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IPI Research Topics No. 23 Fertigation: Fertilization through irrigation.

by J. Hagin, M. Sneh and A. Lowengart-Aycicegi.

Irrigation is an important input required to increase crop production to feed a still growing global population. However, increasing scarcity of water requires improvements in the efficient use of water in agriculture. In contrast to the traditional surface irrigation, pressurised micro-irrigation systems fulfil this need. Consequently, the area under pressurised micro-irrigation is expanding rapidly.

This new technique not only revolutionises the application of water, it also requires a reassessment of how plant nutrients are managed. Simple broadcast application of fertilizers on the soil surface, as done with flood irrigation, will not work because only a fraction of soil is wetted with micro-irrigation. With fertigation, that is applying fertilizers with the irrigation water, the nutrients are placed directly into the wetted soil zone where roots are active. This modern agro-technique provides an excellent opportunity to both maximise yield and increase water and fertilizer use efficiency, thus, conserving resources and minimising the risk of environmental pollution.

Unfortunately, although the technique is available, there is still widespread uncertainty on how best to apply the nutrients both in time and quantity to meet the requirements of the plant. IPI-Research Topics No. 23 details the basic prerequisites for the successful application of water and fertilizers. It discusses in detail the nutrient requirements of plants and relates these to the timing and amounts of fertilizer to apply. One chapter deals with the necessary monitoring and controlling of fertigation. Examples of how to calculate the water and nutrient requirement complete the booklet.

The IPI-Research Topics No. 23 (81 pages, 11 tables, 13 figures and 18 coloured plates) is an important reference for students, advisors in water and fertilizer management and for farmers.

81 pages, J. Hagin, M. Sneh and A. Lowengart-Aycicegi