Fate of urea nitrogen applied in solution in furrows to sunflowers growing on a red-brown earth: transformations, losses and plant uptake

1988 ◽  
Vol 39 (5) ◽  
pp. 793 ◽  
Author(s):  
CJ Smith ◽  
JR Freney ◽  
PM Chalk ◽  
IE Galbally ◽  
DJ McKenney ◽  
...  

Nitrogen transformations and transfers were investigated after applying a urea solution to a crop of sunflowers by ponding in furrows. The fertilizer was applied 24 days after sowing. Distribution of the applied nitrogen (N) in the soil, N uptake by plants, and losses by ammonia (NH3) volatilization and denitrification were measured. This method of fertilizer application resulted in concentration of the applied N in the furrow and shoulder zone of the soil beds; little of the applied N moved across to the centre of the beds. Inorganic N was not leached into the clay B horizon, but was retained by the surface 0-200 mm layer. A 15N mass balance showed that 28 kg of the 80 kg N ha-1 applied (35%) was lost during the experiment. Less than 5 kg N ha-1 (6% of the applied N) was lost as NH3 and the remainder (22 kg N ha-1 or 29% of the applied N) appeared to be lost by denitrification. The 15N balance data suggest that c. 4.6 kg ha-1 fertilizer N were lost after each irrigation up to 44 days after fertilizer application. The study indicates that N loss could be markedly reduced by delaying the bulk of the application to coincide with the period of rapid uptake.

1978 ◽  
Vol 58 (2) ◽  
pp. 195-208 ◽  
Author(s):  
C. G. KOWALENKO ◽  
D. R. CAMERON

Three years of field experiments showed the interplay of plant uptake of N, N movement, denitrification, fixation of fertilizer NH4+ and its release, and N mineralization in soil–plant systems. The N uptake by barley (Hordeum vulgare L.), averaged over the growing season, ranged between 0.97 and 2.02 kg N/ha/day and the rate depended on initial extractable inorganic N in the soil, and form and timing of N fertilization. The net mineralization rate of this soil, averaged over the growing season, ranged between 0.16 and 1.80 kg N/ha/day and varied with year and N fertilization practices. However, detailed monitoring of plant uptake showed that a maximum rate of uptake occurred early in its growth, decreasing to a negligible rate later in the season. The N mineralization rate was more uniform over the growing season. A pool of inorganic N in the soil at seeding or within the first half of the growing season overcame the seasonal deficit in N supply and resulted in increased crop growth and/or N uptake. Fertilizer N movement was small and never beyond the maximum (75-cm) sampling depth. This supported the assumption that unrecovered fertilizer N in this study was largely due to denitrification. Denitrification was shown to be greatly influenced by the season, with a maximum rate occurring in the spring or early summer, and concurred with the period of maximum rate of plant uptake of N. Denitrifiers were capable of competing with high rates of plant uptake since the rate of denitrification was similar in fallow and cropped systems. The form of N application (NO3−, NH4+, NH4+ plus N-serve) did not significantly affect the denitrification rate. The soil used in this study fixed 34–60% of the 150 kg NH4+/ha fertilizer immediately upon application. The fixed fertilizer N was available to barley, with 71–96% of the recently fixed NH4+ being released over the growth period. The presence of N-serve resulted in less fixed fertilizer NH4+ being released during crop growth.


