Simplified methods for assessing quantities of N2 fixed by Lupinus angustifolius L. and its benefits to soil nitrogen status

1998 ◽  
Vol 49 (3) ◽  
pp. 419 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. Evans ◽  
D. P. Heenan
Keyword(s):  
N2 Fixation ◽  
Sowing Date ◽  
N Balance ◽  
Potential Contribution ◽  
Soil N ◽  
Cereal Crop ◽  
Soil Mineral Nitrogen ◽  
Eastern Australia ◽  
Actual Field ◽  
A Site

Procedures for assessing the quantity of symbiotically fixed nitrogen (kg N/ha) in standing crops of lupin and for estimating variation of N2 fixation by lupins in different years were determined empirically and described. In standing crops, N2 fixation was estimated from crop height, plant population density, and a bioassay of soil mineral nitrogen (cereal crop N; kg N/ha). In addition it was also estimated from rainfall, sowing date, and cereal N, which consequently enabled prediction of seasonal variation in fixed N using historical rainfall data. Procedures for estimating the potential contribution of N2 fixation to soil N, and the effects of lupin and cereal N budgets on soil N balance based on differences in fixed N and grain N (grain yield×estimated grain N concentration) are also given. The collective procedures are applied to a site in south-eastern Australia and the predicted crop effects on soil N balance compared with actual field data. Perceived limitations of the procedures are discussed.

N2 fixation and its value to soil N increase in lupin, field pea and other legumes in south-eastern Australia

1989 ◽  
Vol 40 (4) ◽  
pp. 791 ◽  
Author(s):  
J Evans ◽  
GE O'Connor ◽  
GL Turner ◽  
DR Coventry ◽  
N Fettell ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
N2 Fixation ◽  
Sowing Date ◽  
Annual Rainfall ◽  
Potential Contribution ◽  
Soil N ◽  
Soil Mineral N ◽  
Soil Mineral ◽  
Mineral N ◽  
Total N ◽  
Eastern Australia

N2 fixation and its potential contribution to increasing soil total N were estimated in field-grown crops of lupin and pea in 21 trials at 10 locations in New South Wales and Victoria, during 1984 to 1987. Chickpea, faba bean and annual medic were included at some sites. Across experiments there were differences in annual rainfall (267 to 646 mm), soil N (0.02 to 0.20%), soil pH (CaCl2,4.3 to 8.0) and sowing date (24 April to 16 June). Most experiments were conducted on acidic (pH < 4.8) red-earth, the others on grey-cracking clay or sandy soil, both of higher pH The differing sites, seasons, and sowing time contributed to variation in legume biomass (2.02 to 14.33 t/ha) and total N (45 to 297 kg N/ha), and the amount of N harvested with grain (8 to 153 kg N/ha), which were related.Lupin fixed an average of 65% of total crop N, and pea 61%, but there was considerable variation about these averages (20 to 97%). Significant differences in % N2 fixation between legumes within sites were few. The amount of N2 fixed averaged 98.5 kg N/ha by lupin and 80.5 kg N/ha by pea, varying 26 to 288 kg N/ha and 16 to 177 kg N/ha, respectively. Variation in proportional and total N2 fixation was associated with biomass, soil mineral N, and sowing date. N2 fixation increased with more biomass and declined with higher soil mineral N, and later sowing (lupin). Each additional tonne of dry matter increased fixed N by c. 20 kg N/ha. Differences in amounts of fixed N between legumes within sites were due primarily to biomass differences.N2fixed by lupin contributed an average of 38.2 kg N/ha to soil N, and by pea, 17.9 kg N/ha. The contribution was variable, -41 to 135 kg N/ha (lupin) and -32 to 96 kg N/ha (pea), and correlated with proportional and total N2 fixation. Positive increase to soil total N occurred when lupin fixed at least 50% of its crop N, and pea 65%. This occurred in most crops. Legumes frequently used less of the available soil N than cereals.

