Potentially mineralisable nitrogen: relationship to crop production and spatial mapping using infrared reflectance spectroscopy

Soil Research ◽  
2009 ◽  
Vol 47 (7) ◽  
pp. 737 ◽  
Author(s):  
D. V. Murphy ◽  
M. Osman ◽  
C. A. Russell ◽  
S. Darmawanto ◽  
F. C. Hoyle
Keyword(s):  
Grain Yield ◽  
Crop Production ◽  
Soil Analysis ◽  
Sampling Strategy ◽  
Ease Of Use ◽  
Environmental Benefits ◽  
Soil N ◽  
Wheat Grain ◽  
Inorganic N ◽  
N Supply

Accurate and rapid prediction of the spatial structure of soil nitrogen (N) supply would have both economic and environmental benefits with respect to improved inorganic N fertiliser management. Yet traditional biochemical indices of soil N supply have not been widely incorporated into fertiliser decision support systems or environmental risk monitoring programs. Here we illustrate that in a low-input, semi-arid environment, potentially mineralisable N (PMN, as determined by anaerobic incubation) explained 21% of wheat grain yield (P = 0.003), whereas there was no significant relationship between wheat grain yield and inorganic N fertiliser application. We also assessed the spatial pattern of PMN using a structured grid soil sampling strategy over a 10-ha area (180 separate samples, 0–0.1 m). PMN in each soil sample was determined by standard biochemical analysis and also predicted using a fourier transform infrared spectrometer (FTIR). Findings illustrate that FTIR was able to significantly predict (P < 0.001) PMN values in soil and has the advantage of enabling high sample throughput and rapid (within minutes) soil analysis. Given the relatively low cost of FTIR machines and ease of use, such an approach has practical application in situations where analysis cost or access to equipped laboratories has hindered the measurement and monitoring of soil N supply within paddocks and across regions.

scholarly journals Barriers and bridges to the adoption of biodegradable plastic mulches for US specialty crop production

2013 ◽  
Vol 30 (2) ◽  
pp. 143-153 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jessica R. Goldberger ◽  
Robert Emmet Jones ◽  
Carol A. Miles ◽  
Russell W. Wallace ◽  
Debra A. Inglis
Keyword(s):  
Crop Production ◽  
Production Systems ◽  
Ease Of Use ◽  
Biodegradable Plastic ◽  
Environmental Benefits ◽  
Design Development ◽  
Plastic Mulch ◽  
Specialty Crop ◽  
Study Results ◽  
Polyethylene Mulch

AbstractCommercial farmers have been using polyethylene plastic mulch since the 1950s. Despite the affordability and effectiveness of polyethylene mulch, the disposal process is financially and environmentally costly. Biodegradable plastic mulches, an ecologically sustainable alternative to polyethylene mulch films, were introduced in the 1980s. Biodegradable plastic mulches can be tilled into the soil or composted at the end of the season, reducing the labor and environmental costs associated with plastic removal and disposal. However, research results are mixed as to the effectiveness, degradability and ease-of-use of biodegradable plastic mulches. In 2008–2012, researchers, funded by a USDA Specialty Crop Research Initiative grant, conducted surveys and focus groups in three different agricultural regions of the USA to better understand the barriers and bridges to the adoption of biodegradable plastic mulches for specialty crop production systems. Data on the experiences and views of specialty crop growers, agricultural extension agents, agricultural input suppliers, mulch manufacturers and other stakeholders showed that the major adoption barriers were insufficient knowledge, high cost and unpredictable breakdown. The major bridges to adoption were reduced waste, environmental benefits and interest in further learning. These findings are discussed with reference to the classic innovation diffusion model, specifically work on the innovation–decision process and the attributes of innovations. The study results can be used to guide the activities of those involved in the design, development and promotion of biodegradable plastic mulches for US specialty crop production systems.

