Name two best management practices to reduce nutrient runoff from a home garden into surface water.

Name two best management practices to reduce nutrient runoff from a home garden into surface water.

• A. Use targeted fertilizer application with appropriate rates; implement drip irrigation and maintain a vegetation buffer or mulch to trap runoff.
• B. Broadcast fertilizer heavily; use sprinklers; remove buffer.
• C. Use only organic fertilizers; ignore runoff.
• D. Avoid mulch and leave bare soil.

Answer: (D)

Reducing nutrient runoff starts with giving plants only what they actually need and protecting the soil so water can’t easily carry nutrients away. Two key practices are: applying fertilizer at appropriate rates and locations so nutrients stay with the plants, and using drip irrigation while keeping the soil covered with mulch or a vegetation buffer to trap and slow any runoff. Mulch and buffers slow water movement, reduce erosion, and help nutrients stay in the garden where plants can use them. Bare soil or removing buffers increases runoff and erosion, making nutrient loss more likely.