Gordon Johnson, Extension Vegetable & Fruit Specialist;gcjohn@udel.edu
Each year we see problems with vegetable crops related to low pH in plastic mulched beds. A common scenario is a field with sandy soil (loamy sand, sandy loam) that has not been limed in the last 2 years. The starting pH of beds in his situation will usually be 5.5-6.0. Granular or liquid nitrogen fertilizers applied prior to or at bed formation and nitrogen fertilizers applied through the drip irrigation system during fertigation will commonly consist of ammonium sulfate, urea, ammonium nitrate or UAN (urea-ammonium nitrate) solutions. All of these fertilizers are acidifying because the ammonium which they contain (urea releases ammonium nitrogen as it reacts with the soil). Ammonium will convert to nitrate in the soil, a process called nitrification, and will release hydrogen (H+) ions thus dropping the pH. As a result, pH in the plastic mulched beds get progressively lower throughout the growing season. Beds with a starting pH of 5.5 can drop down into the 4s. The largest drops in pH will be in the wetted area around the drip emitter and drier areas of the bed will higher pH.
As pH drops, availability of magnesium and calcium declines while manganese availability increases, often to toxic levels. Below pH of 5.2, the chemistry of the soil changes and aluminum is released into the soil solution at increasing levels, further acidifying the soil. This free aluminum also is very harmful to plant roots because aluminum interferes with calcium, can bind with phosphorus, can reduce magnesium uptake and can interfere with cell expansion at root tips, effectively stopping root tip development. Most of the active mineral nutrient uptake occurs in the region just behind the root tips. Without further root tip growth, nutrient uptake will become limited. Effective rooting volume is also reduced, thus placing the plant under addition stress. In severe cases, plants can die.
Manganese toxicity is a common problem in cantaloupes and other melons at low pHs (below 5.2). Symptoms in cantaloupes will initially show up as small yellow spots on upper leaf surfaces. On lower leaf surfaces you will see dead spots with water soaked rings around these dead spots. As the deficiency worsens, these leaf areas will turn brown and die.
Managing plastic mulched bed pH starts with making sure that fields are limed the fall before beds are to be made. Spring applications can also be made to the area but full lime reaction should not be expected. Manage fertilizer programs so that large pH drops do not occur. This means switching some or all of the nitrogen program to nitrate sources – calcium nitrate and potassium nitrate would be examples.
If marginal pHs are encountered after plastic is laid (below 5.8), consideration should be given to eliminating ammonium or urea containing fertilizers and switching to calcium nitrate and potassium nitrate sources for fertigation. Both these fertilizers cause a basic reaction in soils because plant roots excrete hydroxides and carbonates as they take up the nitrate. There are few other materials that can be used to raise the soil pH through the drip system once plastic is laid. One option is potassium carbonate which is alkaline and thus will raise the pH. It is fully soluble and can be made in liquid forms.
If pH is below 5.0 it will be difficult to raise the pH enough to eliminate manganese toxicity through the drip system. Foliar fertilization can help alleviate deficiencies that occur at low bed pHs (such as calcium or magnesium). Make sure that the foliar fertilizer does not contain manganese and eliminate any manganese containing fungicides in disease control programs.