Management of Nitrogen and Water in Potato Production

About this book

Potato is very sensitive to water and nitrogen applied during growth, affecting its profitability and impact on the environment. Recent scientific and technical breakthroughs enable us to make best use of water and nitrogen. This book shows how scientific knowledge works in practice. This systematic and comprehensive book on crop, soil and water technologies will assist producers to achieve optimal production with maximum benefit to themselves and to the environment. Questions, such as the following are answered: which sampling techniques of plants and soil are available and which should I use?; what does the data gathered mean and how do they assist in water and nitrogen application?; which decision support systems exist for rain-fed, irrigated, precision or organic farming? The book updates and interprets knowledge in a simple way. It is intended for farmer, farmers' consultants, researchers and decision makers and also for students in soil science and agronomy.

Contents

Preface 1; Manual of Methods: Management of Nitrogen and Water in Potato Production 1; Contents 3; 1 Introduction 11; 1.1 The purpose of this Manual of Methods 11; The Concerted Action - EUROPP 12; What is optimization and why do it? 13; 1.2 Basic concepts of the management of supply of nitrogen and water in potato production 15; Introduction 15; The roles of nitrogen and water in plant functioning 16; Plant processes affected by nitrogen 18; Plant processes affected by water supply 23; Transformations and losses of nitrogen and processes that affect the supply of nitrogen to the plant 24; The nitrogen budget of the crop 27; Sources of water for the plant 27; Principles of nitrogen management: dealing with the unknown 30; Principles of water management 31; Conclusions 32; 2 Plant nitrogen status 35; 2.1 The significance of trends in concentrations of total nitrogen and nitrogenous compounds 35; Introduction 35; Trends of concentration of nitrogenous compounds in plant organs during growth 37; Variations in trend of nitrogen concentration related to nitrogen supply 40. Variations in trend of nitrogen concentration related to environment 42; Variations in trend of nitrogen concentration related to crop management 44; Purpose of measurement of nitrogen concentrations in plant organs 47; Plant nitrogen status and fertilizer requirements (plant reaction time to nitrogen deficiency and to supplementary addition) 50; Conclusions 53; Recommendations 53; 2.2 Determination of crop nitrogen status using invasive methods 55; Introduction 55; Description of methods 56; Conclusions 70; 2.3 Determination of crop nitrogen status using non-invasive methods 72; Introduction 72; Chlorophyll meters 73; Chroma meter 74; Chlorophyll fluorescence 77; Light interception, crop reflection 77; Overview of performance 80; Conclusions 81; Recommendations 82; 2.4 Spatial and temporal aspects of sampling of potato crops for nitrogen analysis 83; Introduction 83; Sampling techniques (whole plant or plant parts) 84; Pattern of sampling and sample size in commercial field for advisory or consultancy work 92; Pattern of sampling and sample size in experimental field plots (research) 95; Handling, storing and sub-sampling (for invasive methods) 99; Information to be collected while sampling 100; Conclusions 100; Recommendations 102. 2.5 Perspectives for use in practice - How can assessment of plant and crop nitrogen status be used in practice? 103; Principles 103; Features of the analytical methods 105; Sampling 105; Features of crop responses 107; Conclusions 108; Recommendations 110; 3 Soil nitrogen status 111; 3.1 Forms of soil nitrogen 111; Introduction 111; The soil nitrogen cycle 112; The soil biomass 113; Soil organic nitrogen 113; Mineral nitrogen 116; Conclusions 120; Recommendations 120; 3.2 Role and value of organic matter 121; Introduction 121; Determination and characterisation of organic matter 122; Functions of soil organic matter 123; Sources, composition and effects of organic materials 126; Soil organic matter level 132; Organic matter and potato production 133; Conclusions 134; 3.3 Losses of mineral nitrogen from the plant-soil system in potato production 136; Introduction 136; Loss processes, controlling factors and means of determination 138; Losses during the growing period 141; Losses after the growing period 145; Factors that influence the relative importance of different loss mechanisms 147; Growing