Abstract:

To explore the efficient vegetable production in South China, data from field experiments in vegetable producing areas were collected to analyze the effects of phosphorus and potassium fertilizers on yield and nutrient absorption by vegetables under the experimental conditions. In addition, these data were also used for evaluating partial factor productivity (PFP), agronomic efficiency (AE), apparent recovery efficiency (ARE), physiological efficiency (PE), fertilizer contribution rate (FCR) and soil contribution rate (SCR) of phosphorus and potassium fertilizers. The results showed that the application of phosphorus and potassium fertilizers to vegetables (leaf, gourd and leguminous vegetables) had positive effects on vegetable yield and adsorption of phosphorus and potassium nutrients. For leaf, gourd, and leguminous vegetables, the average PFP_P was 781.9, 257.6 and 211.9 kg/kg, respectively; AE_P was 30.5, 64.1 and 23.1 kg/kg, respectively; ARE_P was 17.2%, 9.7% and 6.1%, respectively; PE_P was 222.3, 370.6 and 292.7 kg/kg, respectively; FCR was 16.4%, 19.4% and 12.9%, respectively; SCR was 83.6%, 80.4% and 87.1%, respectively; PFP_K was 298.8, 164.3 and 165.8 kg/kg, respectively; AE_K was 29.5, 39.5 and 25.8 kg/kg, respectively; ARE_K was 24.8%, 24.3% and 13.0%, respectively; PE_K was 152.3, 218.6 and 229.1 kg/kg; FCR was 13.8%, 21.6% and 17.4%, respectively; and SCR was 86.2%, 78.3% and 82.6%, respectively. Fertilizer use efficiency distribution show that over 80% of the vegetable has an ARE_P smaller than 20% and an ARE_K smaller than 30%, suggesting that under current conditions, the fertilizer use efficiency of various vegetables is low. In vegetable production, high yield should be based on high fertilizer use efficiency.

Key words: vegetable, fertilizer use efficiency, phosphorus fertilizer, potassium fertilizer