THE IMPACT OF SOIL NUTRIENTS INCLUDING ANIONS, CATIONS, AND CARBON CONTENT ON THE THE GROWTH AND YIELD OF SUMMER SQUASH

This study explored the relationships between the yield weight of butternut squash, the nutrients accessible to the plant's root system, and the available soil moisture. It is a continuation of ongoing research between SUNY New Paltz and the Applied Farmscape Ecology Research Collaborative at the Hudson Valley Farm Hub, Hurley New York with the goal to determine the optimum amount of fertilization for the best squash yield. Although moisture and nutrient availability are vital to plant growth, over-fertilization is very common in agriculture and contributes to the eutrophication of nearby water bodies and waste of resources. Over the course of the growing season, weekly water samples were collected from the root zone (30-40 cm depth) using suction lysimeters. Using ion chromatography, water samples were analyzed in the lab for concentrations of common ions. Additionally, the butternut squash plots were deliberately located next to fields with three different types of prevalent vegetation, situated across different locations. No significant correlation was identified between the squash yield and the presence of cations and anions. Due to persistent drought conditions experienced during the growing season, many lysimeters were unable to consistently produce water samples to be analyzed for their nutrient concentrations. In addition, soil samples across all plots were found to have particularly low organic matter and active carbon, further inhibiting moisture retention. The variability in available lysimeter samples for analysis likely influenced the unclear correlations found between these factors and the respective squash yield at each plot. No conclusive relationship could ultimately be found between squash harvests or nutrient content. This research will continue utilizing a plot where different amount of fertilizer will be applied in different plots and the field capacity of the soil will be constantly maintained by irrigation.