Monitoring nitrogen leaching under different fertiliser applications during the early growth stage of sugarcane using GS3 sensors: a case study on Negros Island, Philippines

ABSTRACT

Nitrogen (N) is normally applied twice during sugarcane cultivation on Negros Island in the Philippines. As the first application is carried out during the early growth stage, there is a high possibility that N is not absorbed sufficiently by the sugarcane and a large amount of N may be leached with percolating water. To investigate this leaching, we monitored the vertical movement of soil water and soil solutes using GS3 dielectric moisture and electrical conductivity (EC) sensors in a sugarcane field on Negros Island. The monitoring was conducted after the first N application at different application rates (50% or 100% of the recommended rate) and timings (immediately or 30 days after planting [DAP]). The EC values increased when 100%-N was applied immediately after planting, indicating that N leached into the deeper soil layer. The monitoring results suggest that the applied N did not remain in the root zone (due to leaching) and was not replenished until the second application, when the absorption ability of the sugarcane was high. Conversely, when 100%-N was applied at 30 DAP, the applied N remained in the root zone until the second application. When 50%-N was applied at 30 DAP, the increase in EC was small compared to the 100%-N application. These results indicate that applying N immediately after planting at the recommended rate led to an insufficient nutrient supply for the sugarcane, as well as the loss of N fertiliser via leaching.

GRAPHICAL ABSTRACT

KEYWORDS:

• Capacitance moisture probe
• groundwater pollution
• nitrate leaching
• fertiliser application
• tropical island

Acknowledgments

We would like to thank the sugarcane farmers who assisted with our on-site experiments and Mr. Jesus P. Bulanon, who assisted with our investigations. We also thank Ms. Yumiko Inoue and Mr. Akihisa Otani for their assistance with the data collection and analyses.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).