Effects of nitrogen fertigation frequency on yield and nitrogen retention in drip-irrigated cotton

Fertigation techniques have been widely used in drip-irrigated cotton. The timing of nitrogen (N) fertilizer injections then becomes a management question producers need guidance on. This study investigated the effect of nitrogen (N) fertigation frequency on drip-irrigated cotton. Experiments were conducted in the Southeastern Anatolia Region of Turkey in 2011 and 2012. A split-plot experimental design was applied. The main plots contained two different lateral spaces: A, one drip-line (lateral) per row; and B, one lateral for every two rows. Sub-plots were designed with different frequencies of fertigation as follows: a, the application of fixed amount of N at each irrigation cycle (5 days); b, the application of fixed amount of N every two irrigation cycles (10 days); and c, the application of one-fifth of the total N between the first irrigation and first flowering, two-fifths between the first flowering and formation of the first boll, and one-fifth between the formation of the first boll and last irrigation cycle. One-fifth of the total N was applied to the soil at sowing in all treatment regimens. The maximum cotton yield (4120 kg ha−1) and highest total N content (2.57–2.94%) in the leaves were obtained with one lateral for every two rows and the application of fixed amount of N every two irrigation cycles (10 days). One-fifth of the total N might be applied to the soil at sowing, and the remaining N should be applied in equal doses (an average of 7 fertigations) every two irrigation cycles (10 days) by fertigation. However, further research fertigation methods for cotton, including the amount of N that needs to be applied and the use of different injection systems, is required.