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Effect of Inorganic and Organic Fertilizer Application on Nitrate Leaching in Wetland Soil Under Field Tomato (Lycopersicon esculentum) and Leaf Rape (Brassica napus)

Agricultural Research volume 4, pages 63–75 (2015)Cite this article

Abstract

The implications of increased application of N inputs to agricultural systems in Africa for nitrate leaching are still only partially understood in Africa. A lysimeter experiment was carried out on a loamy sandy soil in central Zimbabwe in order to determine the effect of cattle manure and mineral N application on nitrate leaching. A cluster of zero-tension (free flowing) lysimeters was established, and leachates and soil samples were analyzed for nitrate N concentration and mineral N content, respectively. Increasing the application rates from 100 kg N fertilizer + 15 Mg manure to 200 kg N fertilizer + 30 Mg manure ha−1 increased NO3–N leaching by 60 %. Applied N lost in leachate increased by 6 and 19 % for the tomato and rape crops, respectively, when N fertilizer and manure application rate was doubled. Higher mineral N fertilizer and cattle manure applications increase total N lost in leachate. The pollution of groundwater with nitrate in leaf rape cropping in Zimbabwe is potentially higher than that found in the production of tomato for the crop rotation in the current study.

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Acknowledgments

This research was made possible through funding by the Research Board of the Midlands State University. Most of the laboratory analysis was done in the Department of Chemical Technology of the same university.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Land and Water Resources Management, Faculty of Natural Resources Management and Agriculture, Midlands State University, Private Bag, 9055, Gweru, Zimbabwe

    Johnson Masaka

  2. Department of Soil Science and Agricultural Engineering, Faculty of Agriculture, University of Zimbabwe, P.O. Box MP 167, Mount Pleasant, Harare, Zimbabwe

    Johnson Masaka & Menas Wuta

  3. International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics, Matopos Research Station, P.O. Box 776, Bulawayo, Zimbabwe

    Justice Nyamangara

  4. Marondera College of Agricultural Science and Technology, University of Zimbabwe, P.O. Box 35, Marondera, Zimbabwe

    Menas Wuta

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  1. Johnson Masaka
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  2. Justice Nyamangara
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  3. Menas Wuta
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Correspondence to Johnson Masaka.

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Masaka, J., Nyamangara, J. & Wuta, M. Effect of Inorganic and Organic Fertilizer Application on Nitrate Leaching in Wetland Soil Under Field Tomato (Lycopersicon esculentum) and Leaf Rape (Brassica napus). Agric Res 4, 63–75 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s40003-014-0147-1

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s40003-014-0147-1

Keywords

  • Wetland
  • Soil
  • Tomato
  • Rape
  • Nitrate leaching

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