Scientia Horticulturae 107 (2006) 233244 www.elsevier.

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Nitrogen best management practice for citrus trees I. Fruit yield, quality, and leaf nutritional status
A.K. Alva a,*, S. Paramasivam b,1, T.A. Obreza c,2, A.W. Schumann d,3
a USDA-Agriculture Research Service, 24106 N. Bunn Road, Prosser, WA 99350, USA Savannah State University, Environmental Sciences & Biotech Research, Drew Grifth Hall, Savannah, GA 31404, USA c University of Florida, Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences, Soil and Water Science Department, Gainesville, FL 32611-0290, USA d University of Florida, Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences, Citrus Research and Education Center, Lake Alfred, FL 33850, USA b

Received 29 November 2004; received in revised form 22 April 2005; accepted 31 May 2005

Abstract Elevated levels of nitrate-nitrogen (NO3-N) in the surcial aquifer above the drinking water quality standard, i.e. maximum contaminant limit (MCL; 10 mg L1), have been reported in some part of central Florida citrus production regions. Soils in this region are very sandy (sand content >95%), hence are vulnerable to leaching of soluble nutrients and chemicals below the rooting depth of the trees. The objective of this research was to develop N and irrigation best management practices for citrus in sandy soils to maintain optimal crop yield and quality, and to minimize potential leaching of nitrate below the root zone. Six years of eld experiment was conducted in a high productive (mean fruit yield > 80 Mg ha1yr1) >20-year-old Hamlin orange trees [Citrus sinensis (L.) Osbeck] on Cleopatra mandarin (Citrus reticulata Blanco) rootstock grown on a well drained Tavares ne sand (hyperthermic, uncoated, Typic Quartzipsamments) in Highland county, FL. Nitrogen rates ranged from 112 to 280 kg ha1 yr1 applied as fertigation (FRT), water soluble granular (WSG), 50:50 mix of FRT and WSG, and controlled-release fertilizer (CRF). Tensiometers were used to monitor the soil water content as a basis to schedule optimal irrigation. Fruit yield response over the entire range of N rates was greater for the FRT and WSG sources as compared to that for the WSG + FRT or CRF sources. Using the regression analysis of the fruit yield in relation to N rate, the optimum N rate appeared to be at 260 kg ha1 yr1. Based on fruit production response in this study, the N requirement for production of 1 Mg of fruit varied from 2.2 to 2.6 kg across four N sources. This study demonstrated an increased N uptake efciency, as a result of best management of N and irrigation applications. The optimal N and K concentration in the 46-month-old spring ush leaves were 2630, and 1518 g kg1, respectively. However, fruit yield response showed no signicant relationship with concentrations of P in the 46-month-old spring ush leaves over a range of 0.82.4 g kg1. The results of fate and transport of N in soil and in soil solution with application of different rates and sources of N, and components of citrus tree N budget, are reported in a companion paper. # 2005 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
Keywords: Groundwater quality; Nitrate in drinking water; Nitrogen leaching; Nitrogen removal by the crop; Nitrogen uptake efciency; Optimal irrigation; Critical nutrient concentrations; Luxury consumption of nutrients

Abbreviations: BMP, best management practice; CRF, controlled release fertilizer; ET, evapotranspiration; FRT, fertigation; MCL, maximum contamination limit; NO3-N, nitrate-nitrogen; WMD, water management district; WSG, water soluble granular * Corresponding author. Tel.: +1 509 786 9205; fax: +1 509 786 9277. E-mail addresses: aalva@pars.ars.usda.gov (A.K. Alva), siva@savstate.edu (S. Paramasivam), taob@mail.ifas.u.edu (T.A. Obreza), awschumann@crec.ifas.u.edu (A.W. Schumann). 1 Tel.: +1 912 691 5573; fax: +1 912 353 3186. 2 Tel.: +1 352 392 1951x243; fax: +1 352 392 3902. 3 Tel.: +1 863 956 1151; fax: +1 863 956 4631. 0304-4238/$ see front matter # 2005 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved. doi:10.1016/j.scienta.2005.05.017

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1. Introduction Groundwater is the primary source of domestic water for about half of the total U.S. population (Collins and Johnson, 1988). Some aquifers supplying drinking water for urban areas may originate or ow through agricultural areas. These aquifers could be impacted by the quality of the recharge water from agricultural areas. Depending on the soil characteristics, climatic conditions, and agricultural production management practices, the recharge water could contain some chemicals and nutrients used in the crop production. Over 50% of all fresh water used in Florida comes from groundwater, and over 90% of the public relies on groundwater for drinking. Water quality issues, particularly the contamination of groundwater by agricultural chemicals, including nitrates (NO3), have risen to the top of the agricultural and environmental policy agenda. The maximum contamination limit (MCL) for NO3-N in drinking water sources is 10 mg L1 (U.S. Dept. Health, Education, and Welfare, 1962). This is equivalent to 44.3 mg L1 of N as NO3 ionic form (NO3-N). Groundwater contamination by NO3 has been a concern in commercial production of many crops in some parts of the U.S. (Bingham et al., 1971; Nightingale, 1972; Avinimelech and Raveh, 1976; Hubbard et al., 1984, 1986, 1989; Hallberg, 1989), including citrus on deep sandy ridge areas of central Florida. This area is well-suited for citrus production due to the ideal soil and climatic conditions for production of high yields of good quality fruits (Jackson, 1991; Tucker et al., 1995). Drinking water and surcial groundwater monitoring conducted in the early 1990s revealed indications of increasing trends of excess nitratenitrogen (NO3-N), above the drinking water quality standards (recommended by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency; USEPA) in parts of the citrus-producing region in central Florida (Jones et al., 1990; Alva et al., 1998; Harrison et al., 1999; Lamb et al., 1999). A proactive, incentive-based program of developing crop specic best management practices (BMP), in Florida, began in 1994 as a result of amendment to the Florida Fertilizer Law approved by the state legislature. This amendment authorized the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services (DACS) to develop research based crop specic N-BMPs. To support this task, DACS was authorized to collect an extra tax from the fertilizer dealers on all N fertilizers sold in the state, in addition to the general inspection fee. This revenue was used, in part, to fund the University of Florida, Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences (UF-IFAS) and the Florida Agricultural and Mechanical University (FAMU) and other cooperative agencies for conducting long-term research to develop crop specic N and irrigation BMPs. A combination of optimal irrigation and N management was considered important to improve N uptake efciency, maintain optimal crop yield, and to minimize NO3 leaching below the root zone of the trees. An improved N management practice can

