Leaching of fertilizer nutrients and widespread NO3-N c contamination of dr
inking water wells in proximity to citrus growing regions of central Florid
a are a serious concern, We evaluated NO3-N distribution in soil solution a
t various depths in the vadose zone, and N leaching below the root zone for
two cropping seasons under the canopy of 21-yr-old Hamlin orange I Citrus
sinensis (L,) Osbeck I trees on Cleopatra mandarin (Citrus reticulata Blanc
o) rootstock, on an entisol of central Florida. The treatments included 112
, 168, 224, and 280 kg N ha(-1) yr(-1) as either dry granular fertilizer (D
GF; broadcast, in 4 equal doses) or fertigation (FRT; 15 applications yr(-1
)), and 56, 112, and 168 N kg ha(-1) yr(-1) as controlled-release fertilize
r (CRF; single application yr(-1). irrigation was scheduled using recommend
ed tensiometer set points as guidelines, with a target wetting depth of 90
cm, The NO3-N was measured in soil solutions bi-weekly at 60-, 120-, and 24
0-cm depths using suction lysimeters (SLs) installed under the tree canopy,
The 240-cm depth sample represented soil solution below the rooting depth
of the trees, and the NO3-N at this depth could contaminate groundwater. At
the 60- or 120-cm depths, the NO3-N concentrations occasionally peaked at
12 to 100 mg L-1, but at 240 cm NO3-N concentrations mostly remained below
10 mg L-1 The careful irrigation management, split fertilizer application,
and timing of application contributed to the low leaching of NO3-N below th
e root zone. Calculated NO3-N leaching losses below the rooting depth incre
ased with increasing rate of N application and the amount of water drained,
and accounted for 1 to 16% of applied fertilizer N.