Issue |
E3S Web Conf.
Volume 489, 2024
4th International GIRE3D Congress “Participatory and Integrated Management of Water Resources in Arid Zones” (GIRE3D 2023)
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Article Number | 08001 | |
Number of page(s) | 6 | |
Section | Conserving Water in Agriculture: New Technologies and Management Strategies | |
DOI | https://doi.org/10.1051/e3sconf/202448908001 | |
Published online | 09 February 2024 |
Impact of Nitrogen Fertilization on Soil Nitrate Concentrations in an Onion Field in the Saiss Basin
1 Soil, Plant, and Water Laboratory, National Institute of Agronomic Research, km 10, Road Haj Kaddour, P O Box 578 VN, Meknes, Morocco.
2 Department of Geology Faculty of Sciences, Moulay Ismail, University, P O Box 11202, Zitoune, Meknes, Morocco.
3 Laboratory of Geo-engineering and Environment, Department of Geology, Faculty of Sciences, Moulay Ismail University, P O Box 11202, Zitoune, Meknes, Morocco.
* Corresponding author: nessah.chaimae@gmail.com
High nitrogen (N) fertilizer rates can result in excessive nitrate (NO3-N) in soils and groundwater. The Saiss basin is an agricultural area in Morocco, where substantial increases in nonpoint source pollution from excessive N fertilization is commonly observed. The purpose of this study was to determine the short-term effect of N fertilizer application rates on soil NO3-N and soil water contents (SWC) in an onion (Allium cepa L.) field over two consecutive years (2021 and 2022). The field experiment was conducted in a randomized complete block design. Six N rates, namely 0, 90, 135, 180, 225, and 270 Kg N/ha were considered in drip-irrigated onion crops. Soil samples were collected from five consecutive soil layers, namely 0-20, 20-40, 40-60, 60-80, and 80-100 cm, and analyzed for NO3-N contents and SWC. SWC were lower before irrigation and increased significantly after irrigation for both seasons. There was no significant effect of N rates on SWC. Soil NO3-N decreased significantly with time. In the first season, lowest NO3-N levels was observed after harvest for all N rates. Visually, a marked accumulation of nitrate in soil was observed in the three highest N rates after harvest. Statistically, N rates did not show significant effect on soil NO3-N (p>0,05) in 2021 and 2022. This finding may be explained by the predominance of the denitrification process at Douyet station.
© The Authors, published by EDP Sciences, 2024
This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License 4.0, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
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