Vegetable production (e.g., chilli pepper, Chinese cabbage) in the Yangtze basin is one of the largest in China. However, the nutrient use efficiency is relatively low with high nutrient losses to water systems, causing eutrophication problems. A better understanding of how vegetables contribute to water pollution with nutrients is needed. This project will contribute to this knowledge gap and identify green development pathways to improve agricultural activities at different scales in the Yangtze basin. Such pathways may include options to reach high yields with minimum nutrient losses to water systems in the future. Impacts of climate change will be considered. The project aims to identify green development pathways for improving vegetable production in the Yangtze basin with high crop yields and high water quality. The proposed research directions were:
– Develop two vegetable versions (Chinese cabbage & chili pepper) of WOFOST for the typical rotation system in YRB to realistically estimate the (potential) yield and nutrient uptake status.
– Improve the dynamic nutrient flow simulation in the soil module of WOFOST to evaluate the effect of different fertilizer strategies on soil nutrient accumulation, nutrient supply to the crop and nutrient leaching to the environment.
– Evaluate alternative fertilizer strategies that safeguard or even increase production of the vegetable production in YRB under future climate change.
– Investigate the environmental cost of soil nutrient leaching and riverine nutrient export under scenarios with improved fertilizer strategies.