scholarly journals Soil Properties for Predicting Soil Mineral Nitrogen Dynamics Throughout a Wheat Growing Cycle in Calcareous Soils

Agronomy ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 8 (12) ◽  
pp. 303 ◽  
Author(s):  
Marta Aranguren ◽  
Ana Aizpurua ◽  
Ander Castellón ◽  
Gerardo Besga ◽  
Nerea Villar

A better understanding of the capacity of soils to supply nitrogen (N) to wheat can enhance fertilizer recommendations. The aim of this study was to assess the soil mineral N (Nmin) dynamics throughout the wheat growing season in crucial stages for the plant yield and grain protein content (GPC). To this aim, we evaluated the utility of different soil properties analyzed before sowing: (i) commonly used soil physicochemical properties, (ii) potentially mineralizable N or No (aerobic incubation), and (iii) different extraction methods for estimating No. A greenhouse experiment was established using samples from 16 field soils from northern Spain. Wheat N uptake and soil Nmin concentrations were determined at following growing stages (GS): sowing, GS30, GS37, GS60, harvest, post-harvest, and pre-sowing. Pearson’s correlation analysis of the soil properties, aerobic incubations and chemical extractions with the soil Nmin dynamics and N uptake, yield and GPC was performed. In addition, correlations were performed between Nmin and the N uptake, yield, and GPC. The dynamics of soil Nmin throughout the cropping season were variable, and thus, the crop N necessities were variable. The soil Nmin values in the early wheat growth stages were well correlated with the yield, and in the late stages, they were well correlated with GPC. N0 was correlated with the late N uptake and GPC. However, the chemical methods that avoid the long periods required for N0 determinations were not correlated with the N uptake in the late wheat growth stages or GPC. Conversely, clay was positively correlated with the late Nmin values and GPC. Chemical methods were unable to estimate the available soil N in the later stages of the growing cycle. Consequently, as incubation methods are too laborious for their widespread use, further research must be conducted.

1987 ◽  
Vol 109 (1) ◽  
pp. 141-157 ◽  
Author(s):  
T. M. Addiscott ◽  
A. P. Whitmore

summaryThe computer model described simulates changes in soil mineral nitrogen and crop uptake of nitrogen by computing on a daily basis the amounts of N leached, mineralized, nitrified and taken up by the crop. Denitrification is not included at present. The leaching submodel divides the soil into layers, each of which contains mobile and immobile water. It needs points from the soil moisture characteristic, measured directly or derived from soil survey data; it also needs daily rainfall and evaporation. The mineralization and nitrification submodel assumes pseudo-zero order kinetics and depends on the net mineralization rate in the topsoil and the daily soil temperature and moisture content, the latter being computed in the leaching submodel. The crop N uptake and dry-matter production submodel is a simple function driven by degree days of soil temperature and needs in addition only the sowing date and the date the soil returns to field capacity, the latter again being computed in the leaching submodel. A sensitivity analysis was made, showing the effects of 30% changes in the input variables on the simulated amounts of soil mineral N and crop N present in spring when decisions on N fertilizer rates have to be made. Soil mineral N was influenced most by changes in rainfall, soil water content, mineralization rate and soil temperature, whilst crop N was affected most by changes in soil temperature, rainfall and sowing date. The model has so far been applied only to winter wheat growing through autumn, winter and spring but it should be adaptable to other crops and to a full season.The model was validated by comparing its simulations with measurements of soil mineral N, dry matter and the amounts of N taken up by winter wheat in experiments made at seven sites during 5 years. The simulations were assessed graphically and with the aid of several statistical summaries of the goodness of fit. The agreement was generally very good; over all years 72% of all simulations of soil mineral N to 90 cm depth were within 20 kg N/ha of the soil measurements; also 78% of the simulations of crop nitrogen uptake were within 15 kg N/ha and 63% of the simulated yields of dry matter were within 25 g/m2 of the amounts measured. All correlation coefficients were large, positive, and highly significant, and on average no statistically significant differences were found between simulation and measurement either for soil mineral N or for crop N uptake.