An evaluation of sulfur efficiency parameters in soybean and wheat cropping systems in relation to fertiliser sulfur on a Typic Haplustert

1998 ◽  
Vol 49 (1) ◽  
pp. 33 ◽  
Author(s):  
A. N. Ganeshamurthy
Keyword(s):  
Grain Yield ◽  
Crop Production ◽  
Field Experiments ◽  
Cropping Systems ◽  
Maximum Yield ◽  
Soybean Seeds ◽  
Wheat Grain ◽  
S Uptake ◽  
S Application ◽  
Optimum Production

Sulfur (S) efficiency parameters were evaluated in soybean-wheat cropping systems in relation to rates of applied S in field experiments on Typic Haplusterts. The parameters evaluated were grain yield per kg fertiliser S applied, S harvest index (SHI), S utilisation from soil (SUS), and fertiliser (SUF) and S efficiency ratios measured as grain yield per kg S uptake by the shoot or grain yield per kg S uptake by the grain. In addition, grain and straw yields, S uptake by both crops, and fertiliser S requirements for optimum production of the 2 crops were also studied. Both soybean and wheat crops responded significantly to S when applied at 0-40 kg/ha on S-deficient soils. The calculated optimum rates of application of fertiliser S to achieve 90% of the maximum yield were 19-38 kg S/ha for soybean and 28-33 kg S/ha for wheat over the 2-year period. The efficiency of crop production as measured by grain or seed yield per kg S applied was greater at lower rates of S application; however, when fertiliser S was applied at a higher rate than 40 kg S/ha, the efficiency declined. Wheat produced more grain yield per kg S applied than soybean. The SHI indicated more efficient translocation of S to soybean seeds than wheat grain. The SUF was greater in wheat, whereas SUS was similar in both soybean and wheat.

Crop production in a rotation trial at Tarlee, South Australia

1995 ◽  
Vol 35 (7) ◽  
pp. 865 ◽  
Author(s):  
JE Schultz
Keyword(s):  
Grain Yield ◽  
Crop Production ◽  
South Australia ◽  
Grain Legumes ◽  
Plant Diseases ◽  
Grain Legume ◽  
Wheat Grain ◽  
Potential Yield ◽  
Faba Beans ◽  
Tiller Density

A crop rotation trial was established in 1977 on a hard-setting red-brown earth at Tarlee, South Australia, to monitor the long-term effect of intensive and traditional rotations on soil properties and crop production. The rotations involve wheat alternating with cereals, grain legumes, pasture, and fallow. There are 3 stubble + tillage treatments: remove stubble + cultivate, retain stubble + cultivate, retain stubble + no tillage. Three rates of nitrogen (0,40, 80 kg N/ha as ammonium nitrate) are applied to the wheat. Grain yield varied with seasonal conditions, and water use efficiencies were up to 10 kg/ha. mm. In the more productive rotations, wheat grain yields expressed as a percentage of potential yield tended to increase over time. The best wheat yields were always in rotations that included a grain legume or legume pasture, with additional yield increases in all rotations coming from the use of N fertiliser. By comparison with rotation and N fertiliser effects, there was little effect of the stubble + tillage treatments on grain yield. Most of the yield variations were related to differences in tiller density or grains per ear, with grain weight remaining relatively constant over all seasons. There was a tendency for grain legume yields to decrease over the latter years of the trial, and this was attributed to the build-up of plant diseases through growing the same species on the same plot every second year. Overall, faba beans were the highest yielding grain legume, and the wheat-beans rotation, with 80 kg N/ha on the wheat, gave highest total grain production. Data for residue remaining after harvest indicate that in some years there is less than the desired minimum levels to give adequate protection against erosion, so any grazing of the residues must be carefully managed.

scholarly journals Extreme Weather Events Affect Agronomic Practices and Their Environmental Impact in Maize Cultivation

2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (16) ◽  
pp. 7352
Author(s):  
Monika Marković ◽  
Jasna Šoštarić ◽  
Marko Josipović ◽  
Atilgan Atilgan
Keyword(s):  
Grain Yield ◽  
Nitrate Leaching ◽  
Crop Production ◽  
Weather Conditions ◽  
N Fertilizer ◽  
Soil N ◽  
Fertilizer Rate ◽  
Agronomic Practices ◽  
N Level ◽  
N Fertilizer Rate

