Switching from conventional tillage to no-tillage: Soil N availability, N uptake, 15N fertilizer recovery, and grain yield of durum wheat

Eleven-year results on yields and apparent balances of organic matter and nitrogen (N) are reported for soft and durum wheat crops grown in the BIOSYST long-term experiment for the comparison between an organic and a conventional low-input system in Central Italy. The N supply to organic wheat consisted of 40 kg N ha–1 as poultry manure plus the supposed residual N left by green manures carried out before the preceding summer vegetable, while the N supply to conventional wheat consisted of 80 kg N ha–1 as mineral fertilisers, split in two applications of 40 kg ha–1 each, at tillering and pre-shooting. In every year, above ground biomass and N accumulation of each wheat species, including weeds, and the partitioning between grain yield and crop residues were determined. Apparent dry matter and N balances were calculated at the end of each crop cycle by taking into account the amounts of dry matter and N supplied to the system as fertilisers, and those removed with grain yield. Soft wheat yielded more than durum wheat. For both species, grain yield and protein content were more variable across years and generally lower in the organic than in the conventional system. In both systems, grain yield of both species resulted negatively correlated with fall-winter rainfall, likely for its effect on soil N availability. Both species caused a lower return of biomass and a higher soil N depletion in the organic than in the conventional system. Our experiment confirmed that winter wheat can help exploit the soil N availability and reduce N leaching in fall winter, especially after summer vegetables, but in stockless or stock-limited organic systems it needs to be included in rotations where soil fertility is restored by fall winter green manures to be carried out before summer crops.

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Development of an Online Tool for Tracking Soil Nitrogen to Improve the Environmental Performance of Maize Production

Sustainability ◽

10.3390/su13105649 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 13 (10) ◽

pp. 5649

Author(s):

Giovani Preza-Fontes ◽

Junming Wang ◽

Muhammad Umar ◽

Meilan Qi ◽

Kamaljit Banger ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Real Time ◽

N Uptake ◽

Growing Season ◽

Weather Data ◽

N Availability ◽

Soil N ◽

N Losses ◽

Online Tool ◽

Support Tool ◽

Soil N Availability

Freshwater nitrogen (N) pollution is a significant sustainability concern in agriculture. In the U.S. Midwest, large precipitation events during winter and spring are a major driver of N losses. Uncertainty about the fate of applied N early in the growing season can prompt farmers to make additional N applications, increasing the risk of environmental N losses. New tools are needed to provide real-time estimates of soil inorganic N status for corn (Zea mays L.) production, especially considering projected increases in precipitation and N losses due to climate change. In this study, we describe the initial stages of developing an online tool for tracking soil N, which included, (i) implementing a network of field trials to monitor changes in soil N concentration during the winter and early growing season, (ii) calibrating and validating a process-based model for soil and crop N cycling, and (iii) developing a user-friendly and publicly available online decision support tool that could potentially assist N fertilizer management. The online tool can estimate real-time soil N availability by simulating corn growth, crop N uptake, soil organic matter mineralization, and N losses from assimilated soil data (from USDA gSSURGO soil database), hourly weather data (from National Weather Service Real-Time Mesoscale Analysis), and user-entered crop management information that is readily available for farmers. The assimilated data have a resolution of 2.5 km. Given limitations in prediction accuracy, however, we acknowledge that further work is needed to improve model performance, which is also critical for enabling adoption by potential users, such as agricultural producers, fertilizer industry, and researchers. We discuss the strengths and limitations of attempting to provide rapid and cost-effective estimates of soil N availability to support in-season N management decisions, specifically related to the need for supplemental N application. If barriers to adoption are overcome to facilitate broader use by farmers, such tools could balance the need for ensuring sufficient soil N supply while decreasing the risk of N losses, and helping increase N use efficiency, reduce pollution, and increase profits.