2008 ◽  
Vol 23 (03) ◽  
pp. 250-259 ◽  
Author(s):  
Derek H. Lynch ◽  
Zhiming Zheng ◽  
Bernie J. Zebarth ◽  
Ralph C. Martin

AbstractThe market for certified organic potatoes in Canada is growing rapidly, but the productivity and dynamics of soil N under commercial organic potato systems remain largely unknown. This study examined, at two sites in Atlantic Canada (Winslow, PEI, and Brookside, NS), the impacts of organic amendments on Shepody potato yield, quality and soil mineral nitrogen dynamics under organic management. Treatments included a commercial hog manure–sawdust compost (CP) and pelletized poultry manure (NW) applied at 300 and 600 kg total N ha−1, plus an un-amended control (CT). Wireworm damage reduced plant stands at Brookside in 2003 and those results are not presented. Relatively high tuber yields (~30 Mg ha−1) and crop N uptake (112 kg N ha−1) were achieved for un-amended soil in those site-years (Winslow 2003 and 2004) when soil moisture was non-limiting. Compost resulted in higher total yields than CT in one of three site-years. Apparent recovery of N from CP was negligible; therefore CP yield benefits were attributed to factors other than N availability. At Winslow, NW300, but not NW600, significantly increased total and marketable yields by an average of 5.8 and 7.0 Mg ha−1. Plant available N averaged 39 and 33% for NW300 and NW600, respectively. Soil (0–30 cm) NO3−-N at harvest was low (<25 kg N ha−1) for CT and CP, but increased substantially both in season and at harvest (61–141 kg N ha−1) when NW was applied. Most leaching losses of NO3−-N occur between seasons and excessive levels of residual soil NO3-N at harvest, as obtained for NW600, must be avoided. Given current premiums for certified organic potatoes, improving yields through application of amendments supplying moderate rates of N or organic matter appears warranted.


Soil Research ◽  
2017 ◽  
Vol 55 (6) ◽  
pp. 553 ◽  
Author(s):  
Elliott G. Duncan ◽  
Cathryn A. O’Sullivan ◽  
Margaret M. Roper ◽  
Mark B. Peoples ◽  
Karen Treble ◽  
...  

Nitrification inhibitors (NIs) such as 3,4,-dimethylpyrazole phosphate (DMPP), are used to suppress the abundance of ammonia-oxidising micro-organisms responsible for nitrification. In agriculture, NIs are used to retain soil mineral nitrogen (N) as ammonium to minimise the risk of losses of N from agricultural soils. It is currently unclear whether DMPP-induced nitrification inhibition can prevent losses of N from the light soils prevalent across the main rain-fed cropping regions of Western Australia, or whether it can improve the productivity or N uptake by broadacre crops such as wheat. Herein, we report on a series of glasshouse and field studies that examined the effect of applications of DMPP in conjunction with urea (as ENTEC urea; Incitec Pivot, Melbourne, Vic., Australia) on: (1) soil nitrification rates; (2) the abundance of ammonia-oxidising bacteria and archaea (AOB and AOA respectively); and (3) wheat performance (grain yield, protein content and N accumulation). A glasshouse study demonstrated that DMPP inhibited nitrification (for up to ~40 days after application) and reduced the abundance of AOB (by 50%), but had no effect on AOA abundance, wheat grain yield or protein content at any fertiliser N rate. Across six field experiments, DMPP also limited nitrification rates and reduced AOB abundance for approximately the first 40 days after application. However, by the end of the growing season, DMPP use had not increased soil mineral N resources or impaired AOB abundance compared with urea-only applications. In addition, DMPP had no effect on AOA abundance in any trial and did not improve crop performance in most trials.


1989 ◽  
Vol 40 (4) ◽  
pp. 753
Author(s):  
J Brockwell ◽  
RR Gault ◽  
LJ Morthorpe ◽  
MB Peoples ◽  
GL Turner ◽  
...  

