scholarly journals Amendment ofTephrosiaImproved Fallows with Inorganic Fertilizers Improves Soil Chemical Properties, N Uptake, and Maize Yield in Malawi

2014 ◽  
Vol 2014 ◽  
pp. 1-9 ◽  
Author(s):  
Maggie G. Munthali ◽  
Charles K. K. Gachene ◽  
Gudeta W. Sileshi ◽  
Nancy K. Karanja

Maize production in Malawi is limited mainly by low soil N and P. Improved fallows of N-fixing legumes such asTephrosiaandSesbaniaoffer options for improving soil fertility particularly N supply. The interactions ofTephrosiafallows and inorganic fertilizers on soil properties, N uptake, and maize yields were evaluated at Chitedze Research Station in Malawi. The results indicated that the level of organic matter and pH increased in all the treatments except for the control. Total N remained almost unchanged while available P decreased in all plots amended withT. vogeliibut increased inT. candidaplots where inorganic P was applied. Exchangeable K increased in all the plots irrespective of the type of amendment. The interaction of N and P fertilizers withT. vogeliifallows significantly increased the grain yield. The treatment that received 45 kg N ha−1and 20 kg P ha−1produced significantly higher grain yields (6.8 t ha−1) than all the other treatments except where 68 kg N ha−1and 30 kg P ha−1were applied which gave 6.5 t ha−1of maize grain.T. candidafallows alone or in combination with N and P fertilizers did not significantly affect grain yield. However,T. candidafallows alone can raise maize grain yield by 300% over the no-input control. Based on these results we conclude that high quality residues such asT. candidaandT. vogeliican be used as sources of nutrients to improve crop yields and soil fertility in N-limited soils. However, inorganic P fertilizer is needed due to the low soil available P levels.

Author(s):  
P. O. Kisinyo ◽  
P. A. Opala ◽  
S. O. Gudu

Soil acidity, low level of nitrogen (N), phosphorus (P) and soil organic matter are major constraints to sorghum production in Kenya. We investigated the effect of farmyard manure (FYM) and combined application of inorganic nitrogen and phosphate fertilizers applied as calcium ammonium nitrate and triple superphosphate respectively, on soil pH, available P, total N, organic carbon and sorghum grain yield, on a smallholder farm in Siaya County, Kenya. The experiment was a randomized complete block design consisting of four treatments i.e., FYM applied at 0 and 4 t ha-1 in a factorial arrangement with inorganic fertilizers applied to provide 0 and 26 kg P ha-1 + 75 kg N ha-1, replicated three times. The study was conducted during the long rains of March to June and short rains September to December, 2017. Farmyard manure was applied only during the long rains season of 2017, while P and N fertilizers were applied in both cropping seasons. Soil sampling was done before treatment applications and at harvest time. Soil analysis revealed that the soil was acidic (pH = 4.9) with low available P (5.3 mg kg-1 and N (0.08%) but moderate amounts of C (2.0%) and Ca (3.4 cmol kg-1). The effect of sole application of FYM on soil P, N and grain yield were lower than those of the inorganic fertilizers. Farmyard manure increased soil pH because of its alkalinity (pH = 7.1) while triple superphosphate reduced it due to release of phosphoric acid into the soil. The mean annual (average of two seasons) grain yield increments, above the control with no nutrient inputs, due to 4.0 t FYM, 26 kg P ha-1 + 75 kg N ha-1 and 4.0 FYM + 26 kg P ha-1 + 75 kg N ha-1 were 64, 191 and 259%, respectively. Therefore combined applications of FYM and N and P fertilizers have the potential to increase sorghum grain yield on Kenyan acid soils.


1997 ◽  
Vol 77 (3) ◽  
pp. 487-495 ◽  
Author(s):  
B. Gagnon ◽  
R. R. Simard ◽  
R. Robitaille ◽  
M. Goulet ◽  
R. Rioux

