Management of nitrogen fertilizer programs and sampling strategies to determine the levels of N-NO3 in the soil after growing tomatoes in fertilized furrows were studied. Two groups were studied, one without protection and another grown in an irrigated furrow in which a solid nitrogen fertilizer had been applied. In each plot, 10 treatments or criteria were evaluated. In each experiment, the treatments were arranged in a split-plot design, with 10 different nitrogen fertilizer conditions as the main treatment and soil sampling positions in a split-plot treatment. The sampling positions were arranged in a randomized complete block design. Soil N-NO3 levels were determined at the end of each sampling cycle. In all groups, residual soil N-NO3 levels were proportional to the amount of N applied. In fields without protection and nitrogen fertilizer applied to the furrow, the best strategy of soil sampling to determine the residual N-NO3 level was to use samples obtained from between the furrow and plants.
Lycopersicon esculentum; soil sampling; furrow fertilization
