Soil N 2 O emissions following termination of grass pea and oat cover crop residues with different maturity levels

2020 ◽  
Vol 183 (6) ◽  
pp. 734-744
Author(s):  
Hardeep Singh ◽  
Tanka P. Kandel ◽  
Prasanna H. Gowda ◽  
Brian K. Northup ◽  
Vijaya G. Kakani ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Cover Crop ◽  
Crop Residues ◽  
Soil N ◽  
Grass Pea

Soil tests for predicting the N requirement of corn

2004 ◽  
Vol 84 (1) ◽  
pp. 103-113 ◽  
Author(s):  
E. G. Beauchamp ◽  
B. D. Kay ◽  
R. Pararajasingham
Keyword(s):  
Cover Crop ◽  
Crop Residues ◽  
Red Clover ◽  
Growing Season ◽  
Soil Samples ◽  
Soil N ◽  
Available N ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
N Requirement ◽  
Corn Grain

Several soil N tests were compared with the one currently used for predicting the N requirement for corn in Ontario. The current test involves a measurement of nitrate (NO3−, 0–30 cm) before N fertilizer sidedressing. The study was done to determine the efficacy of other tests for N fertilizer prediction. The tests chosen varied in the quantity of N “extracted” and included hot KCl-extractable NH4+, anaerobically released NH4+, extractable NH4+ following autoclaving in CaCl2 solution and total N of soil sampled to a depth of 30 cm. The 3-yr study was conducted on a sloped (simple) field site, which provided a wide range in soil organic matter (SOM) contents. A corn crop was grown each year following a barley crop with or without red clover cover crop residues incorporated in the spring and with or without N fertilization. Corn grain yields were obtained at the end of the growing season. Grain yields were lowest at the shoulder and backslope locations and highest at the footslope and toeslope locations. Corn plant shoot biomass and N content and soil mineral (NH4+and NO3−) N (0–30 cm) were measured biweekly to provide an estimate or index of available N. Plant and soil samples were taken at the summit, shoulder, backslope, footslope and toeslope locations providing a wide range of SOM levels, which, in turn, provided a range in available N for comparing the various soil N tests. The increase in estimated available N during the growing season was most rapid in the 120–180 day of year (DOY) period and substantially slower in the 230–260 DOY period. An available N index (AVN) was obtained by averaging the N measured with three plant and soil samples taken in the late August to early September period. Thus, the AVN was determined during a period when the increase in available N was relatively slow. Regressions of corn grain yield (not fertilized with N) on AVN produced R2 values ranging from 0.61 to 0.93. Values of R2 for AVN vs. the soil tests ranged from 0.34 to 0.88 where red clover crop residues were not involved. The AVN values were less correlated with the soil N test values where red clover cover crop residues were incorporated with R2 values ranging from 0.11 to 0.92. It was concluded that the hot KCl test would be a suitable alternative to the currently used soil NO3− test because of relatively simple soil sample preparations and storage, and analytical procedures. Key words: Soil N tests, corn, available N index, soil organic matter, landscape location

scholarly journals Effects of Cover Crops, Compost, and Vermicompost on Strawberry Yields and Nitrogen Availability in North Carolina

2016 ◽  
Vol 26 (5) ◽  
pp. 604-613 ◽  
Author(s):  
John E. Beck ◽  
Michelle S. Schroeder-Moreno ◽  
Gina E. Fernandez ◽  
Julie M. Grossman ◽  
Nancy G. Creamer
Keyword(s):  
North Carolina ◽  
Pearl Millet ◽  
Cover Crops ◽  
Cover Crop ◽  
Crop Yields ◽  
Pennisetum Glaucum ◽  
Organic Production ◽  
Organic N ◽  
N Availability ◽  
Soil N

