Drip fertigation for vegetable production: a comprehensive review of crop performance, nutrient use efficiency and sustainable resource management
Abstract
Doubling farmers’ income by maximizing crop productivity per unit of resource utilized while safeguarding long-term soil health has become a major global concern in sustainable agriculture. The horticulture sector is progressively shifting from an exclusive focus on yield maximization toward improving irrigation water and fertilizer use efficiency to achieve higher productivity with reduced resource consumption. Inefficient use of water and fertilizers not only limits crop productivity but also contributes to soil degradation, nutrient losses, environmental pollution, and declining input-use efficiency. In this context, drip fertigation has emerged as an effective management strategy for vegetable production due to its ability to deliver water and nutrients directly to the crop root zone in a precise and demand-driven manner. Fertigation improves synchronization between crop nutrient demand and resource supply, thereby enhancing nutrient uptake, reducing nutrient losses, and improving crop performance. This review critically evaluates the role of fertigation in improving crop growth, yield, produce quality, nutrient use efficiency, and water productivity in vegetable crops. The review further highlights the importance of appropriate irrigation scheduling, fertilizer application rates, and nutrient management strategies for achieving optimum crop performance and resource conservation. Despite its considerable advantages, the large-scale adoption of fertigation remains constrained by challenges such as emitter clogging, high initial installation costs, maintenance requirements, salinity buildup, and improper nutrient scheduling. The article also discusses practical management approaches to overcome these limitations and enhance the long-term sustainability of fertigation systems. Overall, fertigation offers substantial potential to improve agricultural productivity, resource-use efficiency, economic returns, and environmental sustainability in modern vegetable cultivation under changing climatic conditions.