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Effects of rhizopheric nitric oxide (NO) on N uptake inFagus sylvaticaseedlings depend on soil CO2concentration, soil N availability and N source

Tree Physiology ◽

10.1093/treephys/tpv051 ◽

2015 ◽

Vol 35 (8) ◽

pp. 910-920 ◽

Cited By ~ 16

Author(s):

Fang Dong ◽

Judy Simon ◽

Michael Rienks ◽

Christian Lindermayr ◽

Heinz Rennenberg

Keyword(s):

Nitric Oxide ◽

N Uptake ◽

N Availability ◽

Soil N ◽

Soil N Availability ◽

N Source

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Agronomic Strategies to Improve N Efficiency Indices in Organic Durum Wheat Grown in Mediterranean Area

Plants ◽

10.3390/plants10112444 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 10 (11) ◽

pp. 2444

Author(s):

Federica Carucci ◽

Giuseppe Gatta ◽

Anna Gagliardi ◽

Pasquale De Vita ◽

Simone Bregaglio ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Grain Yield ◽

Durum Wheat ◽

Foliar Application ◽

N Uptake ◽

Utilization Efficiency ◽

Organic N ◽

Sodium Selenate ◽

N Availability ◽

Wheat Varieties ◽

Yield Increase

Organic farming systems are often constrained by limited soil nitrogen (N) availability. Here we evaluated the effect of foliar organic N and sulphur (S), and selenium (Se) application on durum wheat, considering N uptake, utilization efficiency (NUtE), grain yield, and protein concentration as target variables. Field trials were conducted in 2018 and 2019 on two old (Cappelli and old Saragolla) and two modern (Marco Aurelio and Nadif) Italian durum wheat varieties. Four organic fertilization strategies were evaluated, i.e., the control (CTR, dry blood meal at sowing), the application of foliar N (CTR + N) and S (CTR + S), and their joint use (CTR + NS). Furthermore, a foliar application of sodium selenate was evaluated. Three factors—variety, fertilization strategies and selenium application—were arranged in a split-split-plot design and tested in two growing seasons. The modern variety Marco Aurelio led to the highest NUtE and grain yield in both seasons. S and N applications had a positive synergic effect, especially under drought conditions, on pre-anthesis N uptake, N translocation, NUtE, and grain yield. Se treatment improved post-anthesis N uptake and NUtE, leading to 17% yield increase in the old variety Cappelli, and to 13% and 14% yield increase in Marco Aurelio and Nadif, mainly attributed to NUtE increase. This study demonstrated that the synergistic effect of foliar applications could improve organic durum wheat yields in Mediterranean environments, especially on modern varieties.

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CORRELATION OF SOIL N AVAILABILITY INDEXES WITH N UPTAKE BY PLANTS

Soil Science ◽

10.1097/00010694-196805000-00006 ◽

1968 ◽

Vol 105 (5) ◽

pp. 320-326 ◽

Cited By ~ 27

Author(s):

GEORGE STANFORD ◽

J. O. LEGG

Keyword(s):

N Uptake ◽

N Availability ◽

Soil N ◽

Soil N Availability

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430 PB 171 LEAF NITRATE AND AMMONIUM CONCENTRATIONS ARE MORE SENSITIVE INDICATORS OF SOIL N AVAILABILITY THAN TOTAL N IN NECTARINE

HortScience ◽

10.21273/hortsci.29.5.492g ◽

1994 ◽

Vol 29 (5) ◽

pp. 492g-492

Author(s):

Oswaldo A. Rubio ◽

Patrick H. Brown ◽

Steven A. Weinbaum

Keyword(s):

