With growers now facing increasingly stringent regulations designed to minimize nutrient losses to the environment, this guide outlines a fresh take on fertilization best practices for the industry. Nutrient management is critical to successful vegetable production. Given the high value and exacting market standards for size, appearance, and postharvest quality for vegetable crops, fertilizer management practices have focused on optimizing production across a wide range of field conditions. While effective in producing good crops, these practices are not necessarily reflective of input costs or environmental protection. Drawing on 25 years of industry experience, the author outlines the principles of nutrient management that are broadly applicable across crops and production regions. Growers, PCAs, and fertilizer industry professionals will find a practical understanding of crop nutrient requirements, soil nutrient availability, the value and limitations of soil and plant nutrient monitoring, and environmental protection in these pages.

This collection reviews current research on understanding nutrient cycles, the ways crops process nutrients, the environmental effects of fertilizer use and how this understanding can be used to improve nutrient use efficiency for a more resource-efficient and climate-smart agriculture. Parts 1-3 summarise research on the primary macronutrients: nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium. Chapter review what we know about nutrient cycles, crop nutrient processing, potential environmental effects and ways of optimising nutrient use efficiency (NUE). The fourth section of the book discusses secondary macronutrients and micronutrients including: calcium, magnesium, sulphur, zinc, boron, manganese and molybdenum. The final two parts of the book review research on optimising fertiliser use. Chapters cover topics such as assessing nutrient availability, decision support systems for optimising crop nutrition, advances in site-specific nutrient management and advances in integrated plant nutrient management. Other chapters discuss enhanced efficiency fertilisers, the use of bio-effectors/bio-stimulants, fertigation techniques and the use of organic amendments. With its distinguished editor and international team of expert authors, this will be a standard reference on optimising crop nutrition for the crop science and farming community.

For courses in Soil Fertility, Nutrient Management, and Plant Nutrition in Agriculture. Soil Fertility and Fertilizers: An Introduction to Nutrient Management, Eighth Edition, provides a thorough understanding of the biological, chemical, and physical properties affecting soil fertility and plant nutrition. Covering all aspects of nutrient management for profitable crop production, the text pays particular attention to minimizing the environmental impact of soil and fertilizer management. The eighth edition of this proven text has been substantially revised to reflect rapidly advancing knowledge and technologies in both plant nutrition and nutrient management.

High-quality plants and aesthetically striking landscapes are trademarks of the western United States. The climatic zones resulting from the interaction of the cool Pacific Ocean and dramatic mountain ranges allow a very diverse array of plants to be grown in the West. Western Fertilizer Handbook, Third Horticulture Edition presents information clearly to a lay audience while also being useful for advanced field practitioners. The book’s first five chapters provide basic information on best practices for growing plants, followed by chapters on fertilizers. After an introduction to hydroponic techniques, the handbook concludes with diagnostic techniques and nutrient management guidelines. Each chapter ends with suggestions for supplementary reading that allow the reader to explore topics more deeply. The appendices gather useful tables and techniques for managing and working with fertilizers. Turf and ornamental professionals are under increasing pressure to recommend and use sustainable practices. By improving one’s knowledge of the growth and development of plants and the media, water, and fertilizer used to grow them, the turf and ornamental industry can continue to produce the stunning landscapes the world associates with the western United States.