Leaching of Nitrogen in Peat Soil.

Peat soils collected from two sites that have been under continuous pineapple cultivation for 21 (site 1) and 42 (site 2) years were used to study the loss of applied nitrogen (N) and its retention in different soil column depths after leaching for a period of 28 days in laboratory conditions. Nitrogen concentration in the leachate of the fertilized peat soils declined with increased pore volumes of the soil columns. The cumulative losses of N increased with the duration of leaching both at site 1 and site 2. About 53 and 66% of the applied N was lost through leaching from site 1 and site 2, respectively. Total nitrogen retention at different soil column depths varied significantly at both sites. Nitrogen accumulation increased with increased soil column depths at site 1, but it declined with increased depths at site 2. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]