Effect of nitrogen rates on rice growth and biological nitrogen fixation

1996 ◽  
Vol 127 (3) ◽  
pp. 295-302 ◽  
Author(s):  
R. Carreres ◽  
R. González Tomé ◽  
J. Sendra ◽  
R. Ballesteros ◽  
E. Fernández Valiente ◽  
...  

SUMMARYThe effect of different rates (0–140 kg/ha) of nitrogen fertilizers on soil cyanobacteria and rice crop performance were studied in a rice-cropping system on an alkaline Fluvent soil at Valencia, Spain, during three consecutive crop seasons (1990–92). The results showed that the rice fields of Valencia favour the development of N2-fixing cyanobacteria. Nitrogen fixation varied during the cultivation cycle, reaching its highest values at the maximum tillering stage, 5–6 weeks after sowing, and showed a positive correlation with the abundance of cyanobacteria and a negative correlation with the amount of N fertilizers used. Grain yield increased with increasing amounts of N fertilizers up to 70 kg N/ha. N rates appeared to affect grain yield by causing variations in the number of panicles/m2. Leaf chlorophyll readings at the end of the tillering stage were positively correlated with the number of panicles/m2, suggesting that it could be a useful parameter for predicting productivity. There was a significant increase in the N uptake of the rice but a decrease in the apparent N recovery and Nuse efficiency of applied fertilizer N, with the application of increasing rates of N fertilizer. In all instances, except in plots fertilized with 140 kg N/ha, the amount of N removed by plants was significantly higher than that applied as N fertilizer. The differences were positively correlated with the values for N fixation, suggesting a significant contribution by N fixation to rice production. These results show that a rational use of biological N fixation, in combination with inorganic N fertilization, would permit the input of N fertilizers to be reduced by c. 50% without any significant loss of productivity and with an ecological benefit for the whole ecosystem.

2008 ◽  
Vol 18 (1) ◽  
pp. 57 ◽  
Author(s):  
T. TONTTI ◽  
A. NYKÄNEN ◽  
M. KUISMA

Two field experiments, conventional grass ley and organic grass-clover ley, were established with barley as a nurse crop in spring 2000 and given either low or high fertilization with mineral fertilizer (Mineral) or composts. The compost types were municipal biowaste (Biowaste), biowaste + sewage sludge (BioSludge) and cattle manure (Manure). Plant yields and nitrogen (N) uptakes were measured for three years and efficiency of N utilization was estimated. In single application of compost, the total N was mainly in organic form and less than 10% was in inorganic form. Along with increasing amount of inorganic N applied in compost, the yield, N uptake and N recovery increased during the application year. The highest compost N recovery in the application year was 12%, found with Biowaste. In the following years the highest N recovery was found where the lowest total N had been applied. Clover performance was improved in the organic grass-clover ley established with BioSludge fertilization, producing total ley yield comparable with Manure compost. High total N application in composts caused high N surplus and low N use efficiency over three years. Generally, moderate compost fertilization is suitable for ley crops when supplemented with mineral N fertilizer or clover N fixation.;


ISRN Agronomy ◽  
2012 ◽  
Vol 2012 ◽  
pp. 1-8 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yadeta Anbessa ◽  
Patricia Juskiw

A study was carried out at Lacombe, Alberta, to develop baseline information on nitrogen recovery, utilization efficiency, and agronomic performance of spring barley. This information may enable us to understand where the inefficiencies of N nutrition may lay and determine strategies to improve nitrogen use efficiency (NUE). Three divergent cultivars, “Manley” (two-rowed, tall, late maturing), “Noble” (six-rowed, mid-height, intermediate maturing), and “Tukwa” (six-rowed, semidwarf, early maturing), were grown under low (0 kg ha-1), moderate (50 kg ha-1) and high (100 kg ha-1) rates of applied N fertilization. Both N recovery and utilization efficiency decreased with the increase in rate of applied N fertilizer, and NUE declined from 45 kg kg-1N under the low N treatment to 33 kg kg-1N under the moderate treatment and 24 kg kg-1N under the high N treatment. The test cultivars were comparable in N uptake, but Tukwa and Noble were more efficient in their utilization of the N taken up than Manley, particularly under high N. Subsequently, while grain yield of Tukwa and Noble had increased linearly with rate of N fertilizer, the grain yield of Manley showed a declining trend under high N. This implies that, where a high input condition is targeted, improvement in N utilization efficiency may need to be given due consideration.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jianyong Ma ◽  
Stefan Olin ◽  
Peter Anthoni ◽  
Sam S. Rabin ◽  
Anita D. Bayer ◽  
...  

