Nitrogen fertilization to broccoli cultivars at different planting times: Yield and nitrogen use

Abstract The effects of three nitrogen (N) fertilizer rates (0, 120, and 240 kg N ha−1) and two planting times (May or late June/July) on yield and N use of the early cultivar ‘Milady’ and the late cultivar ‘Marathon’ of broccoli (Brassica oleracea var. italica) were investigated on three silty loam soils varying in soil mineral N (Nmin) in the southernmost part of Norway during 1999 and 2001. In all crops receiving fertilizer, rapid uptake of N started about three weeks after planting. The relative yield of broccoli heads increased with increasing soil available N (fertilizer N plus Nmin) at planting to 200–250 kg N ha−1 and then levelled off. The two lower fertilizer rates were more restrictive to yields in early-planted than in late-planted crops. A general increase in harvest index with increasing N rate reflected a stronger effect of N on the head yield than on the total above ground biomass production. The apparent recovery of fertilizer N decreased with increasing N rate and was on average 74% in t...