Biomass Production of Prairie Cordgrass (Spartina pectinata Link.) Using Urea and Kura Clover (Trifolium ambiguum Bieb.) as a Source of Nitrogen

Abstract Optimizing nitrogen (N) management is an important factor for sustainable perennial biomass systems. However, N application is costly, both financially and environmentally. Our objectives were to determine: (1) N rate and plant spacing effects on yield and yield components of prairie cordgrass swards and (2) fertilizer N replacement value (FNRV) of kura clover in prairie cordgrass-kura clover binary mixtures. Plots were established in Illinois, Minnesota, South Dakota, and Wisconsin, USA, in 2010. Kura clover was transplanted on 30-cm centers in all treatments in which it was a component; prairie cordgrass seedlings were transplanted within the kura clover on 60- and 90-cm centers. Monoculture prairie cordgrass stands were established at the same population densities of mixed stands and fertilized with 0, 75, 150, or 225 kg N ha-1. Biomass was harvested in the autumn from 2011 to 2013. N (urea), year, plant spacing, and year × plant spacing affected prairie cordgrass production at all locations. Prairie cordgrass yield increased with N application, but the response varied by location. N application tended to increase prairie cordgrass tiller density and consistently increased tiller mass. Prairie cordgrass yield with 0 N was equal to or less than the yield of prairie cordgrass/kura clover mixtures at all locations in 2011 and 2012; however, kura clover provided a FNRV of 25–82 kg N ha-1 to prairie cordgrass in 2013. Kura clover has potential to provide N to prairie cordgrass in binary mixtures of these two species and on land that may not be easily farmed due to wetness.

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Intercropping of kura clover (Trifolium ambiguum M. Bieb) with prairie cordgrass (Spartina pectinata link.) enhanced soil biochemical activities and microbial community structure

Applied Soil Ecology ◽

10.1016/j.apsoil.2019.103427 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 147 ◽

pp. 103427 ◽

Cited By ~ 3

Author(s):

Udayakumar Sekaran ◽

Jesus Raul Loya ◽

Gandura Omar Abagandura ◽

Senthil Subramanian ◽

Vance Owens ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Community Structure ◽

Microbial Community ◽

Microbial Community Structure ◽

Trifolium Ambiguum ◽

Spartina Pectinata ◽

Kura Clover ◽

Prairie Cordgrass

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Achieving Sustainability in Food Systems: Addressing Changing Climate through Real Time Nitrogen and Weed Management in a Conservation Agriculture-Based Maize–Wheat System

Sustainability ◽

10.3390/su13095010 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 13 (9) ◽

pp. 5010

Author(s):

Kapila Shekhawat ◽

Vinod K. Singh ◽

Sanjay Singh Rathore ◽

Rishi Raj ◽

T. K. Das

Keyword(s):

Real Time ◽

Weed Management ◽

Agricultural Research ◽

Indian Agricultural Research Institute ◽

Interactive Effect ◽

Maximum Yield ◽

Conservation Agriculture ◽

Wheat Crop ◽

N Application ◽

N Management

The proven significance of conservation agriculture (CA) in enhancing agronomic productivity and resource use efficiency across diverse agro-ecologies is often challenged by weed interference and nitrogen (N) immobilization. The collective effect of real-time N and weed management has been scarcely studied. To evaluate the appropriateness of sensor-based N management in conjunction with a broad-spectrum weed control strategy for the maize–wheat system, an experiment was conducted at ICAR—Indian Agricultural Research Institute—in New Delhi, India, during 2015–2016 and 2016–2017. Weed management in maize through Sesbania brown manure followed by post-emergence application of 2,4-D (BM + 2,4-D) in maize and tank-mix clodinafop-propargyl (60 g ha−1) and carfentrazone (20 g ha−1) (Clodi+carfentra) in wheat resulted in minimum weed infestation in both crops. It also resulted in highest maize (5.92 and 6.08 t ha−1) and wheat grain yields (4.91 and 5.4 t ha−1) during 2015–2016 and 2016–2017, respectively. Half of the N requirement, when applied as basal and the rest as guided by Optical crop sensor, resulted in saving 56 and 59 kg N ha−1 in the maize–wheat system, respectively, over 100% N application as farmers’ fertilizer practice during the two consecutive years. Interactive effect of N and weed management on economic yield of maize and wheat was also significant and maximum yield was obtained with 50% N application as basal + rest as per Optical crop sensor and weed management through BM+2,4-D in maize and Clodi+carfentra in wheat crop. The study concludes that real-time N management, complemented with appropriate weed management, improved growth, enhanced agronomic productivity and endorsed N saving under a CA-based maize–wheat system in Trans Indo-Gangetic Plains.