The nutrient availability of composts has to be known for their safe use in crop production. A field study was carried out to assess the effect of a spring application of composts and inorganic fertilizers on spring wheat (Triticum aestivum L. 'Messier') growth and N uptake in eastern Québec (Canada). The experiment was conducted in 1994 and 1995 on two different soils: a Kamouraska clay (Orthic Humic Gleysol) and a Saint-André sandy loam (Fragic Humo-Ferric Podzol). Four composts were applied at rates of 0, 90, 180 and 360 kg total N ha−1. Inorganic fertilizers were applied at rates of 0, 50, 100 and 200% of wheat N, P or K requirements. Treatments in which inorganic fertilizers (IN) were added to composts were also included. Grain yield was increased by N rates whereas composts alone at 90 kg total N ha–1 resulted in lower yields than the control in the first year on the sandy loam. Commercial composts resulted in higher yields than dairy manure composts. Wheat showed no significant response to P and K fertilizers on either soil. Compost rates had no effect on grain N content but commercial composts increased straw N by 36 to 63%. Addition of IN to composts increased grain yield by 0.1 to 1.5 Mg ha−1 and N uptake by 4 to 55 kg N ha−1, depending on soil and weather conditions. Apparent recovery efficiency of added N for composts was −14 to 15% whereas it ranged from 24 to 56% for IN. In spring wheat production, composts should be considered more as organic matter amendments because of their limited N efficiency. Key words: Composted dairy manure, shrimp wastes, peat moss, apparent N recovery


1970 ◽  
pp. 31-36
Author(s):  
Bhaba P Tripathi ◽  
Junu K Tuladhar

Field experiments on maize-wheat system were carried out in rainfed upland (bari) at Agricultural Research Station, Lumle for three years (1994/95-1996/97) to determine the effect of different quality organic materials on maize and wheat yields and soil properties. Wheat grain yield significantly differed over years and the highest mean grain yield (1.98 t ha-1) was recorded in the treatment of mixture of low and high quality organic materials (maize + leaf litter, farmyard manure). Maize and wheat grain as well as straw yield significantly differed over years. In all the three years, the mixture of low and high quality organic materials produced the highest grain yield of maize plus wheat ranging from 6.72 to 2.20 t ha-1 with mean yield of 4.43 t ha-1. Mean N uptake by wheat grain and straw ranged from 32.2 to 40.4 kg ha-1 and 13.8 to 16.0 kg ha-1, respectively in different treatments. Similarly, mean P uptake by wheat grain was the highest (25.4 kg ha-1) in the mixture treatment while mean P uptake by wheat straw was the highest (26.5 kg ha-1) in low quality organic materials. Mean soil pH after wheat harvest was the lowest (5.1) in the low quality organic material. Organic carbon and available P ranged from 3.4 to 3.7% and from 329 to 370 ppm, respectively in different treatments while total N and exchangeable K increased to 0.31% and 0.2 me/100g, respectively with the application of low quality organic material. The three years result showed that semi-decomposed organic materials were more efficient in improving and stabilizing production of wheat and maize yields in maize-wheat system as well as in maintaining N fertility than high quality organic materials.Key words: Maize-wheat system; Organic materials; Soil fertility; SustainabilityDOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.3126/narj.v4i0.4861Nepal Agriculture Research Journal Vol. 4&5, 2001/2002Page: 31-36Uploaded date: 8 June, 2011


2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Khadim Dawar ◽  
Shah Fahad ◽  
M. M. R. Jahangir ◽  
Iqbal Munir ◽  
Syed Sartaj Alam ◽  
...  

AbstractIn this study, we explored the role of biochar (BC) and/or urease inhibitor (UI) in mitigating ammonia (NH3) and nitrous oxide (N2O) discharge from urea fertilized wheat cultivated fields in Pakistan (34.01°N, 71.71°E). The experiment included five treatments [control, urea (150 kg N ha−1), BC (10 Mg ha−1), urea + BC and urea + BC + UI (1 L ton−1)], which were all repeated four times and were carried out in a randomized complete block design. Urea supplementation along with BC and BC + UI reduced soil NH3 emissions by 27% and 69%, respectively, compared to sole urea application. Nitrous oxide emissions from urea fertilized plots were also reduced by 24% and 53% applying BC and BC + UI, respectively, compared to urea alone. Application of BC with urea improved the grain yield, shoot biomass, and total N uptake of wheat by 13%, 24%, and 12%, respectively, compared to urea alone. Moreover, UI further promoted biomass and grain yield, and N assimilation in wheat by 38%, 22% and 27%, respectively, over sole urea application. In conclusion, application of BC and/or UI can mitigate NH3 and N2O emissions from urea fertilized soil, improve N use efficiency (NUE) and overall crop productivity.