Abstract. Biological nitrogen fixation (BNF) from grain legumes is significant importance in global agricultural ecosystems. Crops with BNF capability are expected to support the need to increase food production while reducing nitrogen (N) fertilizer input for agriculture sustainability, but quantification of N fixing rates and BNF crop yields remains inadequate. Here we incorporate two legume crops (soybean and faba bean) with BNF into a dynamic vegetation model LPJ-GUESS (Lund-Potsdam-Jena General Ecosystem Simulator). The performance of this new implementation is evaluated against observations from a range of water and N management trials. LPJ-GUESS generally captures the observed response to these management practices on legume biomass production, soil N uptake and N fixation, despite some deviations from observations in some cases. Globally, the simulated BNF is dominated by soil moisture and temperature, as well as amounts of N fertilizer addition. Annual inputs through BNF are modelled to be 11.6±2.2 Tg N for soybean and 5.6±1.0 Tg N for all pulses, with a total fixation of 17.2±2.9 Tg N yr-1 for all grain legumes during the period 1981–2016 on global scale. Our estimates show a good agreement with some previous statistical estimates but are relatively high compared to some estimates for pulses. This study highlights the importance of accounting for legume N fixation process when modelling C-N interactions in agricultural ecosystems, particularly when it comes to account for the combined effects of climate and land-use change on global terrestrial N cycle.


Water ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (5) ◽  
pp. 740
Author(s):  
Ken Okamoto ◽  
Shinkichi Goto ◽  
Toshihiko Anzai ◽  
Shotaro Ando

Fertilizer application during sugarcane cultivation is a main source of nitrogen (N) loads to groundwater on small islands in southwestern Japan. The aim of this study was to quantify the effect of reducing the N fertilizer application rate on sugarcane yield, N leaching, and N balance. We conducted a sugarcane cultivation experiment with drainage lysimeters and different N application rates in three cropping seasons (three years). N loads were reduced by reducing the first N application rate in all cropping seasons. The sugarcane yields of the treatment to which the first N application was halved (T2 = 195 kg ha−1 N) were slightly lower than those of the conventional application (T1 = 230 kg ha−1 N) in the first and third seasons (T1 = 91 or 93 tons ha−1, T2 = 89 or 87 tons ha−1). N uptake in T1 and T2 was almost the same in seasons 1 (186–188 kg ha−1) and 3 (147–151 kg ha−1). Based on the responses of sugarcane yield and N uptake to fertilizer reduction in two of the three years, T2 is considered to represent a feasible fertilization practice for farmers. The reduction of the first N fertilizer application reduced the underground amounts of N loads (0–19 kg ha−1). However, application of 0 N in the first fertilization would lead to a substantial reduction in yield in all seasons. Reducing the amount of N in the first application (i.e., replacing T1 with T2) improved N recovery by 9.7–11.9% and reduced N leaching by 13 kg ha−1. These results suggest that halving the amount of N used in the first application can improve N fertilizer use efficiency and reduce N loss to groundwater.