be considered as a BMP if that practice can be demonstrated, on large farm scale studies, to decrease the groundwater NO3-N concentrations. Furthermore, the BMPs should not adversely impact the economics of production, i.e. maintain high yields of high quality fruit without increasing the cost of production inputs. Leaf tissue testing is a valuable tool to examine the tree nutritional status, particularly with respect to mobile nutrients such as N and K, and for micronutrients such as copper, iron, manganese, and zinc (Obreza et al., 1992). Plant tissue testing has been used on a wide number of crops as an indicator of soil and crop nutrient status, thereby, this information is used in fertilizer management decisions (Mills and Benton-Jones, 1996). The nutritional concentrations measured in the leaf tissue in a given situation can be compared with the critical range of concentrations that are established for that particular crop based on years of experimentation (Bennett, 1993; Mills and Benton-Jones, 1996). The interpretation of leaf tissue mineral analysis depends on the physiological stage of leaves that are sampled for analysis, leaf decontamination procedure, and analytical methods (Hanlon et al., 1995). For Florida citrus, the recommended plant tissue for mineral analysis is 46month-old spring ush leaves from non-fruiting twigs (Koo and Sites, 1956; Smith, 1966; Koo et al., 1984). The current recommendations and guidelines for interpretations of mineral concentrations in 46-month-old spring ush leaves of citrus trees are published elsewhere (Koo et al., 1984; Tucker et al., 1995; Hanlon et al., 1995). The data reported in this publication are a part of long term studies to develop citrus N BMPs conducted by the University of Florida team of researchers in collaboration with the Florida citrus industry, the Florida Department of Environmental Protection (FLDEP), the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services (FLDACS), the Southwest Florida Water Management District (SWFWMD), and the St. Johns River Water Management District (SJRWMD) (A.K. Alva, unpublished; S. Paramasivam, unpublished). Major objectives of this inter-agency collaborative program were: (i) to study the extent of groundwater NO3 contamination in different citrus growing regions on the deep sandy soil areas of central Florida under different production practices; (ii) to develop a combination of optimal irrigation and N management practices to improve N uptake efciency; maintain optimal tree nutrition status, crop yield, and quality; to minimize potential leaching of NO3-N into groundwater; (iii) longterm evaluation of a range of improved N management practices with optimal irrigation scheduling, in large commercial blocks, on the fruit yield and quality as well as groundwater NO3-N levels. As a part of this major collaborative project, the results of the long-term studies to address the objectives (i and iii) are reported elsewhere (Alva et al., 1998, 2003; Graham et al., 2005; unpublished). Results of the objective (ii) are summarized in this paper.

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This included replicated small plot experiment (for six years) for evaluation of N sources, rates, and placement under optimal irrigation management practices on fruit yield and quality as well as total nutrient removal by the fruits. Preliminary results of some response evaluations during the rst three years of the study are published elsewhere (Alva and Paramasivam, 1998; Paramasivam et al., 2001). Evaluation of extractable soil N, soil solution N at various depths in the soil prole, and components of citrus tree N budget are reported in a companion paper (Alva et al., 2005).

2. Materials and methods This study was conducted on mature bearing orange trees in a commercial grove in Sebring, Highlands County, FL. The soil in the experimental site was Tavares ne sand (hyperthermic, uncoated, Typic Quartzipsamments), a coarse textured, sandy soil with no impervious soil horizon, thus is vulnerable for leaching of water and chemicals including nutrients through the soil prole. Some properties of the soil at various depth horizons are shown in Table 1. Hamlin orange [Citrus senensis (L.) Osbeck] trees on Cleopatra mandarin (Citrus reticulata Blanco) rootstock were planted, in 1974, at 7.62 m 6.57 m spacing with 286 trees ha1. The experiment was initiated in the spring of 1993 and continued for six years. At the beginning of the experiment, the trees were evaluated for uniformity of growth, fruit yield potential, and possible disease incidence. Four uniform, disease-free trees, adjacent to each other in a row (at the above tree to tree spacing, i.e. no missing trees in the row), were selected as a plot. Each plot within a tree row was separated by six to eight skip trees which provided sufcient buffer between the plots. A randomized complete block design was followed in this study with 15 treatments and 5 replications. During the rst three years of the study (19931995), fertilizer treatments included: (i) broadcast application of water soluble granular (WSG) form at either 112, 168, 224, or 280 kg N ha1 yr1; (ii) delivery of fertilizer through irrigation system, i.e. fertigation (FRT) at the above N rates; (iii) a combination of WSG and FRT sources (50:50 ratio) to deliver the above N rates; (iv) controlled release fertilizer (CRF) at either 56,
Table 1 Selected properties of Tavares ne sand (Typic Quartzipsamments) Depth (cm) Texture Horizon Sand (g kg1) 954 948 950 951 955 962 Silt (g kg1) 14 23 22 18 12 10 Clay (g kg1) 32 29 28 31 33 28 Bulk density (g cm3) 1.50 1.48 1.47 1.46 1.55 1.58