Summer cover crop rotations, compost, and vermicompost additions can be important strategies for transition to organic production that can provide various benefits to crop yields, nitrogen (N) availability, and overall soil health, yet are underused in strawberry (Fragaria ×ananassa) production in North Carolina. This study was aimed at evaluating six summer cover crop treatments including pearl millet (Pennisetum glaucum), soybean (Glycine max), cowpea (Vigna unguiculata), pearl millet/soybean combination, pearl millet/cowpea combination, and a no cover crop control, with and without vermicompost additions for their effects on strawberry growth, yields, nutrient uptake, weeds, and soil inorganic nitrate-nitrogen and ammonium-nitrogen in a 2-year field experiment. Compost was additionally applied before seeding cover crops and preplant N fertilizer was reduced by 67% to account for organic N additions. Although all cover crops (with compost) increased soil N levels during strawberry growth compared with the no cover crop treatment, cover crops did not impact strawberry yields in the first year of the study. In the 2nd year, pearl millet cover crop treatments reduced total and marketable strawberry yields, and soybean treatments reduced marketable strawberry yields when compared with the no cover crop treatment, whereas vermicompost additions increased strawberry biomass and yields. Results from this study suggest that vermicompost additions can be important sustainable soil management strategies for transitional and certified organic strawberry production. Summer cover crops integrated with composts can provide considerable soil N, reducing fertilizer needs, but have variable responses on strawberry depending on the specific cover crop species or combination. Moreover, these practices are suitable for both organic and conventional strawberry growers and will benefit from longer-term studies that assess these practices individually and in combination and other benefits in addition to yields.

scholarly journals Effect of Winter Cover Crops on Soil Nitrogen Availability, Corn Yield, and Nitrate Leaching

2001 ◽  
Vol 1 ◽  
pp. 22-29 ◽  
Author(s):  
S. Kuo ◽  
B. Huang ◽  
R. Bembenek
Keyword(s):  
Cover Crops ◽  
Cover Crop ◽  
N Fertilizer ◽  
N Leaching ◽  
Corn Yield ◽  
N Availability ◽  
Soil N ◽  
Soil N Availability ◽  
N Concentration ◽  
Fertilizer Rates

Biculture of nonlegumes and legumes could serve as cover crops for increasing main crop yield, while reducing NO3leaching. This study, conducted from 1994 to 1999, determined the effect of monocultured cereal rye (Secale cereale L.), annual ryegrass (Lolium multiflorum), and hairy vetch (Vicia villosa), and bicultured rye/vetch and ryegrass/vetch on N availability in soil, corn (Zea mays L.) yield, and NO3-N leaching in a silt loam soil. The field had been in corn and cover crop rotation since 1987. In addition to the cover crop treatments, there were four N fertilizer rates (0, 67, 134, and 201 kg N ha-1, referred to as N0, N1, N2, and N3, respectively) applied to corn. The experiment was a randomized split-block design with three replications for each treatment. Lysimeters were installed in 1987 at 0.75 m below the soil surface for leachate collection for the N0, N2, and N3treatments. The result showed that vetch monoculture had the most influence on soil N availability and corn yield, followed by the bicultures. Rye or ryegrass monoculture had either no effect or an adverse effect on corn yield and soil N availability. Leachate NO3-N concentration was highest where vetch cover crop was planted regardless of N rates, which suggests that N mineralization of vetch N continued well into the fall and winter. Leachate NO3-N concentration increased with increasing N fertilizer rates and exceeded the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s drinking water standard of 10 mg N l�1 even at recommended N rate for corn in this region (coastal Pacific Northwest). In comparisons of the average NO3-N concentration during the period of high N leaching, monocultured rye and ryegrass or bicultured rye/vetch and ryegrass/vetch very effectively decreased N leaching in 1998 with dry fall weather. The amount of N available for leaching (determined based on the presidedress nitrate test, the amount of N fertilizer applied, and N uptake) correlated well with average NO3-N during the high N leaching period for vetch cover crop treatment and for the control without the cover crops. The correlation, however, failed for other cover crops largely because of variable effectiveness of the cover crops in reducing NO3leaching during the 5 years of this study. Further research is needed to determine if relay cover crops planted into standing summer crops is a more appropriate approach than fall seeding in this region to gain sufficient growth of the cover crop by fall. Testing with other main crops that have earlier harvest dates than corn is also needed to further validate the effectiveness of the bicultures to increase soil N availability while protecting the water quality.