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Nitrogen management strategies on plant growth and severities of Sclerotinia stem rot of canola in eastern Canada

Canadian Journal of Plant Science ◽

10.1139/cjps-2021-0160 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Fen Gao ◽

Yuanhong Chen ◽

SeaRa Lim ◽

Allen Xue ◽

Bao-Luo Ma

Keyword(s):

Plant Growth ◽

Seed Yield ◽

Management Strategies ◽

Stem Rot ◽

Sclerotinia Stem Rot ◽

Split Application ◽

Eastern Canada ◽

N Application ◽

Application Rates ◽

N Management

Effective nitrogen (N) management strategies are important for ensuring a balance between optimizing plant growth and minimizing disease damage. A field experiment was conducted for three years to (i) assess the effects of N fertilizer application on the growth and seed yield of canola, and severities of Sclerotinia stem rot (SSR), and (ii) determine a reasonable N-rate for optimizing plant growth and minimizing the loss from SSR in eastern Canada. The experiment was designed with factorial combinations of eight N treatments and two canola hybrids. All N-treatments reduced canola emergence with increasing preplant N application rates above 100 kg ha–1, but had a positive impact on plant height, fresh weight, dry weight and seed yield. The development of SSR showed differential responses to N application rates. Of all the treatments, the split application (50 kg N ha–1 at preplant plus 100 kg N ha–1 side-dressed at the 6-leaf stage) increased canola growth, and often produced the highest or similar seed yields to those of equivalent N rate applied as preplant. At the 150 kg ha–1 N rate, no severe development of SSR was observed in either preplant-only or split application. Overall, this study demonstrates that the split-N management strategy (50+100 kg ha–1) maintained a balance between enhancing plant growth and mitigating the negative impacts of SSR on canola.

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Chloroplast DNA Intraspecific Phylogeography of Prairie Cordgrass (Spartina pectinata Bosc ex Link)

Plant Molecular Biology Reporter ◽

10.1007/s11105-013-0619-7 ◽

2013 ◽

Vol 31 (6) ◽

pp. 1376-1383 ◽

Cited By ~ 10

Author(s):

S. Kim ◽

A. L. Rayburn ◽

T. B. Voigt ◽

M. L. Ainouche ◽

A. K. Ainouche ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Chloroplast Dna ◽

Spartina Pectinata ◽

Prairie Cordgrass ◽

Intraspecific Phylogeography

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Plant Spacing Effects on Growth, Yield and Lint of Cotton

Asian Journal of Plant Sciences ◽

10.3923/ajps.2007.415.418 ◽

2007 ◽

Vol 6 (2) ◽

pp. 415-418 ◽

Cited By ~ 3

Author(s):

M.H. Siddiqui ◽

F.C. Oad ◽

U.A. Buriro

Keyword(s):

Growth Yield ◽

Plant Spacing ◽

Spacing Effects

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Transforming Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) and Multispectral Sensor into a Practical Decision Support System for Precision Nitrogen Management in Corn

Remote Sensing ◽

10.3390/rs12101597 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 12 (10) ◽

pp. 1597

Author(s):

Laura J. Thompson ◽

Laila A. Puntel

Keyword(s):