2001 ◽  
Vol 49 (4) ◽  
pp. 369-378 ◽  
Author(s):  
S. N. SHARMA ◽  
R. PRASAD

Field experiments were conducted for two crop years at the Indian Agricultural Research Institute, New Delhi to study the effect of enriching wheat residue with legume residue on the productivity and nitrogen uptake of a rice-wheat cropping system and soil fertility. The incorporation of wheat residue had an adverse effect on the productivity of the rice-wheat cropping system. When it was incorporated along with Sesbania green manure, not only did its adverse effect disappear but the response to fertilizer N was also increased. There was no response to fertilizer N when Sesbania green manure was incorporated. When wheat residue was incorporated along with Sesbania green manuring, rice responded significantly to fertilizer N up to 120 kg N ha-1 in the first year and to 60 kgN ha-1 in the second year and at these levels of N, Sesbania + wheat residue gave 0.8 to 1.2 t ha-1 more grain, 0.6-1.0 t ha-1 more straw and 8-15 kg ha-1 more N uptake of rice resulting in 0.04-0.17% more organic C, 3-8 kg ha-1 more available P and 17-25 kg ha-1 more available K content in the soil than wheat residue alone at the same rates of N application. The respective increaseas caused by Sesbania green manure + wheat residue over Sesbania green manure alone were 0.3-0.5 t ha-1 in the grain and straw yield, 1-9 kg ha-1 in the N uptake of rice, 0.02-0.10% in organic C, 1-8 kg ha-1 in available P and 35- 70 kg ha-1 in available K content in the soil. These treatments also gave higher residual effects in succeeding wheat than wheat residue alone. The incorporation of residues of both wheat and Sesbania is thus recommended to eliminate the adverse effect of wheat residue and to increase the beneficial effects of Sesbania green manuring.


2022 ◽  
Vol 12 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yushi Zhang ◽  
Yubin Wang ◽  
Churong Liu ◽  
Delian Ye ◽  
Danyang Ren ◽  
...  

Increasing use of plant density or/and nitrogen (N) application has been introduced to maize production in the past few decades. However, excessive planting density or/and use of fertilizer may cause reduced N use efficiency (NUE) and increased lodging risks. Ethephon application improves maize lodging resistance and has been an essential measure in maize intensive production systems associated with high plant density and N input in China. Limited information is available about the effect of ethephon on maize N use and the response to plant density under different N rates in the field. A three-year field study was conducted with two ethephon applications (0 and 90 g ha−1), four N application rates (0, 75, 150, and 225 kg N ha−1), and two plant densities (6.75 plants m−2 and 7.5 plants m−2) to evaluate the effects of ethephon on maize NUE indices (N agronomic efficiency, NAE; N recovery efficiency, NRE; N uptake efficiency, NUpE; N utilization efficiency, NUtE; partial factor productivity of N, PFPN), biomass, N concentration, grain yield and N uptake, and translocation properties. The results suggest that the application of ethephon decreased the grain yield by 1.83–5.74% due to the decrease of grain numbers and grain weight during the three experimental seasons. Meanwhile, lower biomass, NO3- and NH4+ fluxes in xylem bleeding sap, and total N uptake were observed under ethephon treatments. These resulted in lower NAE and NUpE under the ethephon treatment at a corresponding N application rate and plant density. The ethephon treatment had no significant effects on the N concentration in grains, and it decreased the N concentration in stover at the harvesting stage, while increasing the plant N concentration at the silking stage. Consequently, post-silking N remobilization was significantly increased by 14.10–32.64% under the ethephon treatment during the experimental periods. Meanwhile, NUtE significantly increased by ethephon.