112, or 168 kg N ha1 yr1 rates. The ratio of N:P:K in the fertilizer blend for all sources was 6.0:1.0:6.1, therefore, P and K rates were also varied along with different N rates. To achieve optimal tree growth, fruit production, and fruit quality, it was necessary to maintain the N to K ratio in the fertilizer blend close to 1:1. However, for convenience in discussion, the treatments were referred to only as N rates. The source of N was ammonium nitrate (N = 33%) for the WSG, FRT, and WSG/FRT treatments; polymer coated urea (N = 46%) for the CRF treatment. Phosphorus was supplied as triple super phosphate (P = 21%) for the WSG treatment; as phosphoric acid (P = 32%) for the FRT; as monoammonium phosphate (P = 27%) for the CRF treatments. Potassium was supplied as muriate of potash (K = 50%) for the WSG; a combination of muriate of potash and potassium nitrate (K = 40%) for the FRT; a combination of coated muriate of potash (K = 50%) and sulfate of potash (K = 38%) for the CRF treatment. The CRF source is more expensive as compared to the other sources, on a unit of nutrient basis. The polymer coating and timed nutrient release from a coated product is expected to minimize nutrient losses, therefore, increase nutrient uptake efciency. Accordingly, we used lower N rates for the CRF source as compared to those for the other sources. After evaluation of the response data during the rst three years of study, the following modications were done in the treatments for the subsequent three years of the study (19961998): (i) an additional N rate of 336 kg N ha1 yr1 was included only for the WSG source, and (ii) the above 3 N rates of CRF were changed to 112, 168, and 224 kg N ha1 yr1, and an additional treatment of 280 kg N ha1 yr1 was also included for this source. Therefore, during the years 46, the N rates for CRF were similar across all fertilizer sources and the study included 17 treatments with 5 replications. The frequencies of fertilizer application were 1, 4 and 15 yr1 for the CRF, WSG and FRT sources, respectively. A commercial fertilizer broadcast spreader (Conibear Equipment Co., Lakeland, FL), calibrated for different fertilizer rates as above for single-sided application, was used to apply the WSG and CRF sources. The fertilizer spreader was driven close to the edge of the tree canopy to deliver most of the fertilizer material under the canopy on both sides of the

Saturated hydraulic conductivity (cm h1) 63.8 85.5 83.4 80.8 97.8 84.2

Water content at 0.33 MPa (m3 m3) 6.84 4.10 3.47 2.58 2.48 2.40

Organic C (g kg1) 8.6 3.4 2.9 1.7 0.9 0.6

CEC (cmol kg1) 5.89 2.74 1.95 1.64 1.47 1.47

pH in H2O (1:1) 6.0 5.9 5.8 5.5 5.3 5.3

015 1530 3060 6090 90120 120150

Ap C1 C1 C2 C3 C3

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tree trunk. The annual rates of N as CRF were applied in February of each year to coincide with the timing of the rst dose application of the WSG. The subsequent three applications of WSG were made in April, May and September of each year. Each application of WSG was immediately followed by irrigation for about 15 min to facilitate some dissolution of the granular product applied and the dissolved fertilizer to be transported slightly below the surface soil with water front, for improved root uptake and minimize gaseous loss of N. This was done to avoid long-term exposure of the ammonium nitrate granule on the soil surface, since mechanical incorporation of the dry fertilizer granule with soil was not possible in citrus groves in order to minimize the damage to the feeder roots. Extreme care was taken to avoid excessive irrigation which could leach the N well below the rooting depth, thus, would make N unavailable to the trees. The FRT was applied in 15 equal doses, with three applications each per month during February, March, April, and two applications each during May, September, and October. Fertilizer was not applied during June through August in an effort to minimize the risk of N leaching. The total precipitation during June through August is about 60% of the annual total precipitation of about 1500 mm. Therefore, June through August period represents high risk of N leaching. All fertigations were made during scheduled irrigations to replenish the soil moisture (as explained below), therefore, all treatments received uniform irrigation during the fertigation events. This was done to minimize confounding effects of irrigation and nutrients in the FRT treatment. Fertilizer solution (N, P, K blend) in required quantity (depending on the N rate for the FRT treatments) was injected into the irrigation water towards the end of the scheduled irrigation event, to allow about 45 min of irrigation after the liquid fertilizer was injected. This was necessary to wash the irrigation lines free of any fertilizer salts. 2.1. Irrigation scheduling Under the tree micro-irrigation system, with one emitter per tree (delivery rate = 0.083 m3 h1 at 0.276 MPa pressure), was used to wet a circular area of 18.7 m2 per tree (4.88 m diameter), which included most of the ground area under the canopy. Undisturbed soil cores were taken (within the emitter wetting area approximately 30 cm inside the dripline) at 015-, 1530-cm depths, and at 30 cm depth increment in the 30150-cm depth soil horizon at ve locations within the experiment block to develop a site-specic soil water characteristic curve. This provides quantitative relationship between the gravimetric soil water content and the soil water matric potential. Therefore, the matric potential reading made in the soil using tensiometers can be related to status of soil water content to determine the soil water decit as a basis to schedule irrigation.

The eld capacity of this soil was equivalent to the soil moisture content at 8 103 MPa (Smajstrala et al., 1987; Obreza et al., 1997). The gravimetric soil water content at eld capacity and permanent wilting point were 63 and 18 g kg1 soil, respectively. Thus, the available soil water (eld capacity wilting point) in this soil was 45 g kg1 soil. Five clusters of tensiometers, each at the 15-, 30-, 60-, 90-, and 150-cm depths were installed under the tree canopy about 60 cm inside the dripline of the trees, and were read every two days (Paramasivam et al., 2000). The 15- and 30cm depth tensiometer readings were used to indicate the soil water depletion level as a basis to schedule irrigation. Trees were irrigated when the 15-, and 30-cm tensiometers read 10 103 MPa during January through June, or 15 103 MPa during July through December (Smajstrala et al., 1985; Parsons, 1989). The above set points correspond to 23 and 38% depletion of available soil water, respectively. Availability of adequate soil water is critical during the owering, fruit set, and initial fruit growth stages which occur during January through June, therefore, allowable soil water depletion was lower during this period than that used for the rest of the year. The duration of the irrigation was calculated using the soil water characteristic curve, emitter delivery rate, the target depth of maximum root activity (90 cm; Castle, 1980a, 1980b), and irrigation efciency. Liquid fertilizer was injected to fertigated trees during scheduled irrigation events toward the end of irrigation periods followed by a 45-min rinse of irrigation lines. The WSG and CRF treatments also received irrigation during fertigation. Two automatic rain gauges were installed in the experimental area to record rainfall amounts over the entire duration of the study. Amount of water application at each irrigation was recorded using a ow meter. The monthly cumulative amounts of rainfall and irrigation, and predicted water drainage amount below the rooting depth for each of the six years duration of this experiment are shown in Fig. 1. 2.2. Leaf sampling and analysis Six-month-old spring ush leaves were sampled, each of the six years, following the procedure described by Obreza et al. (1992). Approximately 25 leaves were sampled from each of the middle two trees within each four-tree plot and pooled into one sample per plot. The leaves were washed in detergent solution by rubbing both sides of the leaves with cheese cloth followed by several rinses in distilled water (Alva and Tucker, 1997), and then dried at 70 8C for 72 h. The dried leaves were ground to pass a screen with 0.38mm-diameter holes. The leaf N content was determined by the Kjeldahl method. About 0.5 g of dry, ground leaf tissue was ashed in a mufe furnace at 550 8C for 6 h. The ash was cooled and dissolved in 20 mL of 1 M HCl. The concentrations of P and K were measured using inductively coupled Argon plasma emission spectroscopy (ICAPES, plasma 40, Perkin-Elmer, Norwalk, CT).