Net nitrogen balances for cool-season grain legume crops and contributions to wheat nitrogen uptake: a review

2001 ◽  
Vol 41 (3) ◽  
pp. 347 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. Evans ◽  
A. M. McNeill ◽  
M. J. Unkovich ◽  
N. A. Fettell ◽  
D. P. Heenan
Keyword(s):  
Grain Yield ◽  
Western Australia ◽  
N2 Fixation ◽  
Grain Legumes ◽  
N Balance ◽  
Grain Legume ◽  
Soil N ◽  
South Eastern ◽  
Eastern Australia ◽  
South Eastern Australia

The removal of nitrogen (N) in grain cereal and canola crops in Australia exceeds 0.3 million t N/year and is increasing with improvements in average crop yields. Although N fertiliser applications to cereals are also rising, N2-fixing legumes still play a pivotal role through inputs of biologically fixed N in crop and pasture systems. This review collates Australian data on the effects of grain legume N2 fixation, the net N balance of legume cropping, summarises trends in the soil N balance in grain legume–cereal rotations, and evaluates the direct contribution of grain legume stubble and root N to wheat production in southern Australia. The net effect of grain legume N2 fixation on the soil N balance, i.e. the difference between fixed N and N harvested in legume grain (Nadd) ranges widely, viz. lupin –29–247 kg N/ha (mean 80), pea –46–181 kg N/ha (mean 40), chickpea –67–102 kg N/ha (mean 6), and faba bean 8–271 kg N/ha (mean 113). Nadd is found to be related to the amount (Nfix) and proportion (Pfix) of crop N derived from N2 fixation, but not to legume grain yield (GY). When Nfix exceeded 30 (lupin), 39 (pea) and 49 (chickpea) kg N/ha the N balance was frequently positive, averaging 0.60 kg N/kg of N fixed. Since Nfix increased with shoot dry matter (SDM) (21 kg N fixed/t SDM; pea and lupin) and Pfix (pea, lupin and chickpea), increases in SDM and Pfix usually increased the legume’s effect on soil N balance. Additive effects of SDM, Pfix and GY explained most (R2 = 0.87) of the variation in Nadd. Using crop-specific models based on these parameters the average effects of grain legumes on soil N balance across Australia were estimated to be 88 (lupin), 44 (pea) and 18 (chickpea) kg N/ha. Values of Nadd for the combined legumes were 47 kg N/ha in south-eastern Australia and 90 kg N/ha in south-western Australia. The average net N input from lupin crops was estimated to increase from 61 to 79 kg N/ha as annual rainfall rose from 445 to 627 mm across 3 shires in the south-east. The comparative average input from pea was 37 to 47 kg N/ha with least input in the higher rainfall shires. When the effects of legumes on soil N balance in south-eastern Australia were compared with average amounts of N removed in wheat grain, pea–wheat (1:1) sequences were considered less sustainable for N than lupin–wheat (1:1) sequences, while in south-western Australia the latter were considered sustainable. Nitrogen mineralised from lupin residues was estimated to contribute 40% of the N in the average grain yield of a following wheat crop, and that from pea residues, 15–30%; respectively, about 25 and 15 kg N/ha. Therefore, it was concluded that the majority of wheat N must be obtained from pre-existing soil sources. As the amounts above represented only 25–35% of the total N added to soil by grain legumes, the residual amount of N in legume residues is likely to be important in sustaining those pre-existing soil sources of 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.