Sustainable and profitable crop production has become a challenge due to frequent weather extremes, where unstable crop yields are often followed by the negative impacts of agronomic practices on the environment, i.e., nitrate leaching in irrigated and nitrogen (N)-fertilized crop production. To study this issue, a three-year field study was conducted during quite different growing seasons in terms of weather conditions, i.e., extremely wet, extremely dry, and average years. Over three consecutive years, the irrigation and N fertilizers rates were tested for their effect on grain yield and composition, i.e., protein, starch, and oil content of the maize hybrids; soil N level (%); and nitrate leaching. The results showed that the impact of the tested factors and their significance was year- or weather-condition-dependent. The grain yield result stood out during the extremely wet year, where the irrigation rate reduced the grain yield by 7.6% due to the stress caused by the excessive amount of water. In the remainder of the study, the irrigation rate expectedly increased the grain yield by 13.9% (a2) and 20.8% (a3) in the extremely dry year and 22.7% (a2) and 39.5% (a3) during the average year. Regardless of the weather conditions, the N fertilizer rate increased the grain yield and protein content. The soil N level showed a typical pattern, where the maximum levels were at the beginning of the study period and were higher as the N fertilizer rate was increased. Significant variations in the soil N level were found between weather conditions (r = −0.719) and N fertilizer rate (r = 0.401). Nitrate leaching losses were expectedly found for irrigation and N fertilizer treatments with the highest rates (a3b3 = 79.8 mg NO3− L).

Effects of wildfire and topography on soil nitrogen availability in a boreal larch forest of northeastern China

2015 ◽  
Vol 24 (3) ◽  
pp. 433 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jian-jian Kong ◽  
Jian Yang ◽  
Haiyan Chu ◽  
Xingjia Xiang
Keyword(s):  
Soil Nitrogen ◽  
Northeastern China ◽  
Larch Forest ◽  
N Availability ◽  
N Mineralisation ◽  
Soil N ◽  
Inorganic N ◽  
Soil N Availability ◽  
N Supply ◽  
Burned Site

Both topography and wildfire can strongly affect soil nitrogen (N) availability. Although many studies have examined the individual effects of fire and topography on N, few have investigated their combined influences and relative importance. In this study, we measured soil extractable inorganic N concentrations, N mineralisation rates, and in situ soil inorganic N supply rates at 36 plots in three topographic positions (north-facing, south-facing and flat valley bottom) of burned and unburned sites in a boreal larch forest of northeastern China. Our data showed that wildfire significantly increased soil N availability, with mean soil extractable inorganic N concentrations, N mineralisation rates and N supply rates being 63, 310 and 270% higher in the burned site 1 year following fire. Additionally, soil N availability in the unburned site was significantly greater on the north-facing slope than on the south-facing slope, though this pattern was reversed at the burned site. Wildfire and topography together explained ~50% of the variance in soil N availability, with wildfire explaining three times more than topography. Our results demonstrate that wildfire and topography jointly affected spatial variations of soil N availability, and that wildfire decreased the influence of topography in the early successional stage of this boreal larch ecosystem.

scholarly journals The Effectiveness of Foliar Applications of Zinc and Biostimulants to Increase Zinc Concentration and Bioavailability of Wheat Grain

Agronomy ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 10 (2) ◽  
pp. 178 ◽  
Author(s):  
Shaoxia Wang ◽  
Xiaohong Tian ◽  
Qing Liu
Keyword(s):  
Zn Deficiency ◽  
Human Populations ◽  
Soil N ◽  
Wheat Grain ◽  
N Application ◽  
Global Challenge ◽  
N Supply ◽  
Zn Concentration ◽  
High Incidence ◽  
Zn Bioavailability

Increasing zinc (Zn) concentration in wheat grain is an important global challenge due to high incidence of Zn deficiency in human populations. In this study, a two-year field experiment was conducted to investigate the effects of foliar ZnSO4 combined with various biostimulants (fulvic acid (FA), seaweed extract (SE), amino acids (AA), and microbial incubates (MI)) on Zn concentration and bioavailability in wheat grain under different soil nitrogen (N) levels (0, 120, and 240 kg N/ha). Grain Zn concentration and bioavailability were significantly enhanced by foliar Zn plus various biostimulants and soil N supply. Compared to foliar Zn alone, foliar Zn + FA resulted in 16% increase in grain Zn, mainly from insoluble Zn increases, while foliar Zn + AA caused 11% increase in grain Zn, mainly from soluble (at N0) and insoluble Zn increases (at N120). Foliar Zn + FA and Zn + AA generally resulted in higher Zn bioavailability than foliar Zn alone. Additionally, N concentration and Fe concentration and bioavailability in grain were enhanced with foliar Zn + AA and soil N application. Thus, foliar ZnSO4 plus FA and AA under optimal soil N rate (120 kg N/ha) can be an effective and economically friendly approach for achieving agronomic biofortification.