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Fig. 1. Monthly summary of water balance (rainfall, irrigation, and drainage) data 19941998 at the experimental site with >20-year-old Hamlin orange trees on Cleopatra mandarin rootstock in a Tavares ne sand. Emitter wetting pattern covered 48% of the grove area. Numbers in boxes indicate the annual cumulative amounts of rainfall, irrigation and drainage. Number in parenthesis beside cumulative irrigation value indicate the amount of irrigation used for freeze protection (mostly in January) during the respective years.

2.3. Fruit sampling and analysis About two weeks prior to fruit harvest, ten fruits were sampled from each of the middle two trees per plot and the fresh weight of the fruits was measured. The fruit diameter was measured using a caliper. The fruits were washed in a detergent solution, rinsed in distilled water, cut into halves, and the peel thickness was measured using a caliper. The fruits were further sliced into small pieces, and dried at 90 8C for 48 h, and the dry weights of the fruits were measured. The dried fruit slices were ground to pass a screen with 0.38-mm-diameter holes. The concentration of N was measured by the Kjeldahl method. The ground fruit sample was weighed 0.5 g portions into 20 mL scintillation vials and placed in a mufe furnace at 550 8C for 6 h. The ash was cooled and 20 mL 1 M HCl was added. The concentration of P and K were measured using Inductively Coupled Plasma Argon Emission Spectroscopy (ICPAES, Plasm 40, PerkinElmer, Norwalk, CT). 2.4. Fruit quality and yield measurements From each plot 5060 fruits (from the middle two trees in the plot) were sampled two weeks before the fruit harvest. The fruit juice quality analyses including: juice content, brix, acid, brix/acid ratio, and amount of solids per unit fresh weight of the fruits were analyzed following standard procedures (Wardowski, 1990) at the Department of Citrus/ University of FloridaCitrus Research and Education Center, Lake Alfred, FL, packing house. At the recommended fruit maturity period, fruits were picked from the middle two trees per plot into a standard 10box (1 box = 40.8 kg) bin to measure the plot yield in boxes.

Weight of the fruits sampled for nutrient and juice quality analyses (described above) was included in the calculation of total fruit yield from the two trees per plot. The yield of two trees per plot was used to calculate the per-hectare yield on the basis of tree density in the grove. The fruit yield response to N rates was evaluated using SAS program (SAS Institute, 1988).

3. Results and discussion 3.1. Irrigation water management The monthly totals of rainfall, irrigation, and estimated leaching below the rootzone data are summarized for the 19941998 period in Fig. 1. The total irrigation data includes the freeze protection irrigation amounts (shown in parentheses) during the winter months, especially January and early February. This amount is quite variable depending on the weather conditions and freeze warnings. During 1994 and 1996, the freeze protection irrigation accounted for 79 and 94 mm, respectively. Since the freeze protection irrigations are done during the period when the trees are almost dormant, a relatively larger proportion of this irrigation water contributes to leaching losses below the rootzone, unlike the irrigation during the active tree growing period. The portion of soil applied agrichemicals that are not being utilized by the crop, and/or not retained in the soil through adsorption by the clay particles or soil organic matter is subject to transport in the soil down the prole with the water front. This is one mechanism of loss of soluble nutrients from the rooting zone. The rate of this loss is, however, dependent on the magnitude of water application

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in excess of crop needs, i.e. evapotranspiration (ET). Although irrigation scheduling may be managed efciently to minimize leaching losses below the crop rooting depth, in humid high rainfall production regions as in Florida, excess rainfall is often the main factor contributing to nutrient leaching losses. To mitigate losses associated with excess rainfall, the nutrient application practices must be modied to minimize the rate of application during the period of excess rainfall. To satisfy this condition, a relatively large portion of annual N requirement was applied during the low rainfall months combined with careful management of irrigation to minimize the transport of water and NO3-N below the rootzone. Scheduling of irrigation should be improved so that the depth of wetting at each irrigation was restricted to the depth of rooting in an effort to mitigate leaching loss of N and water below the rootzone. Monitoring of soil moisture content both within and below the rooting depth is important to optimize irrigation scheduling aimed to minimize leaching losses below the rootzone. This facilitates increased N uptake efciency by the roots, thereby, minimizing potential leaching losses below the rootzone. Soil moisture tension has been used as an indicator of soil moisture depletion to schedule irrigation. Tensiometer set points of 10 103 and 15 103 MPa, in the top 15 30 cm depth soil during January through June, and July through December, respectively, are commonly used as the basis for citrus irrigation (Smajstrala et al., 1987; Parsons, 1989). The duration of irrigation was calculated on the basis of eld capacity of the soil, emitter delivery rate, and desired depth of wetting. The depth of mature citrus tree rooting zone required to be irrigated is about 90120 cm for the deep sandy soils with no conning layers. Our parallel studies have shown the importance of continuous real-time monitoring of soil water content using capacitance probes (Enviroscan) both within and below the rooting depth for optimal scheduling of irrigation to maintain adequate soil water content within the rooting depth while minimizing the excess leaching of water below the rooting depth throughout the growing period (Alva and Fares, 1998, 1999; Fares and Alva, 1999, 2000a, 2000b). 3.2. Total water input Total water input (rainfall and irrigation) for the 19941998 cropping years are presented on monthly basis in Fig. 1. Cumulative rainfall during the study period ranged from 1168 to 1638 mm which are well within the range of mean annual rainfall for this region, i.e. 1270 1575 mm (NOAA, 1996). Although this quantity exceeds citrus tree water requirement, due to the poor distribution of rainfall over the entire year, irrigation is necessary for commercial citrus production for high yields of high quality fruits.

