Broccoli Nitrogen Uptake and Partitioning

Crops:

Almonds

Barley

Broccoli

Cauliflower

Citrus

Corn for Grain

Corn for Silage

Cotton

Grapevines

Lettuce

Pistachio

Rice

Strawberries

Tomatoes

Walnut

Wheat

Seasonal N Uptake

The N uptake curve is based on a study from Canada where the crop was fertilized with 179 lbs N/acre and the marketable yield reached 122 cwt/acre. Broccoli N uptake was determined by harvesting the aboveground biomass. A rate study showed that the N application rate has a considerable effect on plant N accumulation (Bakker et al., 2009b).
Nitrogen uptake was slow until the plants reached the 10-leaf stage. During the second half of the season, N uptake was high and remained at a high level until harvest.

Nitrogen Partitioning

Roughly one third of the total aboveground N is removed with the harvested parts (inflorescence and top of the stem).

Nitrogen Removed at Harvest

Broccoli yield and N removed at harvest from different studies.

Links

Broccoli Fertilization Guidelines

References

Bakker, C.J., Swanton, C.J., McKeown, A.W., 2009a. Broccoli growth in response to increasing rates of pre-plant nitrogen. I Yield and quality. Canadian Journal of Plant Science 89, 527-537.

Bakker, C.J., Swanton, C.J., McKeown, A.W., 2009b. Broccoli growth in response to increasing rates of pre-plant nitrogen. II. Dry matter and nitrogen accumulation. Canadian Journal of Plant Science 89, 539-548.

Rincon L., Saez J., Perez Crespo J.A., Gomez Lopez M.D., Pellicer C., 1999. Crecimiento y absorcion de nutrientes del brocoli. Investigación Agraria. Producción y Protección Vegetales 14, 225-236.

Thompson, T.L. White, S.A., Walworth, J., Sower, G.J., 2003. Fertigation frequency of subsurface drip-irrigated broccoli. Soil Science Society of America Journal 67, 910–918.

Zebarth, B.J., Bowen, P.A., Toivonen, P.M.A., 1995. Influence of nitrogen fertilization on broccoli yield, nitrogen accumulation and apparent fertilizer-nitrogen recovery. Canadian Journal of Plant Science 75, 717-725.