Nutrient Uptake and Loss by Container-Grown Deciduous and Evergreen Rhododendron Nursery Plants

The influence of nitrogen (N) fertilizer application on plant allocation, uptake, and demand for other essential nutrients was evaluated from May 2005 to Feb. 2006 in evergreen Rhododendron ‘P.J.M. Compact’ (PJM) and ‘English Roseum’ (ER) and deciduous Rhododendron ‘Gibraltar’ (AZ) grown in containers filled with soilless substrate. Net nutrient uptake and losses were calculated using piecewise regression and uptake efficiency, root absorption capacity, aboveground demand, nutrient use efficiency, and uptake ratios between N and other nutrients (N ratios) were calculated using net uptake between harvest dates. Nitrogen application increased uptake rate of all nutrients, enhanced late-season uptake of many nutrients, and increased the rate of nutrient loss during the winter. Nutrient uptake often occurred as late as November in plants grown with N but was usually undetectable after September in plants grown without additional N fertilizer. Nutrient losses during the winter were not always associated with biomass loss and were related to differences in preferential nutrient allocation to different structures and the plant's ability to export nutrients before biomass loss. Plants with a greater potential for rapid growth were more capable of later-season nutrient uptake than plants with slower growth rates. Nitrogen availability altered N ratios indicating that when adding N to container-grown Rhododendron, fertilizers with higher ratios of N/phosphorus (PJM, AZ), N/calcium (PJM, ER), N/boron (PJM AZ), N/copper (PJM, ER), and N/iron (PJM, ER) and lower ratios of N/potassium (PJM, ER, AZ), N/sodium (PJM, ER, AZ), N/calcium (AZ), N/boron (ER), N/manganese (AZ), and N/zinc (ER) may be needed to optimize growth and minimize nutrient inputs. Increasing N availability altered uptake efficiency, root absorption capacity, aboveground demand, and nutrient use efficiency for several nutrients, indicating that changes in N management practices need to consider how altering N application rates may influence the plant's ability to take up and use other nutrients. This information can be used to develop fertilizer formulations to minimize excess application of nutrients and to evaluate the potential effects of altering N management practices on use of production resources. Our results indicate that nutrient management strategies for perennial crops such as Rhododendron need to take into consideration not only the nutrient demand for current growth, but also how to optimize nutrient availability for uptake that contributes to future growth potential and end-product quality.