3.3. Water drainage below the rooting depth Drainage (Q) below the rootzone was calculated, assuming steady state water ow, as the product of Darcys ux (q) and the time period (Dt) for which drainage was being calculated. Using soil water potentials measured by tensiometer below the rootzone (120 cm), and saturated hydraulic conductivities, water uxes below the rootzone were calculated using Darcys ux equation; i.e. Q = q(Dt). The procedure for drainage calculation is described in detail by Paramasivam et al. (2000). Drainage was calculated as the water transported below the top 120 cm depth soil, since most of the feeder roots were present in the 0120 cm depth soil. Optimal irrigation scheduling was practiced by monitoring the changes in soil water suction throughout the study period using tensiometers. Major portion of drainage below the rootzone occurred during the rainy period of the year, i.e. June through September. The amount of drainage water is presented on monthly basis for the 19941998 (Fig. 1). Cumulative annual drainage varied from 386 to 710 mm, which represented 2333% of the annual total water input (rainfall and irrigation) during the study period. Much of the drainage occurred during June through September period, which coincides with the period of high rainfall. 3.4. Fruit yield Adequate availability of N during the critical stages of fruit initiation and development is important to support optimal yields of good quality citrus fruits (Dasberg et al., 1983, 1984; Koo et al., 1984; Dasberg, 1987; Jackson, 1991; Davies and Albrigo, 1994; Tucker et al., 1995; Syvertsen and Smith, 1996). Yield responses to N rates by each N source were evaluated as the mean of all six years of data (Fig. 2). The yield data for the CRF are shown separately for the rst three years with three N rates as 56, 112, and 168 kg ha1 yr1. During the next three years phase of the study, N rates for the CRF source were similar to those for the other N sources. With the exception of the mean fruit yields for the CRF source during 19931995, the mean fruit yields across all N sources and N rates in the range of 112 280 kg ha1 varied from 63 to 85 Mg ha1. However, in this yield comparison, the mean yields over six years for the WSG, FRT, and WSG/FRT sources are compared with that for three years for the CRF source. Fig. 3 shows the mean fruit yields over three years (1996 1998) for all N sources at each N rate. During this phase of the study, N rates were similar across all four N sources, and that the WSG source was also evaluated at a higher N rate of 336 kg N ha1 yr1. Mean fruit yields at 112, 168, 224, and 280 kg N ha1 were 75.4, 82.6, 91.7, and 90.1 Mg ha1, respectively, for the WSG source, 76.3, 84.0, 92.5, and 93.3 Mg ha1, respectively, for the FRT source, 74.3, 81.3, 85.5, and 81.3 Mg ha1, respectively, for the WSG + FRT (at 50:50 ratio) source, 64.0, 74.0, 77.5, and 79.5 Mg ha1,

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Fig. 2. Relationship between fruit yields (mean across six year; 199398) of >20-year-old Hamlin orange trees on Cleopatra mandarin rootstock planted in a Tavares ne sand, and N rates applied as either water soluble granular fertilizer (WSG), fertigation (FRT), 50:50 WSG:FRT, or controlled-release fertilizers (CRF) with optimal irrigation management. Vertical line at each mean value represents the standard error of the mean. CRF1, yield data for 56168 kg N ha1 rates, during 19931995; CRF2, yield response for N rates adjusted to 112280 kg N ha1 yr1, similar to those used for other N sources, during 19961998.

respectively, for the CRF source. The mean fruit yields recorded in this study at all N rates were much greater than the state mean fruit yield for this cultivar of 50.4 Mg ha1. Yields as high as 80 Mg ha1 yr1 were obtained with annual N rate of 168 kg ha1 for three N sources evaluated in this study. At the 224 and 280 kg N ha1 yr1 rates, mean fruit yield was lower for the WSG + FRT source as compared to those for the FRT or WSG sources. Fruit yields for the CRF source were lower than those for the other sources at all N rates, except at 280 kg N ha1 rate. For optimal growth and production of citrus, about two-thirds of annual N requirement should be supplied during February through May/June. In Florida, this period coincides with active growth of citrus for development of new spring ush, owering and fruit set. The CRF blend used in this study contained only 15% of readily soluble N source. The application of this CRF source was done in early February. It appears that N release from the CRF source used in this study was not adequate to meet the high N requirement during the initial 34 months after its application. Further research is needed to evaluate the use of other CRF materials with different nutrient release pattern and/or changing the timing of application of CRF source, i.e. fall application instead of spring application, as practiced in this study. This

Fig. 3. Relationship between fruit yields (mean across three year; 199698; after rate adjustment of CRF source similar to those for the other sources, and inclusion of 336 kg N ha1 rate for the WSG source only) of >20-yearold Hamlin orange trees on Cleopatra mandarin rootstock planted in a Tavares ne sand, and N rates applied as either water soluble granular fertilizer (WSG), fertigation (FRT), 50:50 WSG:FRT, or controlled-release fertilizers (CRF) with optimal irrigation management. Vertical line at each mean value represents the standard error of the mean. An arrow pointing to the X-axis indicates predicted optimum N rate using the response data for the WSG rate treatments.

