Fertigation. A Tool for Efficient Fertilizer and Water Management

Sound water management has the potential to improve fertilizer/nutrient use efficiency. The introduction of well-tested, efficient fertilizer application through irrigation water or “fertigation” techniques could help turn vast areas of arid and semi-arid land in many parts of the world into farmland, as well as preventing water from being wasted in conventional irrigation systems. This book is a joint project of IFA and the International Potash Institute (IPI). It presents information relevant to soil-water-fertilizer interactions during fertigation. The authors have brought together various types of expertise on plant physiology, plant nutrition and irrigation, which are synthesized into practical knowledge related to fertigation in commercial field and greenhouse operations. Readers will find advice on selecting appropriate fertilizer products for fertigation of a number of field and horticultural crops. The suitability of some fertilizers for fertigation is explained from the point of view of the plant’s physiological demand at different growth stages, the type of soil or growing medium, climatic conditions and irrigation water quality. This publication is available as a hardcopy and as a pdf.