scholarly journals Soil mineral nitrogen benefits derived from legumes and comparisons of the apparent recovery of legume or fertiliser nitrogen by wheat

Soil Research ◽  
2017 ◽  
Vol 55 (6) ◽  
pp. 600 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mark B. Peoples ◽  
Antony D. Swan ◽  
Laura Goward ◽  
John A. Kirkegaard ◽  
James R. Hunt ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Wheat Crop ◽  
Soil Mineral N ◽  
Soil Mineral ◽  
Soil Mineral Nitrogen ◽  
Mineral N ◽  
Grain Crops ◽  
Eastern Australia ◽  
Farmer Decision Making ◽  
Legume Residue ◽  
Fertiliser Use

Nitrogen (N) contributed by legumes is an important component of N supply to subsequent cereal crops, yet few Australian grain-growers routinely monitor soil mineral N before applying N fertiliser. Soil and crop N data from 16 dryland experiments conducted in eastern Australia from 1989–2016 were examined to explore the possibility of developing simple predictive relationships to assist farmer decision-making. In each experiment, legume crops were harvested for grain or brown-manured (BM, terminated before maturity with herbicide), and wheat, barley or canola were grown. Soil mineral N measured immediately before sowing wheat in the following year was significantly higher (P < 0.05) after 31 of the 33 legume pre-cropping treatments than adjacent non-legume controls. The average improvements in soil mineral N were greater for legume BM (60 ± 16 kg N/ha; n = 5) than grain crops (35 ± 20 kg N/ha; n = 26), but soil N benefits were similar when expressed on the basis of summer fallow rainfall (0.15 ± 0.09 kg N/ha per mm), residual legume shoot dry matter (9 ± 5 kg N/ha per t/ha), or total legume residue N (28 ± 11%). Legume grain crops increased soil mineral N by 18 ± 9 kg N/ha per t/ha grain harvested. Apparent recovery of legume residue N by wheat averaged 30 ± 10% for 20 legume treatments in a subset of eight experiments. Apparent recovery of fertiliser N in the absence of legumes in two of these experiments was 64 ± 16% of the 51–75 kg fertiliser-N/ha supplied. The 25 year dataset provided new insights into the expected availability of soil mineral N after legumes and the relative value of legume N to a following wheat crop, which can guide farmer decisions regarding N fertiliser use.

Lucerne removal before a cropping phase

2000 ◽  
Vol 51 (7) ◽  
pp. 877 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. F. Angus ◽  
R. R. Gault ◽  
A. J. Good ◽  
A. B. Hart ◽  
T. D. Jones ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Soil Water ◽  
Wheat Yield ◽  
Growing Season ◽  
Wheat Crop ◽  
Grain Protein ◽  
Residual Soil ◽  
Soil Mineral N ◽  
Soil Mineral ◽  
Soil Mineral Nitrogen ◽  
Mineral N

Growing dryland crops after lucerne is known to be risky because of the lack of residual soil water. We investigated ways of reducing this risk by removing portions of a lucerne pasture, using either herbicides or cultivation, at monthly intervals between November and April, before sowing a wheat crop in May, followed by a canola crop in the following year. The experimental site was on a red-brown earth in southern New South Wales. Lucerne removal was incomplete when the wheat was sown, so all lucerne plants were removed from half of each plot with a post-emergence herbicide, to allow comparisons of intercropped wheat–lucerne and wheat monoculture. Measurements were made on crop growth, yield, grain quality, soil water, and soil mineral nitrogen (N) before and after both crops. On average, each additional month between lucerne removal and wheat sowing led to a yield increase of 8% and a grain protein increase of 0.3 percentage units. The main reason for the increases was additional soil mineral N, associated with a longer period of mineralisation. The soil water content at the time of wheat sowing was greater with early lucerne removal but the growing season rainfall did not limit yields, and there was more residual soil water at the time of wheat maturity where lucerne had been removed late and yields were lower. Method of lucerne removal did not significantly affect wheat yield, grain protein, soil water, or soil mineral N. The portions of the plots containing lucerne plants that survived the initial removal attempt produced similar wheat yields to the portions where lucerne had been totally removed, but grain protein was lower. The following growing season was drier, but despite less residual soil water where lucerne had been removed earlier in the previous year, the average canola yield was 2.5% greater for each additional month of fallow. The increase again appeared to be due to more residual mineral N. The seed oil concentration also decreased in response to later lucerne removal but seed protein increased. Where lucerne plants had been retained in the previous wheat crop, canola yield was lower than where they had been totally removed, apparently because of less soil water at sowing. Over the 2 years of the experiment, the net supply of mineral N was 374 kg N/ha, equivalent to an annual net mineralisation of 2% of the total soil N. The initial mineralisation rate was slow, suggesting that the soil may be deficient in mineral N soon after lucerne removal.