2004 ◽  
Vol 84 (4) ◽  
pp. 421-430 ◽  
Author(s):  
Y. K. Soon ◽  
M. A. Arshad

A field study was conducted to determine the effects and interactions of crop sequence, tillage and residue management on labile N pools and their availability because such information is sparse. Experimental treatments were no-till (NT) vs. conventional tillage (CT), and removal vs. retention of straw, imposed on a barley (Hordeum vulgare L.)-canola (Brassica rapa L.)-field pea (Pisum sativum L.) rotation. 15N-labelling was used to quantify N uptake from straw, below-ground N (BGN), and fertilizer N. Straw retention increased soil microbial biomass N (MBN) in 2 of 3 yr at the four-leaf growth stage of barley, consistent with observed decreases in extractable soil inorganic N at seeding. However, crop yield and N uptake at maturity were not different between straw treatments. No tillage increased soil MBN, crop yield and N uptake compared to CT, but had no effect on extractable soil inorganic N. The greater availability of N under NT was probably related to soil moisture conservation. Tillage effects on soil and plant N were mostly independent of straw treatment. Straw and tillage treatments did not influence the uptake of N from its various sources. However, barley following pea (legume/non-legume sequence) derived a greater proportion of its N from BGN (13 to 23% or 9 to 23 kg N ha-1) than canola following barley (nonlegumes) (6 to 16% or 3 to 9 kg N ha-1). Fertilizer N constituted 8 to 11% of barley N uptake and 23 to 32% of canola N uptake. Straw N contributed only 1 to 3% of plant N uptake. This study showed the dominant influence of tillage on N availability, and of the preceding crop or cropping sequence on N uptake partitioning among available N sources. Key words: Crop residue, crop sequence, labile nitrogen, nitrogen uptake, pea, tillage


Akta Agrosia ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 21 (2) ◽  
pp. 55-60
Author(s):  
Marwanto Marwanto ◽  
Nasiroh Nasiroh ◽  
Bambang G. Mucitro ◽  
Merakati Handajaningsih

The beneficial effects of manure on soil properties, growth, and crop productivity have promoted its use for replacing the application of N fertilizer. However, it is not well understood to what extent N fertilizer was able to be substituted by cow manure. Accordingly, this pot experiment aimed to compare the effect of inorganic N fertilizer application alone with that of the combined use of inorganic N fertilizer with cow manure based on the same amount of total N on growth parameters, yield attributes, and nitrogen (N) uptake of black rice. The experiment was conducted under a screen house condition in Agriculture Faculty, Bengkulu University located at 15 meters altitude above sea level during the summer season of 2015. There were six treatments viz. T1 = 100% N from urea + 0% N from cow manure (0.52 g N + 0.00 g cow manure) pot-1, T2 = 80% N from urea  + 20% N from cow manure  (0.42 g N + 9.55 g cow manure) pot-1, T3 = 60% N from urea + 40% N from cow manure (0.31 g N  + 19.10 g cow manure) pot-1, T4 = 40% N from urea + 60% N from cow manure (0.21 g N + 28.65 g cow manure) pot-1, T5 = 20% N from urea + 80% N from cow manure (0.10 g N+ 38.20 g cow manure) pot-1, and T6 = 0% N from urea + 100% N from cow manure (0.00 g N  + 47.75 g cow manure) pot-1. The amount of inorganic N fertilizer in the form of urea and cow manure applied was calculated based on the recommended rate of 115.00 kg ha-1 for N fertilizer and 10.50 ton ha-1 for cow manure. These treatments were arranged in a Completely Randomized Design and repeated three times. The results showed that the treatments significantly (P ?0.005) affected growth parameters as measured by plant height, the number of leaves, fresh shoot weight, fresh root weight, dry shoot weight, dry root weight, yield attributes as determined by the total number of tillers, the total number productive tillers, grain yield per pot, and N uptake. The highest values for all these variables were obtained in the treatment receiving recommended rate of urea only (100% N from urea + 0% N from cow manure as equivalence) and the lowest in the treatment receiving a100% N from cow manure (0% N from urea + 100% N from cow manure). However, combined treatments of cow manure and inorganic N fertilizer such as 80% N from urea  + 20% N from cow manure, 60% N from urea + 40% N from cow manure 40% N from urea + 60% N from cow manure showed a parity statistically with the treatment receiving 100% N from urea only in maintaining the values for all these variables. Overall, the combined use of inorganic N fertilizer (urea) and cow manure as an equivalence promoted growth and yield of black rice by improving N uptake. Keywords: integrated nutrient management, soil chemical property, Nitrogen uptake, combined fertilizer application, black rice


Soil Research ◽  
1984 ◽  
Vol 22 (2) ◽  
pp. 181 ◽  
Author(s):  
DR Scotter ◽  
IH Mohammed ◽  
PEH Gregg

