Fertigation in Vegetable Crops for Higher Productivity and Resource Use Efficiency

摘要

Precise management of irrigation quantity along with the rate and timing of nutrient application are of critical importance to obtain desired results in terms of productivity and nutrient use efficiency (NUE). The fertigation allows application of right amounts of plant nutrients uniformly to the wetted root volume zone where most of the active roots are concentrated and this helps enhance nutrient use efficiency, it has been found to improve the productivity and quality of crop produce along with improved resource use efficiency. Fertigation is considered eccfriendly as it controls leaching of nutrients especially nitrogen (N)-NO3, However, to get the desired results knowledge of the system and efficient management are essential. A review is made of the current literature on the use of fertigation covering various aspects of vegetable production including its advantages and constraints to its adoption and nutrient behaviour especially at the practical agriculture level in India.