Amino Acids ◽

N Uptake ◽

N Availability ◽

Soil N ◽

Fertilizer N ◽

Old Field ◽

Total N ◽

Soil N Availability ◽

Application Rates ◽

Leaf N

Leaf N concentrations (% dry wt) appear relatively insensitive to high levels of applied fertilizer N (Weinbaum et al, HortTechnology 1992). This insensitivity may be attributable to growth dilation, lack of additional tree N uptake, a finite capacity of leaves to accumulate additional N or our inhability to resolve a limited increment. Our objective was to asses the relative accumulation of mobile forms of N (NO3, NH4 and amino acids) relative to a total N over a range of fertilizer N application rates in 3 year old, field-grown “Fantasia” nectarine trees. Between 0 and 136 Kg N/Ha/Yr we observed a linear relationship between N supply and all N fractions. Above 136 Kg N/Ha/Yr leaf concentrations of amino acids and total N remined constant, but NO3 and NH4 accumulation continued. These results suggest that leaf concentration of NO3 and NH4 are more sensitive indicators of soil N availability and tree N uptake than was total leaf N concentration.

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Rhizospheric NO affects N uptake and metabolism in Scots pine (Pinus sylvestris L.) seedlings depending on soil N availability and N source

Plant Cell & Environment ◽

10.1111/pce.12034 ◽

2012 ◽

Vol 36 (5) ◽

pp. 1019-1026 ◽

Cited By ~ 15

Author(s):

JUDY SIMON ◽

FANG DONG ◽

FRANZ BUEGGER ◽

HEINZ RENNENBERG

Keyword(s):

Pinus Sylvestris ◽

Scots Pine ◽

N Uptake ◽

N Availability ◽

Soil N ◽

Soil N Availability ◽

N Source ◽

Uptake And Metabolism

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Nitrous oxide emissions from red clover and winter wheat residues depend on interacting effects of distribution, soil N availability and moisture level

Plant and Soil ◽

10.1007/s11104-021-05030-8 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Arezoo Taghizadeh-Toosi ◽

Baldur Janz ◽

Rodrigo Labouriau ◽

Jørgen E. Olesen ◽

Klaus Butterbach-Bahl ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Nitrous Oxide ◽

Winter Wheat ◽

Red Clover ◽

Moisture Level ◽

Nitrous Oxide Emissions ◽

N Availability ◽

Soil N ◽

Soil N Availability

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Morphological and Physiological Root Traits and Their Relationship with Nitrogen Uptake in Wheat Varieties Released from 1915 to 2013

Agronomy ◽

10.3390/agronomy11061149 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 11 (6) ◽

pp. 1149

Author(s):

Guglielmo Puccio ◽

Rosolino Ingraffia ◽

Dario Giambalvo ◽

Gaetano Amato ◽

Alfonso S. Frenda

Keyword(s):

Durum Wheat ◽

Root System ◽

N Uptake ◽

Specific Root Length ◽

Root Traits ◽

Wheat Breeding ◽

N Availability ◽

Wheat Varieties ◽

Uptake Efficiency ◽

Positive Effects

Identifying genotypes with a greater ability to absorb nitrogen (N) may be important to reducing N loss in the environment and improving the sustainability of agricultural systems. This study extends the knowledge of variability among wheat genotypes in terms of morphological or physiological root traits, N uptake under conditions of low soil N availability, and in the amount and rapidity of the use of N supplied with fertilizer. Nine genotypes of durum wheat were chosen for their different morpho-phenological characteristics and year of their release. The isotopic tracer 15N was used to measure the fertilizer N uptake efficiency. The results show that durum wheat breeding did not have univocal effects on the characteristics of the root system (weight, length, specific root length, etc.) or N uptake capacity. The differences in N uptake among the studied genotypes when grown in conditions of low N availability appear to be related more to differences in uptake efficiency per unit of weight and length of the root system than to differences in the morphological root traits. The differences among the genotypes in the speed and the ability to take advantage of the greater N availability, determined by N fertilization, appear to a certain extent to be related to the development of the root system and the photosynthesizing area. This study highlights some variability within the species in terms of the development, distribution, and efficiency of the root system, which suggests that there may be sufficient grounds for improving these traits with positive effects in terms of adaptability to difficult environments and resilience to climate change.

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