A simple model describing the transformations, leaching and plant uptake of the nitrogen (N) in urea fertilizer applied to a barley crop is presented. The model considers the root zone as a single compartment and uses daily time steps, and so can be run on a small programmable calculator. It consists of separate submodels for water, fertilizer N and native soil N. Data from a field experiment described in a companion paper were used for parameterization, and the model was then tested on another data set from that experiment. The model successfully predicted the effect, on the leaching and plant uptake of fertilizer N, of a large increase in rainfall plus irrigation from 103 mm to 186 mm in the 35 days following sowing and urea application. As an example of the model's utility, it is used to predict that if 30 mm of drainage occurred within 24 h of fertilizer application, about 33% of the fertilizer N would be leached from the root zone in the silt loam soil studied. However, the same amount of drainage occurring a week after fertilizer application would result only in about 8% of the fertilizer N being leached. The complementary roles that process-oriented field experiments and simple mechanistic models can play in soil fertility research are discussed.


1985 ◽  
Vol 36 (5) ◽  
pp. 684 ◽  
Author(s):  
JR Freney ◽  
JR Simpson ◽  
OT Denmead ◽  
WA Muirhead ◽  
R Leuning

The effectiveness of applying urea fertilizer (120 kg N ha-1) in irrigation water was investigated in a commercial sunflower crop on a calcareous, cracking clay soil. This method of fertilizer application resulted in fairly even distribution of applied nitrogen (N) within the soil profile down to the bottom of the plough layer and along the field in the direction of flow. At physiological maturity (76 days after fertilization) the data suggest that 57 kg of the applied N per hectare was recovered in the plant tops and the bulk of this (42 kg) was in the grain. Less than 2 kg N was lost as ammonia (NH,) and c. 2 kg N was emitted as nitrous oxide (N2O) during the first 23 days after fertilizer application, when most of the N not recovered by the sunflowers was lost. Slightly more than half of the N2O emitted was lost during the 11 days after fertilization, when NH+4 was being nitrified; the remainder was lost after a second irrigation by which time most of the urea had been converted to nitrate. A partial N balance suggests that within 20 h of the second irrigation a substantial amount of N (between 22 and 30 kg ha-1) was lost as a result of denitrification. Thus, although the method of application of fertilizer N is simple and cost effective, produces an even distribution of applied N across the field, and reduces NH3 loss, it still appears to be subject to substantial losses of N, presumably by denitrification, during subsequent irrigations.


1995 ◽  
Vol 25 (10) ◽  
pp. 1673-1683 ◽  
Author(s):  
J.C. Carlyle

The influence of N fertilizer on soil mineral N fluxes, canopy development, and tree growth was studied in a thinned 11-year-old Pinusradiata D. Don plantation. Ammonium sulphate and single superphosphate were applied in an incomplete factorial design, but only the main effects of N application at 0 (control) or 200 kg N•ha−1 are considered here. Spring application of fertilizer increased the quantity of mineral N in the forest floor plus surface soil (0–0.30 m) from 1.2 to 194 kg•ha−1. Within 51 weeks this had fallen to 8.3 kg•ha−1, and after 89 weeks had returned to prefertilizer levels. In the unfertilized soil, rates of net mineralization were low with little seasonal variation. Nitrogen fertilizer increased N mineralization; over the 2 years of measurement fertilized and unfertilized soils mineralized 155 and 77 kg N•ha−1, respectively. There was no net immobilization of fertilizer N. There was no leaching of mineral N from the unfertilized soil whereas 149 kg N•ha−1 was leached below 0.30 m during the 2 years after fertilizer application. Nitrogen uptake increased from 71 kg•ha−1 in the control to 203 kg•ha−1 in the fertilized treatment. Fifty-one percent (103 kg•ha−1) of N uptake by trees in the fertilized treatment occurred within 20 weeks of fertilizer application. Fertilized trees took up 58% of the available N (N added as fertilizer plus N mineralized), while 42% was leached. Ammonium dominated the soil mineral N pool and mineral N fluxes, with nitrate generally accounting for less than 10% of mineral N in both fertilized and unfertilized soils. Leaching of mineral N from the fertilized soil (Nleach, kg•ha−1•week−1) was highly correlated (r2 = 0.92) with soil mineral N content (Nstart, kg•ha−1) and effective rainfall (rainfall minus evaporation, Reff, mm•week−1) according to the relationship Nleach = aNstart + bReff, while N uptake (kg•ha−1•week−1) was highly correlated (r2 = 0.91) with soil mineral N content and N mineralization (Nmin, kg•ha−1•week−1) according to the relationship Nuptake = aNstart + bNmin. Fertilizer increased needle N concentrations and content by 52 and 87%, respectively, after 58 weeks, and resulted in a 17% increase in leaf area index after 71 weeks. These differences were reflected by an increase in basal area increment of 23% during the 2 years since fertilizer application. The rapid uptake of N fertilizer was associated with storage in existing biomass. Uptake of fertilizer N should, therefore, increase with plantation biomass. Consequently, it should be possible to increase the uptake of N fertilizer, and minimize leaching, by applying fertilizer before, rather than after, thinning. Such a strategy may be particularly appropriate for soils that have a low capacity to retain applied N.


