of
drip-fertigated potato versus furrow-irrigated potato, however, the opposite
trend was observed, although differences were in all cases nonsignificant.
This may be due to greater vegetative growth of potato grown under drip fer-
tigation, causing a delay in biomass partitioning to tubers. Because all N treat-
ments of the furrow-irrigated and drip-fertigated potato were harvested at the
same time, the relative ratio of tuber to total biomass was higher under furrow
2412
Table 6. Field water-use efficiencies as affected by irrigation methods and N fertilizer rates, (spring 2001)
Note: Means, within a column, followed by the same letter are not statistically different at the 5% level of confidence.
a
Field water-use efficiency (yield per unit of total applied water), for total dry matter yield (Ef), aboveground biomass (Efd), tuber yield at bulking
stage (Efy).
b
Field water-use efficiency (yield per unit of total applied water) for tuber yield at harvest.
c
Harvest index tuber biomass/tuber biomass aboveground biomass at bulking stage.
M. Janat
N Fertilization of Potato 2413
irrigation. If the growing season for the drip-fertigated potato was extended a
little longer before harvesting, the harvest might reach higher values than
those obtained in this study. The harvest index values reported here were
lower than those reported by Belanger et al. (2001).
Fall Potato
Increasing N application rate within each irrigation method did not signifi-
cantly increased total fresh marketable tuber yield (Tables 7 and 8). On the
other hand, drip fertigation nonsignificantly increased total fresh marketable
tuber yield (with exception of 280 kg N/ha) relative to furrow irrigation.
The percentage increases in marketable tuber yield, although not significant,
were 13, 27, and 20% for the 70, 140, and 210 kg N/ha respectively,
whereas for the 280 kg N/ha treatment the increase in total fresh marketable
tuber yield relative to furrow-irrigated potato exceeded 35%. In comparison
with the spring growing season, it was clear that fall potato produced lower
tuber yields. This could be attributed to a longer spring growing period and
to the potato variety being used. The results were in agreement with other
studies (Stark et al. 1993; Saffigna, Keeny, and Tanner 1977). Aboveground
biomass at the bulking stage increased because of the employment of drip fer-
tigation relative to furrow irrigation, but tuber yield at this stage did not show
Table 7. Effect of irrigation method and nitrogen fertilizer rate on the dry-matter
production and tuber yield at bulking and harvest stages (fall 2000)
Fresh
Nitrogen marketable Total
fertilizer tuber yield dry-matter Tuber
Irrigation rate at harvest yielda Abovegrounda weighta
method (kg N/ha) (t/ha) (t/ha) biomass (t/ha) (t/ha)
Note: Means within a column followed by the same letter are not statistically
different at the 5% level of confidence.
a
Dry weight at bulking stage.
2414 M. Janat
Aboveground
Method biomass Tuber weight
the same trend. At this growth stage, those two parameters did not provide
good estimates of marketable tuber yield as indicated by the regression
analysis. The average dry-matter yield of drip-fertigated potato under all N
treatments was 52% higher than the average dry-matter yield under furrow
irrigation in the 70 kg/ha N treatment. The percentage of dry-matter
increased for 140, 210, and 280 kg N/ha also, but increases were not
significant.
The highest N content in whole plant (tubers shoots) at the bulking stage
was observed with the 210 and 280 kg N/ha treatments under drip fertigation
(Table 9). Significant differences were found between the 70 kg N/ha and
280 kg N/ha treatments. The 140, 210, and 280 kg N/ha treatments under
drip fertigation all had higher N concentrations relative to the corresponding
N treatments under furrow irrigation.
The lowest N uptake by dry matter at the bulking stage was recorded for
the 70 kg N/ha treatment among fertigated potatoes, but there were not sig-
nificant differences between 140 and 210 kg N/ha. Therefore, it is
suggested that for this particular growing season, 140 kg N/ha might have
been enough to produce acceptable tuber yield when applied in five equally
split applications. Furthermore, with 70 kg N/ha, the drip-fertigated potato
crop removed 117 kg N/ha from the soil pool (Ndfs), whereas the 210 and
280 kg N/ha treatments removed 139 and 129 kg N/ha respectively. Increas-
ing N input resulted in higher reliance of the potato crop on the soil pool. A
similar trend was observed for the furrow-irrigated potato, where 70 kg N/ha
removed 84 kg N/ha, and 280 kg N/ha removed 112 kg N/ha from the
soil pool.