scholarly journals Evaluation of the Agronomic Performance of Organic Processing Tomato as Affected by Different Cover Crop Residues Management

Agronomy ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 9 (9) ◽  
pp. 504 ◽  
Author(s):  
Abou Chehade ◽  
Antichi ◽  
Martelloni ◽  
Frasconi ◽  
Sbrana ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Plant Growth ◽  
Cover Crop ◽  
Nitrogen Availability ◽  
Crop Residues ◽  
N Uptake ◽  
Total Yield ◽  
Soluble Solids ◽  
Plastic Mulch ◽  
Processing Tomato ◽  
No Till

No-till practices reduce soil erosion, conserve soil organic carbon, and enhance soil fertility. Yet, many factors could limit their adoption in organic farming. The present study investigated the effects of tillage and cover cropping on weed biomass, plant growth, yield, and fruit quality of an organic processing tomato (Solanum lycopersicon L. var. Elba F1) over two seasons (2015–2017). We compared systems where processing tomato was transplanted on i) tilled soil following or not a winter cover crop (Trifolium squarrosum L.) and with/without a biodegradable plastic mulch; and ii) no-till where clover was used, after rolling and flaming, as dead mulch. Tomato in no-till suffered from high weed competition and low soil nitrogen availability leading to lower plant growth, N uptake, and yield components with respect to tilled systems. The total yield in no-till declined to 6.8 and 18.3 t ha−1 in 2016 and 2017, respectively, with at least a 65% decrease compared to tilled clover-based systems. No evidence of growth-limiting soil compaction was noticed but a slightly higher soil resistance was in the no-till topsoil. Tillage and cover crop residues did not significantly change tomato quality (pH, total soluble solids, firmness). The incorporation of clover as green manure was generally more advantageous over no-till. This was partly due to the low performance of the cover crop where improvement may limit the obstacles (i.e., N supply and weed infestation) and enable the implementation of no-till in organic vegetable systems.

scholarly journals Study of C, N, P and K Release from Residues of Newly Proposed Cover Crops in a Spanish Olive Grove

Agronomy ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 10 (7) ◽  
pp. 1041 ◽  
Author(s):  
Antonio Rodríguez-Lizana ◽  
Miguel Ángel Repullo-Ruibérriz de Torres ◽  
Rosa Carbonell-Bojollo ◽  
Manuel Moreno-García ◽  
Rafaela Ordóñez-Fernández
Keyword(s):  
Cover Crops ◽  
Cover Crop ◽  
Crop Residues ◽  
Soil Cover ◽  
Brachypodium Distachyon ◽  
Nutrient Release ◽  
Grab Sampling ◽  
P Release ◽  
Olive Groves ◽  
C And N

Cover crops (CC)s are increasingly employed by farmers in olive groves. Spontaneous soil cover is the most commonly used CC. Its continuous utilization changes ruderal flora. It is necessary to study new CCs. Living CCs provide C and nutrients to soil during decomposition. Information on this issue in olive groves is scarce. A 4-year field study involving grab sampling of Brachypodium distachyon, Sinapis alba and spontaneous CC residues was conducted to study C and nutrient release from cover crop residues. Throughout the decomposition cycles, C, N and P release accounted for 40 to 58% of the C, N and P amounts in the residues after mowing. Most K was released (80–90%). Expressed in kg per hectare, the release of C and N in Brachypodium (C: 4602, N: 181, P: 29, K: 231) and Sinapis (C: 4806, N: 152, P: 18, K: 195) was greater than that in spontaneous CC (C: 3115, N: 138, P: 21, K: 256). The opposite results were observed for K. The Rickman model, employed to estimate the amount of C, N and P in residues, yielded a good match between the simulated and measured values. In comparison to spontaneous CC, the newly proposed CCs have a higher potential to provide soil with C and N.