could match the peak nutrient release from CRF with the critical tree growth period for maximum nutrient demand during fruit set, and early fruit growth stages. 3.5. Optimum N rate and N use efciency In the case of the WSG source, over the range of N rates from 112 to 336 kg N ha1 yr1, the mean fruit yield response showed a quadratic relationship (Fig. 3). Although FRT source did not have N rate in excess of 280 kg N ha1 yr1, the slope of the response curve decreased substantially with N rate increment from 224 to 280 kg ha1 compared to that in the range of 168224 kg ha1. Based on the standard error of mean values, the mean fruit yields at 224 and 280 kg N ha1 yr1 were statistically non-signicant. Based on the regression analysis of yield response data for the WSG source over a range of N rates from 112 to 336 kg ha1, the optimum fertilizer N rate under this experimental condition was about 260 kg N ha1 yr1 (Fig. 3). It is important to emphasize that the best management practices of N placement and timing of application and optimal scheduling of irrigation are critical

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for attaining optimum N uptake efciency and, thus, the fruit yield response of the level reported in this study. Using the regression response function shown in Fig. 3, the fruit yields corresponding to the optimum N rate of 260 kg ha1 yr1 were 88 and 94 Mg ha1 for the WSG and FRT sources, respectively. These yields are almost two-fold of the state average yield for this cultivar. The yield response function reported in this study indicate that it is quite unlikely to obtain further increase in fruit yields and economic returns by increasing the N rates beyond the range evaluated in this study. This study demonstrated that if improved irrigation and N fertilization practices are adopted, high fruit yields (90 Mg ha1 yr1) can be obtained with about 260 kg ha1 N applied either as WSG or as FRT. Excess N application can lead to luxury consumption of N with no benets to the tree growth and/or fruit production, as well as low N uptake efciency and potential leaching of N below the root zone. 3.6. N use efciency and alternate bearing pattern To estimate the N requirement per unit weight of fruit production, N rate applied was divided by the corresponding mean fruit yields. This N estimate was expressed as kg of N per 1 Mg (1 metric tonne) of fruit. Accordingly, in the range of N rates from 112 to 280 kg N ha1 yr1, the N requirement to produce 1 Mg of fruit varied from: (i) 1.5 3.1 kg N (mean = 2.3 kg N) for the WSG; (ii) 1.53.0 kg N (mean = 2.2 kg N) for the FRT; (iii) 1.53.4 kg N (mean = 2.4 kg N) for the 50:50 blend of WSG:FRT; (iv) 1.83.5 kg N (mean = 2.6 kg N) for the CRF. The above N requirement per unit fruit production values are substantially lower than that previously reported (Koo et al., 1984), i.e. 4.4 kg N for production of 1 Mg of fruits. This recommendation was based on number of eld experiments conducted in the 1960s. Therefore, this study demonstrated an increased N uptake efciency which can be attributable to improved irrigation and fertilizer management methods. These improved management practices adopted in this study are critical to minimize the N losses and to improve the N uptake efciency, thus become the guidelines for the proposed N best management practices for Florida citrus production in sandy soils. Citrus fruit yield pattern generally follows a cycle of alternating high and low yields, dened as Alternate Bearing Habit (Wheaton, 1986). Annual fruit yield response data, using all N rates of WSG source as an example, over six years clearly illustrate the alternate bearing pattern (Fig. 4). The year 1994 was an exceptionally low yielding year. This was evident in most of central Florida as a result of combination of climatic factors and a disorder called post blossom fruit drop (PFD). Highest yields (well over 100 Mg ha1) across all N rates were obtained in 1997. It is important to note that on an individual year basis, the fruit yields were quite similar, or

Fig. 4. Relationship between fruit yields and N rates during 19931998 of >20-year-old Hamlin orange trees on Cleopatra mandarin rootstock planted in a Tavares ne sand. The data shown are for N rates applied as water soluble granular fertilizer (WSG) with optimal irrigation management, to demonstrate a typical alternate bearing pattern.

slightly decreased, between the 224 and 280 kg N ha1 yr1 rates. 3.7. Juice and fruit quality Fruit weight changed from year to year, but within a given year the fruit weight was not affected by N rates within the range of 100336 kg ha1 yr1 (data not presented). Fruit weight followed yield trends, i.e. generally larger fruits during the years of lower total fruit yield and vice versa. Fruit diameter was not measured during 1993 and 1998. The available data, for 19941997, of fruit diameter follows the similar trend as with fruit weight. The peel thickness is an important factor of external fruit quality. This parameter was measured only two out of six years. Peel thickness varied from 3.3 to 4.1 mm, and the N rates in the range of 100 336 kg ha1 did not signicantly affect the peel thickness. Koo (1988) reported the affects of individual mineral nutrients on the external fruit quality and juice quality parameters. Koo (1988) reported that increasing the N rates decreased fruit size, weight, and peel thickness. The converse was true with respect to K affects. In our experiment, the N and K rates were changed simultaneously in order to keep a constant ratio of N:K. Since the affect of N and K are opposite to each other, simultaneous increase in N and K rates resulted in no affects on the external fruit quality parameters. The results of this study also showed yearly variation in the brix, acid content as well as soluble solids per 100 kg of fruit (Table 2). However, analysis of variance test of the above juice quality parameters showed no signicant effects of simultaneous increase in N and K rates, across all N sources (ANOVA table not presented). This, once again, seems to be the net result of opposite affects of increased N or K rates on the brix and soluble solids per 100 kg of fruit (Koo, 1988). Koo (1988) reported an increase in juice acid content with increased rates of N and K. However, converse