Fertilizer N recovery by the whole plant (tubers and aboveground
biomass) of drip-fertigated potato at the bulking stage, which was estimated
from the 15N-labeled subplots, is also shown in Table 9. The highest
recovery was associated with the application of 70 kg N/ha under drip fertiga-
tion and decreased with increasing N input. Nitrogen recovery was generally
greater in fertigated rather than furrow-irrigated potatoes. Also, total N
uptakes by the whole plant at the bulking stage of the drip-fertigated potato
N Fertilization of Potato
Table 9. Effect of irrigation method and nitrogen fertilizer rate on the N uptake and N recovery at bulking stage (Fall 2000)
Total N
Nitrogen fertilizer uptake N contenta N-fertilizer N-fertilizer
Irrigation method rate (kg N/ha) (kg N/ha) (%) Ndff b (%) Ndfsc (kg N/ha) yield (kg N/ha) recovery (%)
Whole plant
Fertigation 70 175 bc 1.71 cd 33 a 117 58 c 83 a
140 192 ab 1.90 bc 40 a 115 77 a 55 b
210 228 a 2.12 a 39 a 139 89 a 42 c
280 202 ab 1.98 ab 36 a 129 74 ab 26 d
Furrow irrigation 70 101 d 1.50 ef 17 b 84 17 e 24 d
140 121 d 1.46 f 33 a 82 40 d 28 d
210 135 cd 1.66 de 36 a 86 49 cd 23 d
280 172 bc 1.78 bcd 35 a 113 59 bc 21 d
Note: Means within a column followed by the same letter are not statistically different at the 5% level of confidence.
a
N% in plant tissues (tubers and shoots).
b
Nitrogen derived from fertilizer.
c
Nitrogen derived from soil.
2415
2416 M. Janat
were all greater than those with comparable N rates for furrow-irrigated
potatoes. This can be explained by the fact that with higher N input, a
larger amount of nitrate is leached beyond the root zone as well as the
monitored depth considered in this study, especially in the fall growing
season where a relatively large amount of rain occurs during November and
December. This suggests that higher N application frequency should be con-
sidered in the future to reduce nitrate leaching and improve N recovery.
Table 10 shows the overall means comparison between the two irrigation
methods of fall potato and the two potato varieties, Cv. Diamont and Cv.
Draga. Pair treatment means showed that under drip fertigation, tuber
weight at harvest stage significantly increased relative to the furrow
irrigation method. Total dry-matter yield at the bulking stage was signifi-
cantly increased under drip fertigation relative to furrow irrigation. The
same trends were observed for all pair treatment means regarding N
content in plant tissues and N uptake, where higher N content and N
uptake under drip fertigation relative to furrow irrigation were recorded.
No significant differences between the two irrigation methods regarding N
recovery were found.
A t-test of the two varieties means are presented in Table 10. The results
revealed that spring potato significantly yielded more than fall potato, and the
same trend was observed for percentage of N content in plant tissues.
Dry-matter yield and N uptake were significantly higher for fall potato
relative to spring potato. No significant differences between N recovery of
the two potato varieties were recorded.
Table 10. Overall means comparison of drip versus furrow irrigation and spring
versus fall potato for tuber yield, DM yield, and N content, uptake, and recovery
Fresh Total
marketable dry-matter Total N N-fertilizer
Irrigation tuber yield at yield N content uptake recovery
methods harvest (t/ha) (t/ha) (%) (kg/ha) (%)
Harvest Index
Harvest indexes are presented in Table 11. The harvest index of the 140 kg N/ha
furrow irrigated potato was improved relative to other treatments. Harvest
index of the 210 kg N/ha furrow irrigation treatment was higher than the N
70, 210, and 280 kg N/ha drip-fertigated treatment. There were no significant
differences between other treatments.
