From an understanding of the temporal pattern of nutrient demand (uptake curves),
the following
can be derived:
- The nutrient requirements over the
course of the cultivation period,
- Specifically, periods of particularly
high demand,
- The total requirement.
Consequently, nutrient supply strategies that match the demand can be developed (where
sensible
and/or technically feasible).
This section presents results obtained through destructive harvesting, meaning the
data only allows
for a retrospective conclusion about the nutrient content of the plant. To capture the nutrient
content of crops over time and derive their nutrient demand from this, it is necessary to conduct
sequential harvests and analyze the harvested material for its nutrient content. This process is
labor- and time-intensive, which in turn explains why such data is not available for all crops.
In principle, the temporal pattern can be described by different types of curve progressions.
These
are illustrated below.
