Soil moisture and nitrate-nitrogen dynamics and economic yield in the greenhouse cultivation of tomato and cucumber under negative pressure irrigation in the North China Plain

A field experiment was carried out for two years to investigate the benefits of negative pressure water supply on surface soil water content, nitrate-nitrogen (NO(3)(−)-N) distribution in the soil profile, economic yield and water and fertilizer use efficiency of tomato and cucumber under greenhouse cultivation in the North China Plain. The experiment included two irrigation treatments: drip irrigation with nutrient solution (DIN) and negative pressure irrigation with nutrient solution (NIN). The results showed that the NIN treatment had a relatively stable soil moisture (about 87% of field capacity), and the fluctuation of soil water content in the 0–20 cm soil layer was 20.6%–25.0% during the experiment period in 2014–2015, which was less than the range of 19.2%–28.1% in the DIN treatment. In both the DIN and NIN treatments, the NO(3)(−)-N at the end of the four growing seasons was mainly distributed in the 0–40 cm soil layer and showed a gradually increasing trend as the number of cultivation years increased. Compared with the DIN treatment, the NO(3)(−)-N content in the 0–60 cm layer of the NIN treatment was significantly decreased by 19.7%–28.0% after the fourth growing season. The NIN treatment produced the highest economic yield with lower water and nutrient input than the DIN treatment, however, no significant difference was observed in tomato and cucumber yield in the two years. Average irrigation water use efficiency (WUE(i)) and partial factor productivity of fertilizer (PFP(f)) over the study period were all significantly improved under the NIN treatment relative to the DIN treatment, with increases of 26.2% and 25.7% (P < 0.05), respectively. Negative pressure water supply not only maintained a high fruit yield, but significantly increased WUE(i) and PFP(f), indicating a great advantage in water and fertilizer saving compared with drip irrigation.