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Table 2 Juice quality parameters of Hamlin oranges (Cleopatra mandarin rootstock) grown on a Tavares ne sand with different rates of N as water soluble granular fertilizer with optimal irrigation Year N rates (kg ha1 yr1) 112 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 ND, no data. Brix 10.89 0.17 10.06 0.11 10.48 0.22 10.97 0.34 11.19 0.20 10.92 0.28 Acid (%) 0.95 0.03 0.81 0.03 0.73 0.02 0.77 0.02 0.79 0.03 0.77 0.04 168 10.44 0.10 9.94 0.25 10.45 0.25 11.08 0.16 10.79 0.19 10.93 0.16 0.96 0.04 0.80 0.02 0.73 0.01 0.85 0.02 0.71 0.02 0.82 0.02 224 10.37 0.11 9.65 0.03 11.30 0.48 11.14 0.18 11.52 0.61 11.44 0.17 1.00 0.01 0.80 0.02 0.79 0.03 0.89 0.04 0.85 0.04 0.85 0.04 6.67 0.22 6.15 0.08 6.91 0.09 6.74 0.08 6.68 0.34 5.98 0.22 280 10.25 0.19 9.66 0.20 10.30 0.19 10.97 0.23 11.34 0.64 11.10 0.31 0.95 0.04 0.81 0.02 0.74 0.04 0.84 0.04 0.82 0.04 0.95 0.03 6.45 0.17 5.90 0.42 6.55 0.12 6.75 0.07 6.46 0.28 6.18 0.23 336 ND ND ND 10.64 0.21 10.55 0.27 11.27 0.44 ND ND ND 0.84 0.02 0.79 0.04 0.94 0.04 ND ND ND 6.71 0.14 5.90 0.37 6.12 0.14

Soluble solids in juice (kg (100 kg fruit)1) 6.77 0.14 6.56 0.22 6.12 0.21 6.29 0.19 6.81 0.18 6.71 0.19 6.78 0.13 6.70 0.12 6.47 0.19 6.24 0.17 5.88 0.12 5.87 0.07

was true with respect to increasing rates of P. In this experiment, P rates were also increased along with N and K rates. Thus the acid content did not change across a wide range of N, P, and K. Therefore, the results of this study support that both juice quality and external fruit quality parameters are not inuenced over a wide range of nutrient rates at a xed ratio of N:P:K. 3.8. Leaf nutritional status Analysis of six-month-old spring ush leaves of citrus trees for mineral nutrients provide a valuable tool to evaluate the nutritional status of the trees. This is an indicator of tree response to different fertilizer management. The mean spring ush leaf N concentrations over 19961998 as a function of N rates by each N source treatment are shown in Fig. 5. The fertigation treatment overall had greater mean leaf N concentration as compared to the other N sources. The WSG and WSG + FRT treatments had very similar mean leaf N concentrations. The lower leaf N concentration in the CRF treatments as compared to the other N sources is indicative of the need to re-evaluate the timing of CRF application and/or changes in the CRF formulation. The leaf N response followed a typical second order regression, indicating a rapid response at the rst N rate increase of 112 168 kg ha1, followed by a rather slow or no response at the higher N rates. In the case of the WSG source (112 336 kg ha1), there was a trend of decline in spring ush leaf N concentrations as the N rate increased from 280 to 336 kg ha1 yr1. This regression function for the WSG

source showed a point of inection at 260 kg ha1 N rate. This is an indication that the optimal N rate for the trees for adequate N nutrition of the trees is 260 kg ha1. This study

Fig. 5. Three years (199698) mean data showing N concentration in 46month-old spring ush leaves vs. N rates in different forms applied annually to >20-year-old Hamlin orange trees on Cleopatra mandarin rootstock grown in a Tavares ne sand with optimal irrigation.

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demonstrates remarkable similarity between the optimal N rate derived on the basis of fruit yield response (as discussed above) as well as that on the basis of 46-month-old spring ush leaf N concentration. Further analysis of the leaf mineral status data was done using all data over six years duration of this study. Regression analysis was done, between the relative fruit yield and the spring ush leaf N concentrations, on the pooled data for all treatments and replications separately for the WSG and FRT sources (Fig. 6). Relative fruit yield was calculated as percent of the maximum fruit yield across all treatments and replications for each N source and by each year. Due to the alternate bearing habit of the citrus trees, the fruit yield shows alternate low and high yields. Therefore, using relative yield will allow pooling multiple years of yield data for response evaluations. Typically, the fruit yield increased with an increase in leaf N concentration to an optimal level. Further increase in leaf N concentration leads to a decrease in fruit yield due to the effect of luxury consumption of N. The spring ush leaf N concentration varied from 19 to 30 g kg1. The second order regression response function provided the basis to identify the range of optimal N concentration at 2327 g kg1 for the WSG and 2428 g kg1 for the FRT sources (Fig. 6). The optimal

Fig. 7. Six years response data showing relative fruit yield vs. K concentration in 46-month-old spring ush leaves of >20-year-old Hamlin orange trees on Cleopatra mandarin rootstock grown in a Tavares ne sand with varying rates of N, P, K as either water soluble granular (WSG) form applied four times per year or fertigation (FRT) applied 15 times per year with optimal irrigation. Second order regression response function was used to identify the optimal leaf K concentration.

Fig. 6. Six years response data showing relative fruit yield vs. N concentration in 46-month-old spring ush leaves of >20-year-old Hamlin orange trees on Cleopatra mandarin rootstock grown in a Tavares ne sand with varying rates of N, P, K as either water soluble granular (WSG) form applied four times per year or fertigation (FRT) applied 15 times per year with optimal irrigation. Second order regression response function was used to identify the optimal leaf N concentration.

Fig. 8. Six years response data showing relative fruit yield vs. P concentration in 46-month-old spring ush leaves of >20-year-old Hamlin orange trees on Cleopatra mandarin rootstock grown in a Tavares ne sand with varying rates of P as water soluble granular (WSG) form applied four times per year with optimal irrigation.

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range of N concentration in 46-month-old spring ush leaves is remarkably similar to that reported previously, i.e. 2527 g kg1 (Koo et al., 1984). Similar analysis of six years data for spring ush K concentrations revealed that the optimal K concentration ranges in 46-month-old spring ush leaves were 15 19 g kg1 for the WSG source and 1418 g kg1 for the FRT source (Fig. 7). This range compared favorably with that previously published, 1217 g kg1 (Koo et al., 1984). No signicant regression was evident between the relative fruit yield and spring ush leaf P concentrations across all six years of the study (Fig. 8). This suggests that fruit yield was independent of spring ush leaf P concentration in the range of 0.82.4 g kg1. This is contrary to the previous reports of optimal leaf P concentration for citrus trees, i.e. 1.21.6 g kg1 (Koo et al., 1984).

