2007 Volume 6 Issue 2 Pages 195-199
Spinach plants (Spinacia oleracea L.) were grown in a greenhouse using fertigation based on cumulative solar radiation, and effects on plant growth, nitrate concentration in the leaves, and nitrate utilization/application ratio were studied. The relation of water and NO3-N absorption to cumulative solar radiation was initially determined in hydroponically grown spinach, then the stepwise fertigation program was set to 1.0, 1.2 and 1.4 times the standard quantity. With 1.2 fertigation treatment, plant growth and leaf color did not differ from those of plants cultivated by conventional soil culture. Total nitrate supplied to the soil under fertigation treatment were about half of that at soil culture. The nitrate utilization/application ratio was increased from 44% in soil culture to 82% under fertigation treatment. The nitrate concentration in spinach leaves under fertigation treatments tended to be lower compared to those under soil culture. In addition, the production of spinach with lower nitrate and without effects on growth seemed to be feasible by the withdrawal of NO3-N in the drip solution for several days before harvest.