Sowing time and tillage practice affect chickpea yield and nitrogen fixation. 2. Nitrogen accumulation, nitrogen fixation and soil nitrogen balance

1996 ◽  
Vol 36 (6) ◽  
pp. 701 ◽  
Author(s):  
CP Horn ◽  
RC Dalal ◽  
CJ Birch ◽  
JA Doughton
Keyword(s):  
Nitrogen Fixation ◽  
N2 Fixation ◽  
N Balance ◽  
Grain Legume ◽  
Nitrogen Accumulation ◽  
Soil Nitrate ◽  
Soil N ◽  
Tillage Practice ◽  
Sowing Time ◽  
N Accumulation

Following long-term studies at Warra, on the western Darling Downs, chckpea (Cicer anetinum) was selected as a useful grain legume cash crop with potential for improvement of its nitrogen (N) fixing ability through management. This 2-year study examined the effect of sowing time and tillage practice on dry matter yield, grain yield (Horn et al. 1996), N accumulation, N2 fixation, and the subsequent soil N balance. Generally, greater N accumulation resulted from sowing in late autumn-early winter (89-117 kg N/ha) than sowing in late winter (76-90 kg N/ha). The amount of N2 fixed was low in both years (15-32 kg N/ha), and was not significantly affected by sowing time or tillage. The potential for N2 fixation was reduced in both years due to high initial soil nitrate levels and low total biomass of chickpea because of low rainfall. Nitrogen accumulation by grain was higher under zero tillage (ZT) than conventional tillage (CT) for all sowing times, and this affected the level of grain N export. The consequence of low N2 fixation and high N export in chickpea grain was a net loss of total soil N, (2-48 kg N/ha under CT and 22-59 kg N/ha under ZT). Management practices to ensure larger biomass production and lower soil nitrate-N levels may result in increased N2 fixation by chickpea and thus a positive soil N balance.

Chickpea in wheat-based cropping systems of northern New South Wales I. N2 fixation and influence on soil nitrate and water

1998 ◽  
Vol 49 (3) ◽  
pp. 391 ◽  
Author(s):  
H. Marcellos ◽  
W. L. Felton ◽  
D. F. Herridge
Keyword(s):  
N2 Fixation ◽  
New South ◽  
New South Wales ◽  
Wheat Crop ◽  
Soil N ◽  
Cereal Crop ◽  
Mineral N ◽  
South Wales ◽  
N Fertility ◽  
Summer Fallow

Chickpea has potential as a rotation or break crop in the northern grains region of New South Wales and Queensland. Definition of that potential requires information on chickpea N2 fixation and on effects of chickpea on maintenance of soil N fertility and delivery of mineral N for use by a following cereal crop. Results from 6 experiments in northern NSW in which chickpea and wheat in one season were followed by wheat in subsequent seasons indicated variable N2 fixation by chickpea (mean 73 kg/ha; range 4-116 kg/ha), associated with variable Pfix (percentage of chickpea N derived from N2 fixation) (mean 57%; range 4-79%). There were no consistent differences between chickpea and wheat in effects on soil water, either pre-harvest or after the summer fallow. Chickpea ‘spared’ nitrate, relative to wheat (mean 15 kg/ha; range 1-35 kg/ha), and mineralised additional nitrate during the summer fallow (mean 18 kg/ha; range 5-40 kg/ha). Nitrate-N in the top 1·2 m of the soil profile at sowing of the following wheat crop was on average 89 kg/ha after chickpea (range 63-113 kg/ha) and 56 kg/ha after wheat (range 33-94 kg/ha). Nitrogen mineralisation rates during the summer fallow at 2 sites of 0·17 and 0· 21 kg N/ha · day (after chickpea), although greater than the rates after wheat (0· 07 and 0·12 kg N/ha · day), were not sufficient to meet the N requirements of a moderate to high yielding cereal crop. We concluded that chickpea did not fix sufficient N2 or mineralise sufficient N from residues either to maintain soil N fertility or to sustain a productive chickpea{wheat rotation without inputs of additional fertiliser N.