Computer simulation of changes in soil mineral nitrogen and crop nitrogen during autumn, winter and spring

1987 ◽  
Vol 109 (1) ◽  
pp. 141-157 ◽  
Author(s):  
T. M. Addiscott ◽  
A. P. Whitmore
Keyword(s):  
Soil Temperature ◽  
Dry Matter ◽  
N Uptake ◽  
Sowing Date ◽  
Mineralization Rate ◽  
Soil Mineral N ◽  
Soil Mineral ◽  
Soil Mineral Nitrogen ◽  
Mineral N ◽  
Crop N Uptake

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.

New ley legumes increase nitrogen fixation and availability and grain crop yields in subtropical cropping systems

2017 ◽  
Vol 68 (1) ◽  
pp. 11 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lindsay W. Bell ◽  
John Lawrence ◽  
Brian Johnson ◽  
Mark B. Peoples
Keyword(s):  
N2 Fixation ◽  
Farming Systems ◽  
Grain Sorghum ◽  
Soil N ◽  
Soil Mineral N ◽  
Soil Mineral ◽  
Forage Legumes ◽  
Mineral N ◽  
Forage Sorghum ◽  
Grain Crops

Several new and existing short-term forage legumes could be used to provide nitrogen (N) inputs for grain crops in subtropical farming systems. The fixed-N inputs from summer-growing forage legumes lablab (Lablab purpureus), burgundy bean (Macroptilium bracteatum) and lucerne (Medicago sativa) and winter-growing legume species snail medic (Medicago scutellata), sulla (Hedysarum coronarium) and purple vetch (Vicia benghalensis) were compared over several growing seasons at four locations in southern Queensland, Australia. Available soil mineral N and grain yield of a following cereal crop were compared among summer-growing legumes and forage sorghum (Sorghum spp. hybrid) and among winter-growing legumes and forage oats (Avena sativa). In the first year at all sites, legumes utilised the high initial soil mineral N, with <30% of the legume N estimated to have been derived from atmospheric N2 (%Ndfa) and legume-fixed N <30 kg/ha. In subsequent years, once soil mineral N had been depleted, %Ndfa increased to 50–70% in the summer-growing legumes and to 60–80% in winter-growing legumes. However, because forage shoot N was removed, rarely did fixed N provide a positive N balance. Both lablab and burgundy bean fixed up to 150 kg N/ha, which was more than lucerne in all seasons. Prior to sowing cereal grain crops, soil nitrate was 30–50 kg/ha higher after summer legumes than after forage sorghum. At one site, lablab and lucerne increased the growth and yield of a subsequent grain sorghum crop by 1.4 t/ha compared with growth after forage sorghum or burgundy bean. Of the winter-growing legumes, sulla had the highest total N2 fixation (up to 150 kg N/ha.year) and inputs of fixed N (up to 75 kg N/ha), and resulted in the highest concentrations of soil N (80–100 kg N/ha more than oats) before sowing of the following crop. Wheat protein was increased after winter legumes, but there was no observed yield benefit for wheat or grain sorghum crops. New forage legume options, lablab, burgundy bean and sulla, showed potential to increase N supply in crop rotations in subtropical farming systems, contributing significant fixed N (75–150 kg/ha) and increasing available soil N for subsequent crops compared to non-legume forage crops. However, high soil mineral N (>50 kg N/ha) greatly reduced N2 fixation by forage legumes, and significant N2 fixation only occurred once legume shoot N uptake exceeded soil mineral N at the start of the growing season. Further work is required to explore the impact of different management strategies, such as livestock grazing rather than harvesting for hay, on the long-term implications for nutrient supply for subsequent crops.

scholarly journals An analysis of the response of sugar beet and potatoes to fertilizer nitrogen and soil mineral nitrogen.