Nitrogen benefits of lupins, field pea, and chickpea to wheat production in south-eastern Australia

1997 ◽  
Vol 48 (1) ◽  
pp. 39 ◽  
Author(s):  
E. L. Armstrong ◽  
D. P. Heenan ◽  
J. S. Pate ◽  
M. J. Unkovich
Keyword(s):  
N2 Fixation ◽  
Aboveground Biomass ◽  
Crop Residues ◽  
Field Pea ◽  
Superior Performance ◽  
Wheat Crop ◽  
Wagga Wagga ◽  
Soil N ◽  
Narrow Leaf ◽  
Eastern Australia

Nitrogen balances of narrow leaf lupin (Lupinus angustifolius L.), albus lupin (L. albus L.), field pea (Pisum sativum L.), chickpea (Cicer arietinum L.), and barley (Hordeum vulgare L.) sown over a range of dates were examined in 1992 in a rotation study at Wagga Wagga, NSW. Each N budget included assessment of dependence on fixed as opposed to soil N, peak aboveground biomass N, and N removed as grain or returned as unharvested aboveground crop residues. N balances of wheat sown across the plots in 1993 were assessed similarly in terms of biomass and grain yield. Yields, N2 fixation, and crop residue N balances of the legumes were markedly influenced by sowing time, and superior performance of lupins over other species was related to higher biomass production and proportional dependence on N2 fixation, together with a poorer harvest index. Residual N balances in aboveground biomass after harvest of the 1992 crops were significantly correlated with soil mineral N at 1993 sowing and with biomass and grain N yields of the resulting wheat crop. Best mean fixation and grain N yield came from albus lupin. Wheat grain N yields following the 2 lupins were some 20% greater than after fiield pea and chickpea and 3 times greater than after barley. Net soil N balance based solely on aboveground returns of N of legumes in 1992 through to harvest of wheat in 1993 was least for narrow leaf lupin-wheat ( –20 kg N/ha), followed by albus lupin-wheat ( –44), chickpea-wheat ( –74), and field pea-wheat ( –96). Corresponding combined grain N yields (legume+wheat) from the 4 rotations were 269, 361, 178, and 229 kg N/ha, respectively. The barley-wheat rotation yielded a similarly computed soil N deficit of 67 kg/ha. Data are discussed in relation to other studies on legume-based rotations.

Productivity and nitrogen use of three different wheat-based rotations in North West Syria

1998 ◽  
Vol 49 (3) ◽  
pp. 451 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. Wood ◽  
C. J. Pilbeam ◽  
H. C. Harris ◽  
J. Tuladhar
Keyword(s):  
Crop Residues ◽  
Wheat Crop ◽  
N Mineralisation ◽  
Soil N ◽  
N Budget ◽  
Mineral N ◽  
North West ◽  
System A ◽  
To Come ◽  
C 50

Productivity of 3 different 2-year crop rotations, namely continuous wheat, wheat-chickpea, and wheat-fallow, was measured over 4 consecutive seasons beginning in 1991-92 at the ICARDA station, Tel Hadya, Syria. Nitrogen (N) fertiliser (30 kg N/ha at sowing) was broadcast every other year in the continuous wheat only. 15N-labelled fertiliser was used to quantify the amount of nitrogen supplied to the crops through current and past applications of fertiliser and by N2 fixation. The remaining N in the crop was assumed to come from the soil. In any single season, wheat yields were unaffected by rotation or N level. However, 2-year biomass production was significantly greater (32%, on average) in the continuously cropped plots than in the wheat-fallow rotation. On average, <10% of the N in the wheat crop came from fertiliser in the season of application, and <1·2 kg N/ha of the residual fertiliser was recovered by a subsequent wheat crop. Chickpea fixed 16-48 kg N/ha, depending on the season, but a negative soil N budget was still likely because the amount of N removed in the grain was usually greater than the amount of atmospheric N2 fixed. Uptake of soil N was similar in the cereal phase of all 3 rotations (38 kg N/ha, on average), but over the whole rotation at least 33% more soil N was removed from continuously cropped plots than from the wheat-fallow rotation, suggesting that the latter is a more sustainable system. A laboratory study showed that although wheat and chickpea residues enhanced the gross rate of N mineralisation by c. 50%, net rates of N mineralisation were usually negative. Given the high C/N ratio of the residue, immobilisation, rather than loss processes, is the likely cause of the decline in the mineral N content of the soil. Consequently, decomposition of crop residues in the field may in the short term reduce rather than increase the availability of N for crop growth.