2016 ◽  
Vol 27 (2) ◽  
pp. 149-153
Author(s):  
MR Islam ◽  
S Siraj ◽  
A Huda ◽  
MLN Begum ◽  
S Bilkis

An experiment was conducted at the Soil Science Field Laboratory of Bangladesh Agricultural University, Mymensingh during winter (Rabi) season of 2013-14 to evaluate the effect of integrated use of organic and inorganic fertilizers on the growth, yield and nitrogen (N) uptake of wheat. There were six treatments such as T0 (control), T1 [STB-CF (HYG)], T2 [STB-CF (HYG) + CD (5 t/ha)], T3 [STB-CF (HYG) +PM (3 t/ha)], T4 [STB-CF (HYG) COM (5 t/ha)] and T5 [FP (Farmers’ practice)]. The experiment was laid out in a Randomized Complete Block Design with four replications. Soil test based nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium, sulphur, zinc and boron were used @ 100, 20, 60, 10, 3 and 2 kg ha-1, respectively. The integrated use of organic and inorganic fertilizers significantly increased the yield attributes as well as grain and straw yields of wheat. The treatment T3 [STB-CF (HYG) + PM (3 tha-1)] produced the highest grain yield of 3554 kg ha-1 (69.67% increase over control) and straw yield of 3635 kg ha-1 (62.83% increase over control). The lowest grain yield (2094 kg ha-1) and straw yield (2232 kg ha-1) were found in control treatment. The N content and uptake by wheat were also markedly influenced by combined use of organic and inorganic fertilizers and the treatment T3 demonstrated superior performance to other treatments. So, the applications of fertilizers in combination with poultry manure @ 3 t ha-1 can be used for the successful cultivation of wheat in Old Brahmaputra Floodplain soil. Progressive Agriculture 27 (2): 149-153, 2016


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.


2016 ◽  
Vol 96 (4) ◽  
pp. 386-399 ◽  
Author(s):  
Athyna N. Cambouris ◽  
Noura Ziadi ◽  
Isabelle Perron ◽  
Khaled D. Alotaibi ◽  
Mervin St. Luce ◽  
...  

Information on how soil texture and related soil properties affect corn (Zea mays L.) nitrogen (N) response is needed to improve N management in corn production. We conducted a study at 12-site yr in Quebec to assess the effect of N rate (0–250 kg N ha−1) and soil surface textural groups [clay, loam, sandy belonging to the gleysolic soil order (Sg), and sandy belonging to the podzolic soil order (Sp)] on corn grain yield, stover yield, total N uptake (TNU), nitrogen uptake efficiency (NUE), thousand kernel weight (TKW), test weight, and chlorophyll meter readings (CMR). Corn was more responsive to N rate in the clay soil textural group for most of the parameters due to lower soil N supply, and least responsive in the Sp group, except for test weight and CMR, due to possibly greater leaching in this group. The CMR at flowering accounted for 87%, 87%, 82%, and 25% of the variation in grain yield, TNU, TKW, and test weight, respectively. This study suggests that soil surface texture has a major influence on corn N response, but other soil properties such as drainage may also be important.


Author(s):  
Arusey Chebet ◽  
Otinga A. Nekesa ◽  
Wilson Ng’etich ◽  
Ruth Njoroge ◽  
Roland W. Scholz ◽  
...  

The objective of this study was to evaluate the effects of site-specific fertilizer recommendations on maize yield using the transdisciplinary (TD) process. 144 farmers participated in the study for the two seasons. Experiments were laid on the farmers’ fields at four sites (Kapyemit, Kipsomba, Ngenyilel and Ziwa, in Uasin Gishu County) using Randomized Complete Block Design in a 3 x 2 factorial arrangement. Treatments included farmers who participated in the TD process (TD2) and those who did not (TD1) in using the interventions for soil fertility improvement which were farmer own practices (ST1); farmers who applied government recommendations (ST2), and site-specific fertilizer recommendations (ST3) which was based on soil testing results. The Data collected was the dry weights of maize which were measured at the end of the seasons and subjected to Analysis of Variance using Genstat 14th edition. Means separation was done using Fischer’s unprotected Least Significant Difference.. There was a significant effect on maize yields by soil testing and participation in TD process p = 0.01. The mean maize grain yield for season one was 5.43 ton ha-1 while for season two was 5.73 ton ha-1. Control farmers (TD1) maize grain yield of 5.27 ton ha-1, had a significant difference (p = 0.05) from the yield of participating farmers (TD2) who had 5.96 ton ha-1. Maize grain yield was increased by the application of site specific fertilizer recommendations which gave an overall mean of 6.57 ton ha-1 for season one and 6.56 ton ha-1 for season two. Following (ST3) recommendations and participation in the TD process, improved soil nutrient content thus maize yield increased. We recommend soil testing and consequent site-specific fertilizer recommendations for any initiative in managing soil fertility.


Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document