Soybeans (Glycine max [L.] Merrill cv. Forrest) were grown under irrigation on a well-structured grey clay soil, previously free of Bradyrhizobium japonicum and containing relatively high levels of mineral N, at Trangie, N.S.W. There were two soil pretreatments, pre-cropped (which had the effect of reducing the level of mineral nitrogen in the soil) and pre-fallowed, and four rates of inoculation (B. japonicum CB 1809 - nil, 0.01 X, 1.OX [=normal] and 100X).Mineral nitrogen (0-10 cm) initially was higher in pre-fallowed soil than in pre-cropped soil (37.6 v. 18.5 mg N per kg). Depletion of mineral nitrogen occurred more rapidly in pre-fallowed treatments, so that, 7 days after harvest, mineral-N in pre-cropped soil was significantly higher than in pre-fallowed soil (14.4 v. 10.6 mg per kg).With high levels of soil mineral nitrogen, colonization of seedling rhizospheres by rhizobia and plant nodulation were diminished. These effects were ameliorated but not eliminated by increased rates of inoculation. The development of the symbiosis was also impeded by lower rates of inoculation (0.01 X, 1.OX).


1995 ◽  
Vol 125 (1) ◽  
pp. 61-68 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. F. Allison ◽  
H. M. Hetschkun

SUMMARYIn 1990–92, field experiments were performed at Broom's Barn Experimental Station to study the effect of 5 years' repeated straw incorporation on sugarbeet. Straw incorporation had no effect on plant population density. Processing quality was reduced by incorporated straw but N had a much larger effect. The effect of incorporated straw on the mineral N content of the soils and N uptake by beet was inconsistent, and this may be related to the amount of soil mineral N present when the straw was incorporated. The efficiency of fertilizer use was unaffected by straw incorporation. On Broom's Barn soils when straw was incorporated, the optimal economic N dressing was c. 120 kg N/ha, and in unincorporated plots it was c. 100 kg N/ha. At the optimal economic N rate, incorporated straw increased beet yields.


Soil Research ◽  
2016 ◽  
Vol 54 (5) ◽  
pp. 634 ◽  
Author(s):  
Graeme D. Schwenke ◽  
David F. Herridge ◽  
Clemens Scheer ◽  
David W. Rowlings ◽  
Bruce M. Haigh ◽  
...  

The northern Australian grains industry relies on nitrogen (N) fertiliser to optimise yield and protein, but N fertiliser can increase soil fluxes of nitrous oxide (N2O) and methane (CH4). We measured soil N2O and CH4 fluxes associated with wheat (Triticum aestivum) and barley (Hordeum vulgare) using automated (Expts 1, 3) and manual chambers (Expts 2, 4, 5). Experiments were conducted on subtropical Vertosol soils fertilised with N rates of 0–160kgNha–1. In Expt 1 (2010), intense rainfall for a month before and after sowing elevated N2O emissions from N-fertilised (80kgNha–1) wheat, with 417gN2O-Nha–1 emitted compared with 80g N2O-Nha–1 for non-fertilised wheat. Once crop N uptake reduced soil mineral N, there was no further treatment difference in N2O. Expt 2 (2010) showed similar results, however, the reduced sampling frequency using manual chambers gave a lower cumulative N2O. By contrast, very low rainfall before and for several months after sowing Expt 3 (2011) resulted in no difference in N2O emissions between N-fertilised and non-fertilised barley. N2O emission factors were 0.42, 0.20 and –0.02 for Expts 1, 2 and 3, respectively. In Expts 4 and 5 (2011), N2O emissions increased with increasing rate of N fertiliser. Emissions were reduced by 45% when the N fertiliser was applied in a 50:50 split between sowing and mid-tillering, or by 70% when urea was applied with the nitrification inhibitor 3,4-dimethylpyrazole-phosphate. Methane fluxes were typically small and mostly negative in all experiments, especially in dry soils. Cumulative CH4 uptake ranged from 242 to 435g CH4-Cha–1year–1, with no effect of N fertiliser treatment. Considered in terms of CO2 equivalents, soil CH4 uptake offset 8–56% of soil N2O emissions, with larger offsets occurring in non-N-fertilised soils. The first few months from N fertiliser application to the period of rapid crop N uptake pose the main risk for N2O losses from rainfed cereal cropping on subtropical Vertosols, but the realisation of this risk is dependent on rainfall. Strategies that reduce the soil mineral N pool during this time can reduce the risk of N2O loss.


