Nutrient and Water Use of Fresh Market Spinach.

In recent years, vegetable growers on the central coast of California have come under increasing regulatory pressure to improve nutrient management and reduce nitrate losses to ground and surface waters. To achieve this goal, growers must understand the nutrient uptake and water use characteristics of their crops. For fresh market spinach (Spinacia oleracea), production methods and cultivars have greatly changed in the last 10-15 years, and as a result, few publications are available on nutrient uptake by modern spinach production methods. This study evaluated nutrient uptake and water use by spinach to provide strategies to better manage nitrogen (N) fertilizer and irrigation applications. In 2011, four fertilizer trials and a survey of 11 commercial fields of spinach grown on high-density plantings on 80-inch beds were conducted on the central coast of California. During the first 2 weeks of the crop cycle, N, phosphorus (P), and potassium (K) uptake was 7.0, 0.6, and 7.2 lb/acre, respectively. In the subsequent 2-3 weeks before harvest the N, P, and K uptake rate was linear and was 4.3, 0.6, and 7.8 lb/ acre per day, respectively. N uptake at harvest for the three columercial size categories baby, teenage, and bunch was 74, 91, and 120 lb/acre N, respectively. Of the N in aboveground biomass at harvest, 41% was left in the field following mechanical or hand harvest. Growers at 14 of 15 study sites applied on average 111% more N than was taken up in aboveground biomass at harvest. Results from four fertility trials showed that first crops of the season had low initial soil nitrate concentrations (≤10 ppm), and an at-planting fertilizer application was necessary for maximum yields. For fields following a previous crop (second- or third-cropped) with initial soil nitrate concentrations >20 ppm, at-planting and midseason fertilizer applications could be greatly reduced or eliminated without jeopardizing yield. Rooting depth and density evaluations at four sites showed that 95% of roots were located in the top 16 inches of soil at harvest. To mitigate environmentally negative N losses, the N use efficiency (NUE) can be increased by the use of soil testing done at two critical time points: at-planting and before the first midseason fertilizer application. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]