Nutrient Management for Field Nurseries

The Commercial Nursery & Landscape Program is conducting ongoing research into precision nutrient management of field-grown trees in collaboration with the Suffolk County Agricultural Stewardship Program. The objective of our research is to find optimal rates of fertilizer for field-grown trees that maintain adequate growth rates, while minimizing production cost to nursery growers and risk of nutrient leaching. Little is understood how trees’ nitrogen usage is affected by age, climate, and species. Fertilizer recommendations and best management practices have therefore been very generalized. Through our research, we hope to develop more specific fertilizer recommendations for individual tree species growing on Long Island. Participating nurseries have been located in Cutchogue and Baiting Hollow.

---

Laurie McBride applying fertilizer.		Measuring trunk diameter.

---

Last updated July 26, 2019