Urea applied as a foliar spray or in granular form to subtropical dairy pastures of kikuyu (Cenchrus clandestinus) and Italian ryegrass (Lolium multiflorum) in eastern Australia

2020 ◽  
Vol 71 (12) ◽  
pp. 1067
Author(s):  
William J. Fulkerson ◽  
Nathan Jennings
Keyword(s):  
Lolium Multiflorum ◽  
Foliar Spray ◽  
Italian Ryegrass ◽  
Wetting Agent ◽  
Soil N ◽  
Granular Form ◽  
Nitrate N ◽  
Eastern Australia ◽  
Canopy Area ◽  
A Site

The nitrogen-use efficiency (NUE) of a fertiliser has implications for pasture growth and the environment. This study aimed to compare application of urea as a foliar spray or in granular form, to kikuyu (Cenchrus clandestinus (Hochst. ex Chiov.) Morrone) and short-rotation ryegrass (Italian ryegrass, Lolium multiflorum Lam.) pastures in the subtropical dairy region of eastern Australia. The first experiment was a replicated grazing study on a site with a high plant-available soil N (75 mg nitrate-N/kg). The granular rate of urea was 46 kg N/ha.month equivalent, and the foliar spray rate was 40% of the granular rate. Pasture growth rate (51 DM/ha.day with foliar spray vs 45 kg DM/ha.day with granules) and pasture consumed (4942 vs 4382 kg DM/ha) were not significantly different between treatments. However, over the 8 months of the study, soil nitrate-N levels fell from 75 to 22 mg/kg on the foliar plots but only fell to 60 mg/kg on the granular plots. The second experiment was a replicated plot-cut experiment on a site with a low plant-available soil N (8.7 mg nitrate-N/kg). The NUE for kikuyu grass was similar for all treatments with a mean of 14.8 kg DM/kg N for the four foliar treatments (high and low, with and without wetting agent) and 17.4 kg DM/kg N for the granular treatment. The NUE for the ryegrass was also similar for all treatments, with a mean of 13.2 kg DM/kg N for the foliar treatments and 15.8 kg DM/ha for the granular treatment. A third experiment, evaluating absorption of foliar-sprayed urea over time, found that &gt;80% of the urea applied to kikuyu was absorbed by 7 h; for ryegrass, the amount absorbed was only ~45% but increased to ~75% if wetting agent was included. We suggest that the lack of benefit in NUE achieved by applying urea as a foliar spray, which contrasts with results from studies in temperate dairy farm systems, is primarily associated with the substantially lower tiller density and hence the smaller canopy area for absorption of the foliar spray by the new regrowth shoots post-grazing.

Sowing date and varietal effects on the N2 fixation of field pea and implications for improvement of soil nitrogen

1993 ◽  
Vol 44 (1) ◽  
pp. 151 ◽  
Author(s):  
GE O'Connor ◽  
J Evans ◽  
NA Fettell ◽  
I Bamforth ◽  
J Stuchberry ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
N2 Fixation ◽  
Dry Matter ◽  
Sowing Date ◽  
Isotope Dilution Method ◽  
Dilution Method ◽  
Total N ◽  
Sowing Dates ◽  
Eastern Australia ◽  
Biomass N ◽  
Varietal Variation

Dry matter, biomass N, N2 fixation (determined by the 15N isotope dilution method), grain yield and grain N, were determined for five pea cultivars grown with three sowing times at six sites in south-eastern Australia. Earlier sowing (late April to early May) increased N2 fixation (by as much as 96 kg N/ha compared to sowing in late June to early July). Early sowing improved the probability of peas contributing to soil total N. The potential increment in soil N from the pea stubbles left after harvesting grain, averaged over the varieties, was as high as 98 kg N/ha with early sowing, and as low as -38 kg N/ha with late sowing. The benefits from earlier sowing were due to larger dry matter production with a higher N concentration and a greater proportion of plant N from N2 fixation. Varietal variation in fixed N and potential for augmenting soil total N, was generally smaller than the variation in these parameters due to different sowing dates.

