by Terrence T. Nennich, Extension Educator, University of Minnesota and Carl Rosen, Professor, Dept. of Soil, Water and Climate, University of Minnesota.
Presented at the 2015 Minnesota Statewide High Tunnel Conference, Beginning Grower Workshop.
Managing and Amending Soils for Productive Yields in High Tunnels, 2015
1. Managing and
Amending Soils for
Productive Yields
in High Tunnels
Terrance T. Nennich, Fruit and
Vegetable Production
Carl Rosen, Dept of Soil Water and
Climate
16. 16
“Book Values” for Tomatoes
N P K
Plant Part -------- lb per ton F.W. ------------
Fruit 3.4 0.4 6.0
Vines 2.6 0.4 3.4
Total 6.0 0.8 9.4
A 50 ton yield/A would require:
300 lbs N/A
40 lbs P/A (92 lbs P2O5)
470 lbs K/A (564 lbs K2O)
17. 17
Tomato Fertilizer Use 5lb Plant
N P K
Plant Part -------- lb per ton F.W. ------------
Fruit 3.4 0.4 6.0
Vines 2.6 0.4 3.4
Total 6.0 0.8 9.4
Field Production 13.5 ton: ( 5 Lbs
Plant)
81 lbs N/A
11 lbs P/A (25.3 lbs P2O5)
127 lbs K/A (152 lbs K2O)
18. 18
Tomato Fertilizer Use 20lb Plant
N P K
Plant Part -------- lb per ton F.W. ------------
Fruit 3.4 0.4 6.0
Vines 2.6 0.4 3.4
Total 6.0 0.8 9.4
A 50 ton yield/A would require: ( 20 Lbs
Plant)
300 lbs N/A
40 lbs P/A (92 lbs P2O5)
470 lbs K/A (564 lbs K2O)
19. 19
Tomato Fertilizer Use 40lb Plant
N P K
Plant Part -------- lb per ton F.W. ------------
Fruit 3.4 0.4 6.0
Vines 2.6 0.4 3.4
Total 6.0 0.8 9.4
A 100 ton yield/A would require: ( 40 Lbs
Plant)
600 lbs N/A
80 lbs P/A (184 lbs P2O5)
940 lbs K/A (1128 lbs K2O)
31. 31
Solubility of Common Fertilizers
Material Composition Salt index
Solubility
% N %P2O5 %K2O lbs/gal H20
Calcium nitrate1
15.5 0 0 53 8.5
Potassium nitrate 13.0 0 44 73 1.1
Ammonium nitrate 33.5 0 0 105 9.8
Urea 46.0 0 0 75 6.5
Ammonium sulfate2
21.0 0 0 69 5.9
Potassium chloride 0.0 0 60 116 2.3
Potassium sulfate2
0.0 0 50 46 0.6
Diammonium phosphate2
18.0 46 0 30 3.6
1
May cause clogging if irrigation water is high in bicarbonates
2
Not recommended for use with calcium nitrate or if irrigation water is high in calcium
35. 35
Meeting the Demands for Crops
with Different Requirements
Fertigate crops at different
times
– Allows for varying rates to be
applied
Fertigate to meet the
demands of the crop
needing the lowest amount
of nutrients
– Make up difference with
preplant fertilizer
41. 41
N and K Fertigation Schedule for
Tomatoes - lb/A basis
Days after Planting Daily N Weekly N Seasonal N Daily K2O Weekly K2O Seasonal K2O
----------------------------------------- lb/A--- ----------------------------------------------
Preplant ---- ---- 50.0 ---- ----- 100.0
0- 21 0.5 3.5 61.5 1.0 7.0 121.0
22- 49 0.7 4.9 81.1 1.4 9.8 160.2
50- 70 1.0 7.0 102.1 2.0 14.0 202.2
71- 91 1.1 7.7 125.2 2.2 15.4 248.4
92-112 1.0 7.0 146.2 2.0 14.0 290.4
42. 42
N and K Fertigation Schedule for
Tomatoes – oz per 100 ft basis
Days after Planting Daily N Weekly N Seasonal N Daily K2O Weekly K2O Seasonal K2O
--------------------------------- oz/100 linear row ft --------------------------------------
Preplant ---- ---- 7.3 ---- ----- 14.7
0- 21 0.07 0.50 9.0 0.15 1.1 17.8
22- 49 0.10 0.70 11.9 0.21 1.5 23.5
50- 70 0.15 1.05 15.0 0.29 2.0 29.7
71- 91 0.16 1.12 18.4 0.32 2.2 36.5
92-112 0.15 1.05 21.5 0.29 2.0 42.6
1
assumes 4 ft spacing between rows; lb/A X 0.147 = oz/100 linear ft of row.
lbs/A x 0.147 = oz/100 linear ft of row
44. 44
Amount of UAN Solution for Various N
Rates per Acre
N Rates
lbs/ac
1 2 3 4 6 8 10
28%
Gallons/ac
0.33 0.67 1.00 1.33 2.00 2.67 3.33
28% fl. oz/100
linear ft of
row1
0.39 0.78 1.16 1.55 2.32 3.10 3.88
1
Assumes a between row spacing of 4 ft.