Decision Support ◽

High Resolution ◽

Decision Support System ◽

Support System ◽

Critical Issue ◽

N Fertilization ◽

Sensor Data ◽

N Application ◽

High Resolution Imagery ◽

N Management

Determining the optimal nitrogen (N) rate in corn remains a critical issue, mainly due to unaccounted spatial (e.g., soil properties) and temporal (e.g., weather) variability. Unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) equipped with multispectral sensors may provide opportunities to improve N management by the timely informing of spatially variable, in-season N applications. Here, we developed a practical decision support system (DSS) to translate spatial field characteristics and normalized difference red edge (NDRE) values into an in-season N application recommendation. On-farm strip-trials were established at three sites over two years to compare farmer’s traditional N management to a split-application N management guided by our UAV sensor-based DSS. The proposed systems increased nitrogen use efficiency 18.3 ± 6.1 kg grain kg N−1 by reducing N rates by 31 ± 6.3 kg N ha−1 with no yield differences compared to the farmers’ traditional management. We identify five avenues for further improvement of the proposed DSS: definition of the initial base N rate, estimation of inputs for sensor algorithms, management zone delineation, high-resolution image normalization approach, and the threshold for triggering N application. Two virtual reference (VR) methods were compared with the high N (HN) reference strip method for normalizing high-resolution sensor data. The VR methods resulted in significantly lower sufficiency index values than those generated by the HN reference, resulting in N fertilization recommendations that were 31.4 ± 10.3 kg ha−1 higher than the HN reference N fertilization recommendation. The use of small HN reference blocks in contrasting management zones may be more appropriate to translate field-scale, high-resolution imagery into in-season N recommendations. In view of a growing interest in using UAVs in commercial fields and the need to improve crop NUE, further work is needed to refine approaches for translating imagery into in-season N recommendations.

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NITROGEN, POTASSIUM, AND PLANT SPACING EFFECTS ON YIELD, TUBER SIZE, SPECIFIC GRAVITY, AND TISSUE N, P, AND K OF NETTED GEM POTATOES

Canadian Journal of Plant Science ◽

10.4141/cjps74-090 ◽

1974 ◽

Vol 54 (3) ◽

pp. 535-539 ◽

Cited By ~ 18

Author(s):

R P. WHITE ◽

D. C. MUNRO ◽

J. B. SANDERSON

Keyword(s):

Specific Gravity ◽

Seed Piece ◽

Total Yield ◽

Tuber Size ◽

Solarium Tuberosum ◽

Plant Spacing ◽

Nutrient Levels ◽

Spacing Effects ◽

N Rates

Netted Gem potatoes (Solarium tuberosum L.) were grown at seed-piece spacings of 28, 38, and 46 cm with 90, 134, and 179 kg N/ha and 46, 93, and 139 kg K/ha. Prior to planting, 100 kg P/ha and 56 kg Mg/ha were broadcast. At planting 74 kg P/ha was combined with the N and K treatments and banded. Increased spacing resulted in increased yields of "A" size tubers (113–454 g) and the percentage of A size tubers in the total yield, whereas total yield was unaffected as spacing increased. Increased rates of N and K resulted in increased total yields and percentage of A size tubers. Specific gravity decreased slightly as N rates increased, but decreased markedly (from 1.099 to 1.091) as K increased. Spacing had no effect on specific gravity. Applied N and K had significant effects on leaf and petiole N, P, and K levels. Increased spacing had no effect on tissue nutrient levels.

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Synthesis of Climate, Soil Factors, and Nitrogen Management Practices Affecting the Responses of Wheat Productivity and Nitrogen Use Efficiency to Nitrogen Fertilizer in China

Sustainability ◽

10.3390/su10103533 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 10 (10) ◽

pp. 3533 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Yunqi Wang ◽

Jiapeng Yang ◽

Rui Zhang ◽

Zhikuan Jia

Keyword(s):

Nitrogen Use Efficiency ◽

Management Practices ◽

Wheat Yield ◽

Soil Factors ◽

Nitrogen Use ◽

N Application ◽

Average Annual Temperature ◽

Coated Urea ◽

Use Efficiency ◽

N Management

The reported effects of nitrogen (N) fertilizer on wheat yield and nitrogen use efficiency (NUE) vary greatly, due to differences in climate, soil factors, and N management practices in different regions of China. We collected literature published during 1950–2017 that reported the yield and NUE for wheat in China, under N application and control treatments, and analyzed the data therein. A significant increase in yield was observed with N application, and varied with climate, soil factors, and N management practices in different regions. A larger increase in yield was observed under an average annual temperature of 13–15 °C, an average annual precipitation of >800 mm, respectively. Greater yield-increasing effects were observed in soil with a coarse soil texture, lower soil total N, available N, and a soil pH of ≤7 and >8, respectively. In Northwest China, the yield increase was greater under multiple coated urea applications after anthesis, while the higher NUE was observed under single coated urea application before anthesis. In North China, the yield and NUE were greater under multiple coated urea applications before anthesis. In South China, the yield and NUE were greater under multiple N applications. Consequently, to improve wheat yield and NUE, site-specific N management practices should be adopted.

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