2001 ◽  
Vol 136 (2) ◽  
pp. 231-240 ◽  
Author(s):  
D. R. CHADWICK ◽  
J. MARTINEZ ◽  
C. MAROL ◽  
F. BÉLINE

A laboratory experiment was designed to determine the fate of 15N-labelled slurry ammonium (15NH4-N) and compare soil inorganic-N distribution following surface applied or injected pig slurry. A system of cylindrical volatilization chambers equipped to allow continuous trapping of ammonia (NH3) was used. Undisturbed soil columns were placed in the chambers prior to the application of slurry. A nitrogen balance including soil, air and plant analysis was established for both treatments, 8 days after application. Average cumulative emissions of NH3 were 15% and 11% of the total ammoniacal-N added with the surface and injected treatments, respectively. After 8 days 55% of the 15NH4-N applied through slurry injection was recovered in the soil inorganic-N pool: 37% as 15NH4-N and 18% as 15NO3-N. These figures compare with only 25% 15NH4-N recovered with the surface applied slurry treatment: 7% as 15NH-N and 17% as 15NO3-N. Immobilization into soil organic-N accounted for 8% of the 15NH4-N applied for the injected treatment and 6% of the surface applied slurry-15N. 15N uptake by the grass was 2% and 7% for the injected and surface applied treatments, respectively. The percentage of added 15N accounted for was 76% for the injected treatment and 53% for the surface applied slurry treatment.


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.


2021 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Temesgen Godebo ◽  
Fanuel Laekemariam ◽  
Gobeze Loha

AbstractBread wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) is one of the most important cereal crops in Ethiopia. The productivity of wheat is markedly constrained by nutrient depletion and inadequate fertilizer application. The experiment was conducted to study the effect of nitrogen (N) and potassium (K) fertilizer rates on growth, yield, nutrient uptake and use efficiency during 2019 cropping season on Kedida Gamela Woreda, Kembata Tembaro Zone Southern Ethiopia. Factorial combinations of four rates of N (0, 23, 46 and 69 kg Nha−1) and three rates of K2O (0, 30 and 60 kg Nha−1) in the form of urea (46–0-0) and murate of potash (KCl) (0-0-60) respectively, were laid out in a randomized complete block design with three replications. The results showed that most parameters viz yield, yield components, N uptake and use efficiency revealed significant differences (P < 0.05) due to interaction effects of N and K. Fertilizer application at the rate of 46 N and 30 kg K ha−1 resulted in high grain yield of 4392 kg ha− 1 and the lowest 1041 from control. The highest agronomic efficiency of N (52.5) obtained from the application of 46 kg N ha−1. Maximum physiological efficiency of N (86.6 kg kg−1) and use efficiency of K (58.6%) was recorded from the interaction of 46 and 30 kg K ha−1. Hence, it could be concluded that applying 46 and 30 kg K ha−1was resulted in high grain yield and economic return to wheat growing farmers of the area. Yet, in order to draw sound conclusion, repeating the experiment in over seasons and locations is recommended.


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