The level of nitrate in soil solution during the fall growing season, as a
function of sampling depth, date, N rate, and irrigation method, is shown in
Figure 1. The results show that under drip fertigation, a constant trend of
downward movement of nitrate persisted until 18 October, and then nitrate
began moving upward. The reason for upward movement might be that as
the growing season progressed and the plant canopy became larger, there
was a higher transpiration rate. The upward movement of water carried the
nitrate from the subsoil to the soil surface. Furthermore, under drip fertigation,
2418
Table 11. Field water-use efficiencies as affected by irrigation methods and N-fertilizer rates (Fall 2000)
Note: Means within a column followed by the same letter are not statistically different at the 5% level of confidence.
a
Field water-use efficiency (yield per unit of total applied water) for total dry-matter yield (Ef), aboveground biomass (Efd), and tuber yield at
bulking stage (Efy).
b
Field water-use efficiency (yield per unit of total applied water) for tuber yield at harvest.
c
Harvest index tuber biomass/tuber biomass aboveground biomass at physiological maturity stage.
M. Janat
N Fertilization of Potato 2419
Figure 1. Nitrate movement within the root zone at different sampling dates and soil
depths (30 and 60 cm) of drip-fertigated and furrow-irrigated fall potato.
2420 M. Janat
CONCLUSIONS
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
I thank the Atomic Energy Commission of Syria for financial and technical
support. I also appreciate the technical assistance of J. El-Attar,
M. Shaheen, and A. Razouk. In addition, I deeply thank J. Ryan
(ICARDA), M. F. Al-Rabbat, and I. Ghanem for their valuable comments.
REFERENCES
Ahmad, S., Kayali, A.R., and Samsam, M. (2000) Water Requirement, Irrigation
System and Irrigation Methods of Intensive Potato; Ministry of Agriculture and
Agrarian Reform, Irrigation and Water Use Directorate: Hama, Syrian Arab
Republic.
Al-Harrire, B. (2000) Annual Report of Potato Experiments for 2000 Growing Season;
Ministry of Agriculture and Agrarian Reform, Agricultural and Scientific Research
Directorate, Potato Division: Damascus, Syrian Arab Republic.
Annual Agricultural Statistics for 1999 Growing Season; Ministry of Agriculture and
Agrarian Reform, Planning and Statistic Directorate: Damascus, Syrian Arab
Republic.
Belanger, G., Walsh, J.R., Richards, J.E., Milburn, P.H., and Ziadi, N. (2001) Tuber
growth and biomass portioning of two potato cultivars grown under different N fer-
tilization rates with and without Irrigation. American Potato Research Journal, 78:
109 117.
Cuny, H., Wery, J., and Gaufres, F. (1998) A simple indicator for diagnosing nitrate
leaching risk below the root zone using the tensionic tensiometers. Agronomie,
18: 521 535.
Darwish, T., Atallah, T., El-khatib, M., and Hajhasan, S. (2000) Impact of irrigation
and fertilization on nitrate leaching and soil groundwater contamination in
Lebanon. World Congress of Soil Science Symposium, No. 59 Bangkok, Thailand.
Darwish, T., Atallah, T., Hajhasan, S., and Chranek, A. (2003) Management of nitrogen
by fertigation of potato in Lebanon. Nutrient Cycling in Agroecosystems, 67: 1 11.
Eldredge, E.P., Holmes, Z.A., Mosley, A.R., Shock, C.C., and Stieber, T.D. (1996)
Effects of transitory water stress on potato tuber stem-end reducing sugar and fry
color. American Potato Journal, 73: 517530.
El-Suliman, S., Kayali, A.R., and Samsam, M. (1998) Water Requirement, Irrigation
System and Irrigation Methods of Intensive Potato; Ministry of Agriculture and
Agrarian Reform, Irrigation and Water Use Directorate: Hama, Syrian Arab
Republic.