2019 ◽  
Vol 99 (3) ◽  
pp. 345-355
Author(s):  
Richard E. Engel ◽  
Carlos M. Romero ◽  
Patrick Carr ◽  
Jessica A. Torrion

Fertilizer NO3-N may represent a benefit over NH4-N containing sources in semiarid regions where rainfall is often not sufficient to leach fertilizer-N out of crop rooting zones, denitrification concerns are not great, and when NH3 volatilization concerns exist. The objective of our study was to contrast plant-N derived from fertilizer-15N (15Ndff), fertilizer-15N recovery (F15NR), total N uptake, grain yield, and protein of wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) from spring-applied NaNO3 relative to urea and urea augmented with urease inhibitor N-(n-butyl)thiophosphoric triamide (NBPT). We established six fertilizer-N field trials widespread within the state of Montana between 2012 and 2017. The trials incorporated different experimental designs and 15N-labeled fertilizer-N sources, including NaNO3, NH4NO3, urea, and urea + NBPT. Overall, F15NR and 15Ndff in mature crop biomass were significantly greater for NaNO3 than urea or urea + NBPT (P < 0.05). Crop 15Ndff averaged 53.8%, 43.9%, and 44.7% across locations for NaNO3, urea, and urea + NBPT, respectively. Likewise, crop F15NR averaged 52.2%, 35.8%, and 38.6% for NaNO3, urea, and urea + NBPT, respectively. Soil 15N recovered in the surface layer (0–15 cm) was lower for NaNO3 compared with urea and urea + NBPT. Wheat grain yield and protein were generally not sensitive to improvements in 15Ndff, F15NR, or total N uptake. Our study hypothesis that NaNO3 would result in similar or better performance than urea or urea + NBPT was confirmed. Use of NO3-N fertilizer might be an alternative strategy to mitigate fertilizer-N induced soil acidity in semiarid regions of the northern Great Plains.


2003 ◽  
Vol 83 (5) ◽  
pp. 521-532 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. Tenuta and E. G. Beauchamp

One field and two laboratory experiments were conducted to determine the relative magnitude and pattern of N2O production from several granular N fertilizers including urea, ammonium nitrate, calcium nitrate, ammonium sulfate and, in a laboratory experiment, monoammonium and diammonium phosphates. Several parameters, in particular soil water content, were studied for their roles in N2O production with these fertilizers. The field experiment was conducted at the Elora Research Station (20 km north of Guelph) on Conestoga silt loam during July on a site previously cropped to barley. Three methods were employed to assess N2O production following N fertilizer treatments in the field experiment, viz., soil cover, soil core and profile distribution. The data with each method revealed that incorporated urea produced the greatest quantity of N2O especially in the first few days following application. Shortly after urea application and incorporation (10 cm), N2O was detected at a depth of 50 cm indicating gas produced in the tilled layer was transported to lower depths. Data obtained with the intact core method showed that nitrification preceeded denitrification as the source of N2O produced during a wetting event as air-filled porosity decreased from 65% to less than 50%, respectively. The laboratory experiments showed that under aerobic conditions N2O production was generally greater with urea than the other N fertilizers. The greater production of N2O with urea was associated with N2O-accumulation. In the second laboratory experiment, saturating the soil following 14 d of aerobic incubation showed enhanced N2O production with ammonium phosphate fertilizers. Our findings indicate refinement of methods to predict N2O emissions based on N fertilizer source use and moisture can reduce uncertainties in national estimates of N2O emissions from agricultural soils. Key words: Nitrous oxide production, nitrogen fertilizers, soil atmosphere profiles, nitrification, denitrification, air-filled porosity


1982 ◽  
Vol 99 (2) ◽  
pp. 377-390 ◽  
Author(s):  
F. V. Widdowson ◽  
J. F. Jenkyn ◽  
A. Penny