cover crops to reduce nitrogen losses after harvest 149. Methods to reduce nitrogen losses during the growing period 150; Conclusions 153; 3.4 Sampling and analysis of soils for soil nitrogen 155; Introduction 155; Sampling Methods 156; Spatial variation in soil nitrogen 159; Analysis Methods 161; Conclusions 163; Recommendations 164; 3.5 Using soil nitrogen status in practice - the need for Decision Support Systems 165; Introduction 165; The concept of 'optimum nitrogen' 166; Using soil nitrogen measurements 170; The need for Decision Support Systems 172; Conclusions 172; Recommendations 172; 4 Plant and soil water status 175; 4.1 Plant and soil water status: what is their role and what can we do with their values? 175; Introduction 175; Water potential: a way to describe water status 178; Water in the soil 178; Water status in the plant 181; The root system 183; Water in the atmosphere 185; Water quality 185; Conclusions 186; Recommendations 186; 4.2 Measurement techniques for soil and plant water status 187; Introduction 187; Methods 188; Assessing crop water status 188; Assessing soil water status 190; Water balance 198; Simulation models 202. Conclusions 204; Recommendations 204; 4.3 Practical use of soil water measurement in potato production 205; Introduction: Influence of water on quality and yield 205; Principles of irrigation scheduling 206; Maintaining soil moisture 209; Manual examination 210; Soil moisture tension 211; Soil moisture content - fixed sampling points 212; Soil moisture content - different sampling points 214; Soil water balance calculations 214; Other techniques for soil water measurement 214; Forecasting ahead 214; Soil water balance calculation vs. soil water measurement 215; Water Quality 215; Conclusions 216; Recommendations 216; 5 Nitrogen and water - decision support systems 217; 5.1 Nitrogen decision support systems in potato production 217; Introduction 217; Nitrogen fertilisation advice systems 218; Type of fertilisers 225; Application of nitrogen fertilisers 227; Conclusions 229; Recommendations 229; 5.2 Irrigation methods of the potato in Europe 231; Introduction 231; Effect of water on crop quality and disease susceptibility 232; Irrigation Methods 233; Climatic conditions for the potato crop in Europe 241; Country-specific problem(s) 242; Estimation of irrigation needs 244; Farmer Advice System for Potato Irrigation 245; Conclusions 246; Recommendations 246. 5.3 Role of simulation and other modelling approaches in decision making 248; Introduction 248; Classification of mathematical models and other modelling approaches 249; Conclusions 258; 6 Future developments 261; 6.1 Exploring trends in current practice, what are the lessons and risks? 261; Introduction 261; Water 261; Nitrogen 265; Effect of the EC Nitrate Directive 271; Conclusions 271; Recommendations 272; 6.2 Precision farming for the management of variability 273; Introduction 273; Causes of variability 274; Potential benefits 275; Measurement of spatial variability 276; Management of variability 280; Conclusions 284; Acknowledgements 285; 6.3 Organic potato farming and nitrogen fertilisation, some food for thought 286; Introduction 286; Crop Nutrition 286; How effective is 'organic cultivation' in providing nutrition for potatoes 289; Economic and Environmental Implications 290; Optimisation of productivity in organic farming 291; Other logistic considerations 294; Conclusions 296; 7 Recommendations and trends in research and practice of application of nitrogen and water to potato crops 298; Nitrogen and water 298. Recommendations 300; Future developments in decision support 302; References 307; Addresses of the authors 317; Summaries in ten languages; Handbog til styring af kvaelstof og vand i kartoffelproduktionen 323; Handboek van methoden: stikstof- en waterbeheer in de aardappelteelt 325; Menetelmakasikirja: Vesi- ja typpitalouden saately perunanviljelyssa 327; Manuel de Methodes: Gestion de l'azote et de l'eau en production de pomme de terre 329; Stickstoff- und Wassereinsatz im Kartoffelbau (ein Handbuch) 331; Summary in Greek 337; Manuale dei metodi: Gestione dell'Acqua e dell'Azoto nella produzione della patata 335; Podrecznik metodyczny: Gospodarowanie azotem i woda w produkcji ziemniaka 337; Manual de Metodos: Gestao do azoto e da agua na producao de batata 339; Manual de metodos: manejo del nitrogeno y del agua en la produccion de patata 341; Subject index 347.

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