El-Suliman, S., Kayali, A.R., and Samsam, M. (1999) Water Requirement, Irrigation
System and Irrigation Methods of Intensive Potato; Ministry of Agriculture and
Agrarian Reform, Irrigation and Water Use Directorate: Hama, Syrian Arab
Republic.
2422 M. Janat
Feibert, E.B.G., Shock, C.C., and Saunders, L.D. (1998) Nitrogen fertilizer require-
ment of potato using carefully scheduled sprinkler irrigation. Hort Science, 33 (2):
262 265.
Hutchinson, C., Simonne, E., Solano, P., Melderum, J., and Livingston-Way, P. (2003)
Testing of controlled release fertilizer programs for seep irrigated irish potato
production. Plant Nutrition, 26 (9): 1709 1723.
Janat, M. and Somi, G. (2001) Performance of cotton crop grown under surface irriga-
tion and drip fertigation II: Field water-use efficiency and dry matter distribution.
Communications in Soil Science and Plant Analysis, 32 (19 20): 3063 3076.
Joern, B.C. and Vitosh, M.L. (1995a) Influence of applied nitrogen on potato, I: Yield,
quality, and nitrogen uptake. American Potato Journal, 72: 51 63.
Joern, B.C. and Vitosh, M.L. (1995b) Influence of applied nitrogen on potato, II:
Recovery and partitioning of applied nitrogen. American Potato Journal, 72: 73 84.
Johnston, A. (1997) Food security in the WANA region, the essential need for fertilizer.
In Proceedings of the Regional Workshop of the International Potash Institute,
Izmir, Turkey, 11 30.
Lauer, D.A. (1985) Nitrogen uptake patterns of potatoes with high-frequency sprinkler-
applied N fertilizer. Agronomy Journal, 77: 193197.
Mohammad, M.J., Zuraiqi, S., Quasmeh, W., and Papadopoulos, I. (1999) Yield
response and nitrogen utilization efficiency by drip-irrigated potato. Nutrient
Cycling in Agroecosystems, 54: 243 249.
Ojala, J.C., Stark, J.C., and Kleinkopf, G.E. (1990) Influence of irrigation and nitrogen
management on potato yield and quality. American Potato Journal, 67: 29 43.
Papadopoulos, I. (1988) Nitrogen fertigation of trickle-irrigated potato. Fert. Res., 16:
157 167.
Porter, G.A. and Sisson, J.A. (1991) Response of russet burbank and shepody potatoes
to nitrogen fertilizer in two cropping systems. American Potato Journal, 68:
425 443.
Rykbost, K.A., Christinsen, N.W., and Maxwell, J. (1993) Fertilization of russet
burbank in short-season environment. American Potato Journal, 70: 699 710.
Saffigna, P.G., Keeny, D.R., and Tanner, C.B. (1977) Nitrogen, chloride, and water
balance with irrigated russet burbank potatoes in sandy soils. Agronomy Journal,
69 (2): 251 257.
Saoud, A.A., Van Cleemput, O., and Hofman, G. (1992) Uptake and balance of labelled
fertilizer nitrogen by potatoes. Fert. Res., 31: 351 353.
Stark, J.C., McCann, I.R., Westermann, D.T., Izadi, B., and Tindall, T.A. (1993) Potato
response to spilt nitrogen timing with varying amounts of excessive irrigation.
American Potato Journal, 70: 765 777.
Tyler, K.B., Broadbent, F.E., and Bishop, J.C. (1983) Efficiency of nitrogen uptake by
potato. American Potato Journal, 60: 261269.
Westermann, T.D., Kleinkopf, G.E., and Porter, L.K. (1988) Nitrogen fertilizer effi-
ciencies on potatoes. American Potato Journal, 65: 377 386.
Zapata, F. (1990) Isotope technique in soil fertility and plant nutrition. In The Use of
Nuclear Techniques in Studies of Soil Plant Relationships; Harderson, G. (ed.);
Series 2. IAEA: Vienna, Austria, 61 128.