Syvertsen, L.R. Parsons, and T.A. Wheaton have provided valuable suggestions for this study and suggested technology transfer to the citrus growers at various stages of this project.

References
Alva, A.K., Tucker, D.P.H., 1997. Surface contamination of citrus leaves for macro- and micro-nutrient analysis. Proc. Fla. State Hort. Soc. 110, 86 88. Alva, A.K., Fares, A., 1998. A new technique for continuous monitoring of soil moisture content to improve citrus irrigation. Proc. Fla. State Hort. Sci. 111, 113117. Alva, A.K., Paramasivam, S., 1998. Nitrogen management for high yield and quality of citrus in sandy soils. Soil Sci. Soc. Am. J. 62, 13351342. Alva, A.K., Fares, A., 1999. Precision irrigation scheduling in sandy soils using capacitance probe. In: Proc. Int. Dahlia Greidinger Symp. on Nutrient Management under Salinity and Water Stress Haifa, Israel, February 28March 4, pp. 267279. Alva, A.K., Paramasivam, S., Graham, W.D., 1998. Impact of nitrogen management practices on nutritional status and yield of Valencia orange trees and groundwater nitrate. J. Environ. Qual. 27, 904910. Alva, A.K., Paramasivam, S., Graham, W.D., Wheaton, T.A., 2003. Best nitrogen and irrigation management practices for citrus production in sandy soils. Water Air Soil Pollut. 143, 139154. Alva, A.K., Paramasivam, S., Fares, A., Obreza, T.A., Schumann, A.W., 2005. Nitrogen best management practice for citrus trees. III. Nitrogen fate, transport, and components of N budget. Sci. Hort. (in review). Avinimelech, Y., Raveh, J., 1976. Nitrate leakage from soils differing in texture and nitrogen load. J. Environ. Qual. 5, 7982. Bennett, W.F., 1993. Nutrient Deciencies and Toxicities in Crop Plants. APS Press, St. Paul, MN, p. 202. Bingham, F.T., Davis, S., Shade, E., 1971. Water relations, salt balance, and nitrate leaching losses of a 960-acre citrus watershed. Soil Sci. 112, 410418. Castle, W.S, 1980a. Citrus root systems: Their structure, function, growth, and relationship to tree performance. In: Proc. Fourth Int. Soc. Citric., Sydney, Australia, August 1523, 1980. International Society of Citriculture, Sydney, Australia, pp. 6269. Castle, W.S., 1980b. Fibrous root distribution of pineapple orange trees on rough lemon root stock at three tree spacings. J. Am. Soc. Hort. Sci. 105, 478480. Collins, A.G., Johnson, A.I., 1988. Groundwater Contamination: Field Methods. American Society for Testing and Materials, Baltimore, MD, p. 491. Dasberg, S., 1987. Nitrogen fertilization in citrus orchards. Plant Soil 100, 19. Dasberg, S., Bielorai, H., Erner, J., 1983. Nitrogen fertigation of Shamouti oranges. Plant Soil 75, 4151. Dasberg, S., Erner, Y., Bielorai, H., 1984. Nitrogen balance in a citrus orchard. J. Environ. Qual. 13, 353356. Davies, F.S., Albrigo, L.G., 1994. Citrus CAB International Wallingford UK, p. 254. Fares, A., Alva, A.K., 1999. Estimation of citrus evapotranspiration by soil water mass balance. Soil Sci. 164, 302310. Fares, A., Alva, A.K., 2000a. Evaluation of capacitance probe for monitoring soil moisture content in a sandy Entisol prole with citrus trees. Irrigat. Sci. 19, 5764. Fares, A., Alva, A.K., 2000b. Soil water components based on capacitance probes in a sandy soil. Soil Sci. Soc. Am. J. 64, 311318. Hallberg, G.R., 1989. Nitrate in groundwater in the United States. In: Follett, R.F. (Ed.), Nitrogen Management and Groundwater Protection. Elsevier Sci. Pub., Amsterdam, The Netherlands, pp. 3574. Hanlon, E.A., Obreza, T.A., Alva, A.K., 1995. Tissue and soil analysis. In: Tucker, D.P.H., Alva, A.K., Jackson, L.K., Wheaton, T.A. (Eds.), Univ.

4. Conclusion This six year eld study using highly productive Hamlin orange trees demonstrated that the N requirement for fruit production is 2.22.3 kg tonne1 (Mg) of fruit (fresh wt. basis) regardless of using either WSG or FRT sources, provided irrigation scheduling is done carefully and that fertilizer placement and timing of application are managed to improve nutrient uptake efciency and to minimize N losses. This N requirement for unit weight of fruit production is much lower than the previous recommendation of 4.4 kg tonne1 of fruit (fresh wt. basis). The improved management of fertilizer and irrigation contributed to enhanced N uptake efciency. Fruit yield and quality responses to various N management programs suggest that optimal N rate for high fruit production is about 260 kg N ha1 yr1 provided optimal irrigation scheduling and best management of fertilizer application are followed. Six years data suggest that the optimal concentration of N and K in 46-month-old spring ush leaves were in the range of 2328 and 1419 g kg1, respectively.

Acknowledgments This research was made possible by funding from the Florida Department of Environmental Protection (FL DEP). We appreciate the support from David Vogel and James Dodson of the FL DEP, and Richard Budell and Marlene Czerniak of the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services (FL DACS). We also appreciate the assistance of A. Fares, B.R. Khakural, M. Mozaffari, K.H. Hostler, D. van Clief, R. Rubio Jr., M. Wilson, and T. Baugh. We are grateful to the owners/management team of Kahn Grove, Incorporated, Sebring, FL, (W. Dubberly, J. Whitakar, and A. Tucks) for their generous approval to conduct this study in their property and for their cooperation and assistance during the course of this study. Drs. D.P.H. Tucker, J.P.

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