SUMMARYExperiments with spring barley at Saxmundham, in each year from 1975 to 1978, compared two varieties (Julia v Wing), two amounts of granular N-fertilizer (50 v 100kg N/ha) and two times of applying it (seed bed v top-dressing), a liquid N-fertilizer spray (0 v 50 kg N/ha), mildew fungicides (with and without) and a rust fungicide (with and without), in factorial combination (26).Leaf diseases were assessed and grain weighed and analysed for % N each year. Thousand-grain weights were measured in 1977 and 1978.Yields were small in 1975 and 1976 because little rain fell in summer, but larger in 1977 and 1978, years with average rainfall.Mildew was most severe in 1975 and least in 1978, brown rust most severe in 1975 and 1978 and practically absent in 1976. Granular N-fertilizer was best applied to the seed bed in all years, whether or not leaf diseases were controlled. Late sprays of liquid N-fertilizer increased yield less than equivalent amounts of seed-bed N, but increased % N in grain more. However, because they also decreased grain size, less of the N applied as a liquid was recovered by grain than was recovered from granules given earlier. The mildew fungicides increased yields by ca. 0·25 t/ha in 1975 and 1977, but decreased them in 1976. They had little or no effect on % N in grain, but increased grain size in 1977. The rust fungicide, benodanil, increased grain yields each year and especially in 1978 (0·37 t/ha). It had no effect on grain % N, but consistently increased grain size and so enhanced grain yield and N uptake.


1976 ◽  
Vol 12 (2) ◽  
pp. 189-193 ◽  
Author(s):  
A. Hamid ◽  
G. Sarwar

SUMMARYThe effect of split application of N on the uptake of N by wheat from N15 labelled ammonium nitrate and urea was studied in the field. Nitrogen fertilizers were applied at 120 kg N/ha in a single application (at seeding); two split applications (at seeding and tillering); and six split applications (at seeding, tillering, boot, heading, flowering and the milky stage). Nitrogen applied in two splits was most productive for grain yield for both the N sources, but six split applications significantly increased the protein content in grain compared with single or two split applications. The utilization of N from ammonium nitrate in grain was significantly higher than from urea when applied in six split applications.


2007 ◽  
Vol 43 (2) ◽  
pp. 149-161 ◽  
Author(s):  
SONU SINGH ◽  
NANDITA GHOSHAL ◽  
K. P. SINGH

A two-year study was undertaken in a tropical dryland agro-ecosystem to evaluate the effect of the application of soil amendments with contrasting chemical natures on crop productivity, grain yield, N-uptake and N-use efficiencies. The treatments involved the addition of equivalent amounts of N (80 kg N ha−1) through chemical fertilizer and three organic inputs at the beginning of the annual cycle: Sesbania aculeata shoots (high quality, C/N 16), wheat straw (low quality, C/N 82) and Sesbania+wheat straw (high and low quality combined, C/N 47), together with a control treatment. Test crops consisted of an annual sequence of rice and barley, sown in the rainy and winter seasons, respectively. Fertilizer and Sesbania inputs resulted in higher total net productivity (TNP) for the rice crop (47 % and 32 % increases over the control, respectively) than the combined (+28 %) and wheat straw treatments (+10 %). During the succeeding barley crop, maximum TNP was recorded in the Sesbania+wheat straw treatment (+52 %), followed by wheat straw (+43 %), fertilizer (+19 %) and Sesbania (+17 %). The TNP and grain yields of both crops added together were higher in Sesbania+wheat straw and fertilizer treatments compared to a single applications of either Sesbania or wheat straw. The Sesbania+wheat straw and fertilizer treatments resulted in more efficient utilization of N compared to the other treatments. Crop roots played a pivotal role in N-recovery from the soil and their N concentrations differed significantly (p < 0.05) due to the application of soil amendments. Across different treatments, crop root biomass was strongly correlated with crop N-uptake (r = 0.81, n = 10, p < 0.05), recovery efficiency (r = 0.81, n = 8, p < 0.05) and agronomic efficiency (r = 0.81, n = 8, p < 0.05). It is suggested that the combined application of high and low quality resources modulated N release, resulting in relatively higher productivity through the annual cropping cycle. Such combined inputs may prove useful in developing low input, environment friendly soil management practices in tropical dryland agro-ecosystems.


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