FERTIGATION MANAGEMENT OF VEGETABLE CROPS
Vegetables are important components of agriculture and human food security. Water and fertilizers are the two main factors in vegetable production, and their effects on plant growth, yield and product quality are interrelated. The use of fertigation in combination with micro-irrigation continues to expand. This combination is a solution in which nutrients and water can be supplied to the crop with high precision in time and space, resulting in high nutrient utilization efficiency. Proper assessment of plant nutrient and water requirements is fundamental to ensure accurate plant nutrition and high nutrient efficiency in irrigated vegetable production systems. The article presents the current state and new prospects for optimal nutrient management of vegetable crops grown in fertigation regimes. A general description is given of the most valuable technologies and methods based on simulation models, soil testing, plant testing and related decision support systems that can be adopted for efficient fertigation. At the same time, only a few of the above technologies and techniques are practically available and / or easy to use by vegetable growers. In the future, much more attention should be paid to the transfer of research knowledge to vegetable growers and technical consultants.