Application of physiological understanding in soybean improvement. I. Understanding phenological constraints to adaptation and yield potential

2011 ◽  
Vol 62 (1) ◽  
pp. 1 ◽  
Author(s):  
R. J. Lawn ◽  
A. T. James
Keyword(s):  
Seed Yield ◽  
Environmental Control ◽  
Thermal Environment ◽  
Sowing Date ◽  
Companion Paper ◽  
Interaction Effects ◽  
Yield Potential ◽  
Environment Interaction ◽  
Sowing Dates ◽  
Eastern Australia

The purpose of this paper and its companion1 is to describe how, in eastern Australia, soybean improvement, in terms of both breeding and agronomy, has been informed and influenced over the past four decades by physiological understanding of the environmental control of phenology. This first paper describes how initial attempts to grow soybean in eastern Australia, using varieties and production practices from the southern USA, met with limited success due to large variety × environment interaction effects on seed yield. In particular, there were large variety × location, variety × sowing date, and variety × sowing date × density effects. These various interaction effects were ultimately explained in terms of the effects of photo-thermal environment on the phenology of different varieties, and the consequences for radiation interception, dry matter production, harvest index, and seed yield. This knowledge enabled the formulation of agronomic practices to optimise sowing date and planting arrangement to suit particular varieties, and underpinned the establishment of commercial production in south-eastern Queensland in the early 1970s. It also influenced the establishment and operation over the next three decades of several separate breeding programs, each targeting phenological adaptation to specific latitudinal regions of eastern Australia. This paper also describes how physiological developments internationally, particularly the discovery of the long juvenile trait and to a lesser extent the semi-dwarf ideotype, subsequently enabled an approach to be conceived for broadening the phenological adaptation of soybeans across latitudes and sowing dates. The application of this approach, and its outcomes in terms of varietal improvement, agronomic management, and the structure of the breeding program, are described in the companion paper.

Comparison of rotations in which barley for grain follows woollypod vetch or forage barley

1987 ◽  
Vol 108 (3) ◽  
pp. 609-615 ◽  
Author(s):  
I. Papastylianou ◽  
Th. Samios
Keyword(s):  
Grain Yield ◽  
Dry Matter ◽  
Nitrogen Concentration ◽  
N Balance ◽  
Dry Matter Yield ◽  
Soil N ◽  
Fertilizer N ◽  
Total Soil ◽  
Using Data ◽  
Total Soil N

SummaryUsing data from rotation studies in which barley or woollypod vetch were included, both cut for hay and preceding barley for grain, it is shown that forage barley gave higher dry-matter yield than woollypod vetch (3·74 v. 2·92 t/ha per year). However, the latter gave feedingstuff of higher nitrogen concentration and yield (86 kg N/ha per year for vetch v. 55 kg N/ha per year for barley). Rainfall was an important factor in controlling the yield of the two forages and the comparison between them in different years and sites. Barley following woollypod vetch gave higher grain yield than when following forage barley (2·36 v. 1·91 t/ha). Rotation sequences which included woollypod vetch had higher output of nitrogen (N) than input of fertilizer N with a positive value of 44–60 kg N/ha per year. In rotations where forage barley was followed by barley for grain the N balance between output and input was 5–6 kg N/ha. Total soil N was similar in the different rotations at the end of a 7-year period.

Effects of variety, fertilizer nitrogen and sowing date on in vitro digestibility and botanical fractions of oat straw

1997 ◽  
Vol 1997 ◽  
pp. 74-74
Author(s):  
M.R. Islam ◽  
E. Owen ◽  
D.I. Givens ◽  
A.R. Moss
Keyword(s):  
Treatment Effects ◽  
Sowing Date ◽  
In Vitro Digestibility ◽  
Botanical Composition ◽  
Fertilizer Nitrogen ◽  
Straw Quality ◽  
Oat Straw ◽  
A Site

Islam et al. (1996) reported effects of variety, fertilizer nitrogen (N) and sowing date on the botanical fractions of straw from oats grown at one site in NE England (ADAS High Mowthorpe). The present study investigated the effect of the same factors on straw quality from oats grown at a site in the SW Midlands (ADAS Rosemaund). Treatment effects on both botanical fractions and in vitro digestibility were measured, and the relationships between botanical composition and in vitro digestibility were investigated.

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