scholarly journals Eleven-year results on soft and durum wheat crops grown in an organic and in a conventional low input cropping system

2016 ◽  
Vol 11 (2) ◽  
pp. 77 ◽  
Author(s):  
Paolo Benincasa ◽  
Michela Farneselli ◽  
Giacomo Tosti ◽  
Umberto Bonciarelli ◽  
Maria Chiara Lorenzetti ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Grain Yield ◽  
Durum Wheat ◽  
Dry Matter ◽  
N Availability ◽  
Soil N ◽  
Conventional System ◽  
Green Manures ◽  
Soil N Availability ◽  
Low Input ◽  
N Supply

Eleven-year results on yields and apparent balances of organic matter and nitrogen (N) are reported for soft and durum wheat crops grown in the BIOSYST long-term experiment for the comparison between an organic and a conventional low-input system in Central Italy. The N supply to organic wheat consisted of 40 kg N ha<sup>–1</sup> as poultry manure plus the supposed residual N left by green manures carried out before the preceding summer vegetable, while the N supply to conventional wheat consisted of 80 kg N ha<sup>–1</sup> as mineral fertilisers, split in two applications of 40 kg ha<sup>–1</sup> each, at tillering and pre-shooting. In every year, above ground biomass and N accumulation of each wheat species, including weeds, and the partitioning between grain yield and crop residues were determined. Apparent dry matter and N balances were calculated at the end of each crop cycle by taking into account the amounts of dry matter and N supplied to the system as fertilisers, and those removed with grain yield. Soft wheat yielded more than durum wheat. For both species, grain yield and protein content were more variable across years and generally lower in the organic than in the conventional system. In both systems, grain yield of both species resulted negatively correlated with fall-winter rainfall, likely for its effect on soil N availability. Both species caused a lower return of biomass and a higher soil N depletion in the organic than in the conventional system. Our experiment confirmed that winter wheat can help exploit the soil N availability and reduce N leaching in fall winter, especially after summer vegetables, but in stockless or stock-limited organic systems it needs to be included in rotations where soil fertility is restored by fall winter green manures to be carried out before summer crops.

scholarly journals Corn agronomic traits and recovery of nitrogen from fertilizer during crop season and off-season

2018 ◽  
Vol 53 (10) ◽  
pp. 1158-1166
Author(s):  
Luis Felipe Garcia Fuentes ◽  
Luiz Carlos Ferreira de Souza ◽  
Ademar Pereira Serra ◽  
Jerusa Rech ◽  
Antonio Carlos Tadeu Vitorino
Keyword(s):  
Grain Yield ◽  
Nutrient Dynamics ◽  
Agronomic Traits ◽  
Block Design ◽  
Winter Season ◽  
N Fertilization ◽  
N Recovery ◽  
Soil N ◽  
N Supply ◽  
N Rates

Abstract: The objective of this work was to evaluate corn agronomic traits in a cultivation subjected to different N rates, during the fall-winter (off-season) and spring-summer crop seasons, and N recovery from fertilizer. The experiment was set up in a randomized complete block design with four replicates, in a 5x2 factorial arrangement, with the following treatments: five N topdressing rates - 0, 30, 60, 90, and 120 kg ha-1 -, using urea as source; and two crop seasons, fall-winter and spring-summer. The following variables were determined: plant height, height of the first ear insertion, number of grains per ear, diameter and length of ear, 1,000-grain weight, N concentration in the leaves and grains, grain-protein concentration, grain yield, N recovery from fertilizer, and soil-N supply. Nitrogen rates in the fertilizer in the fall-winter season had no effect on grain yield, although corn agronomic traits showed a greater reliance on fertilizer-N rates in that season than in the spring-summer, which is a season associated to a greater capacity of soil-N supply to plants. The quantification of soil-N supply enabled knowing the nutrient dynamics during the fall-winter and the spring-summer seasons, which may be useful to guide N fertilization of corn.

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