scholarly journals Decomposition of mixtures of cover crop residues increases microbial functional diversity

Geoderma ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 361 ◽  
pp. 114060 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sytske M. Drost ◽  
Michiel Rutgers ◽  
Marja Wouterse ◽  
Wietse de Boer ◽  
Paul L.E. Bodelier
Keyword(s):  
Functional Diversity ◽  
Cover Crop ◽  
Crop Residues ◽  
Microbial Functional Diversity

Do diverse mixtures of cover crop residues alter the soil microbial community and increase soil function?

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Xin Shu ◽  
Yiran Zou ◽  
Liz Shaw ◽  
Lindsay Todman ◽  
Mark Tibbett ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Microbial Community ◽  
Soil Respiration ◽  
Cover Crops ◽  
Soil Microbial Community ◽  
Cover Crop ◽  
Crop Residues ◽  
Soil Health ◽  
Soil Function ◽  
Soil Microbial ◽  
Quaternary Mixture

&lt;p&gt;Cover crops are a contemporary tool to sustainably manage agricultural soils by boosting fertility, suppressing weeds and disease, and benefiting cash crop yields, thus securing future food supply. Due to the different chemical composition of crop residues from different plant families, we hypothesised that a mixture of cover crop residues may have a greater potential to improve soil health than the sum of the parts. Our experiment focused on the impact of four cover crops (clover, sunflower, radish and buckwheat) and their quaternary mixture on soil respiration and the soil microbial community in an 84-day microcosm experiment. On average adding cover crop residues significantly (P &lt; 0.001) increased soil respiration from 29 to 343 &amp;#181;g C g&lt;sup&gt;-1&lt;/sup&gt; h&lt;sup&gt;-1&lt;/sup&gt; and microbial biomass from 18 to 60 &amp;#181;g C g&lt;sup&gt;-1&lt;/sup&gt;, compared to the unamended control during 84 days&amp;#8217; incubation. Cover crop addition resulted in a significant (P &lt; 0.001) alteration of the soil microbial community structure compared to that of the control. The quaternary mixture of cover crop residues significantly (P = 0.011) increased soil respiration rate by 23.79 &amp;#181;g C g&lt;sup&gt;-1&lt;/sup&gt; h&lt;sup&gt;-1&lt;/sup&gt; during the period 30 to 84 days after residue incorporation, compared to the average of the four individual residues. However, no significant difference in the size of the microbial biomass was found between the mixture and the average of the four individuals, indicating the mixture may invest resources which transit dormant microbial species into a metabolically active state and thus boost microbial respiration. Analysis of similarity of microbial community composition (ANOSIM) demonstrated the mixture significantly (P = 0.001) shifted microbial community structure away from buckwheat (R = 0.847), clover (R = 0.688), radish (R = 0.285) and sunflower (R = 0.785), respectively. This implies cover crop residues provide a niche specialization and differentiation on a selection of microbial communities that favour certain plant compounds. While applying cover crop residues has positive impacts on soil function, we found that applying a mixture of cover crop residues may provide greater potential to select for microorganisms or activate dormant microbial species which result in higher soil function. The outcome of this study will help seed suppliers to design, and farmers to select, novel cover crop mixtures which enhance soil function synergistically, leading to a greater potential to sustainably improve soil health.&lt;/p&gt;

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