Isabel FERREIRA, Margarida ARROBAS, José MOUTINHO-PEREIRA, Carlos M. CORREIA, Manuel Angelo RODRIGUES

The effect of nitrogen applications on the growth of young olive trees and nitrogen use efficiency

Two field trials FieldExp1 and FieldExp2 and a pot experiment PotExp were c0onducted over a period of 3 years to assess olive tree response to nitrogen N applications and to estimate apparent N recovery. FieldExp1 was installed in a 3-year-old olive grove. FieldExp2 consisted of a plantation of young rooted plants. Two treatments were applied in both experiments: N application and a nonfertilized control. In PotExp, 4 N rates were used. In FieldExp1, olive yield significantly increased with applied N in only 1 of the 3 growing seasons. In FieldExp2, aboveground dry matter yield significantly increased with N application. In PotExp, total dry matter yield displayed a typical saturation curve in response to N rates. The poor response of olive yield to N application might be due to the reduced amount of N removed in the crop, and also to the negative interaction found between N application and water deficit. Apparent N recovery reached values varying from 13.1% in FieldExp2 to ~100% in PotExp. The results indicate that the olive response to N and N use efficiency seem to be influenced more by the agroecological conditions defining target yield and N loss, rather than by plant species.

Keywords:

Apparent nitrogen recovery, field trials, Olea europaea, olive yield, pot experiment,

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