2002 ◽  
Vol 139 (2) ◽  
pp. 115-127 ◽  
Author(s):  
MARTYN SILGRAM ◽  
BRIAN J. CHAMBERS

The effects of straw incorporation (early and late cultivation) and straw burning were contrasted in a split-plot study examining the impact of long-term straw residue management, and six fertilizer nitrogen (N) rates on soil mineral nitrogen, crop fertilizer N requirements and nitrate leaching losses. The experiments ran from 1984 to 1997 on light-textured soils at ADAS Gleadthorpe (Nottinghamshire, UK) and Morley Research Centre (Norfolk, UK).Soil incorporation of the straw residues returned an estimated 633 kg N/ha at Gleadthorpe and 429 kg N/ha at Morley on the treatment receiving 150 kg/ha per year fertilizer N since 1984. Straw disposal method had no consistent effect on grain and straw yields, crop N uptake, or optimal fertilizer N rates. In every year there was a positive response (P<0·001) to fertilizer N in straw/grain yields, N contents and crop N offtakes at both sites. Nitrate leaching losses were slightly reduced by less than 10 kg N/ha where straw residues had been incorporated, while fertilizer N additions increased nitrate leached at both sites.At both sites there was a consistent effect (P<0·001) of straw disposal method on autumn soil mineral N, with values following the pattern burn>early incorporate>late plough. The incorporation of straw residues induced temporary N immobilization compared with the treatment where straw was burnt, while the earlier timing of tillage on the incorporate treatment resulted in slightly more mineral N compared with the later ploughed treatment. Fertilizer N rate increased (P<0·001) soil mineral nitrogen at both sites. At Morley, there was more organic carbon in the plough layer where straw had been incorporated (mean 1·09 g/100 g) rather than burnt (mean 0·89 g/100 g), and a strong positive relationship between organic carbon and fertilizer N rate (r2=93·2%, P<0·01). There was a detectable effect of fertilizer N on readily mineralizable N in the plough layer at both Gleadthorpe (P<0·001) and Morley (P<0·05). At Morley, there was a consistent trend (P=0·06) for readily mineralizable N to be higher where straw had been incorporated rather than burnt, indicating that ploughing-in residues may contribute to soil nitrogen supply over the longer term.


1989 ◽  
Vol 37 (2) ◽  
pp. 129-141 ◽  
Author(s):  
J.J. Neeteson ◽  
H.J.C. Zwetsloot

A statistical analysis was performed to investigate if, and to what extent, the response of sugarbeet and potatoes to fertilizer N depended on the amount of mineral N already present in the soil, soil type, and prior application of organic manures. For this purpose the results of 150 field trials with sugarbeet and 98 with potatoes were used. The analysis was focussed on the within-block stratum of variation in yield, where regression models were fitted to describe the response to N. For both sugarbeet and potatoes the best fit was obtained when not only fertilizer N was taken into account, but also soil mineral N, soil type and prior application of organic manures. The response to fertilizer N was weaker as the amount of soil mineral N was larger. The optimum amount of fertilizer N plus soil mineral N required was larger on sandy soils than on loam and clay soils. The difference was about 20 kg N/ha for sugarbeet and 100 kg N/ha for potatoes. When organic manures were applied prior to the application of fertilizer N, the optimum for both sugarbeet and potatoes was 15-50 N/ha lower than without application of organic manures. (Abstract retrieved from CAB Abstracts by CABI’s permission)


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