1989 ◽  
Vol 37 (2) ◽  
pp. 129-141 ◽  
Author(s):  
J.J. Neeteson ◽  
H.J.C. Zwetsloot
Keyword(s):  
Soil Type ◽  
Field Trials ◽  
Soil Mineral N ◽  
Fertilizer N ◽  
Soil Mineral ◽  
Soil Mineral Nitrogen ◽  
Mineral N ◽  
Organic Manures ◽  
The Difference ◽  
Prior Application

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)

Nitrogen availability in a Darling Downs soil following cereal, oilseed and grain legume crops. 1. Soil nitrogen accumulation

1986 ◽  
Vol 26 (3) ◽  
pp. 347 ◽  
Author(s):  
WM Strong ◽  
J Harbison ◽  
RGH Nielsen ◽  
BD Hall ◽  
EK Best
Keyword(s):  
Soil Nitrogen ◽  
Nitrogen Availability ◽  
Grain Legumes ◽  
Mineral Nitrogen ◽  
Grain Legume ◽  
Nitrogen Accumulation ◽  
Soil Mineral N ◽  
Soil Mineral ◽  
Soil Mineral Nitrogen ◽  
Mineral N

Available soil mineral nitrogen (N) was determined in a Darling Downs clay at intervals of 4-6 weeks throughout summer and autumn after harvest of two cereals (wheat and oats), two oilseeds (rapeseed and linseed), and four grain legumes (chickpea, fieldpea, lupin and lathyrus). Soil mineral N (0-1.2 m) at 40,68, 107, 150 and 185 days after harvest was affected (P < 0.05) by the prior crop. At 40 days it was generally higher following grain legumes (34-76 kg/ha N) than following oilseeds or cereals (16-30 kg/ha N). Net increase during the next 145 days was in the order of cereals (2 1-27 kg/ha N) < oilseeds (40 kg/ha N) <grain legumes (53-85 kg/ha N). These differences are partly accounted for by differences in the quantities of N removed in the grain of these crops. However, a large quantity of mineral N accumulated following lupin even though a large quantity (80 kg/ha) was removed in the grain.

Soil mineral nitrogen responses following liquid hog manure application to semiarid forage lands

2013 ◽  
Vol 93 (3) ◽  
pp. 369-378 ◽  
Author(s):  
E. W. Bork ◽  
B. D. Lambert ◽  
S. Banerjee ◽  
L. J. Blonski
Keyword(s):  
Growing Season ◽  
Mineral Nitrogen ◽  
Soil Mineral N ◽  
Soil Mineral ◽  
Soil Mineral Nitrogen ◽  
Mineral N ◽  
Manure Application ◽  
Mixed Grass Prairie ◽  
Hog Manure ◽  
Mixed Grass

Bork, E. W., Lambert, B. D., Banerjee, S. and Blonski, L. J. 2013. Soil mineral nitrogen responses following liquid hog manure application to semiarid forage lands. Can. J. Soil Sci. 93: 369–378. Expansion of intensive livestock operations into semiarid regions lacking cultivated lands requires consideration of perennial forages for the efficient and sustainable disposal of manure. Little information exists on the nutrient dynamics associated with the application of manure to these areas. We examined soil mineral nitrogen (N) responses in four sites of the mixed-grass prairie, including two native grasslands and two introduced pastures, following different seasons (fall vs. spring), methods (dribble broadcast vs. coulter injected) and rates of liquid hog manure application (9.4, 18.8, 37.5, 75 and 150 kg ha−1available N). Soil mineral N, including NO3-N, NH4-N and total mineral N, were assessed after application but prior to plant growth in April 1999, and again one growing season later in April 2000. Initial soil N did not vary with season of application. Soil mineral N predictably increased with application rate, but only in the upper soil profile (0–20 cm). Decreases in soil mineral N after one growing season in all treatments highlighted the ability of these perennial forage lands to immobilize large amounts of soil N, a significant portion of which was related to N uptake by vegetation. Compared with broadcast application, manure injection led to 35% greater soil mineral N (both NO3and NH4) prior to plant growth, a response that persisted 1 yr later (+12%), thus demonstrating the N conserved benefits of manure incorporation. Overall, increases in soil mineral N within these forage lands appeared to be relatively short-term in nature, largely depleting over the course of a single growing season, suggesting one-time liquid hog manure application at low to moderate rates may be sustainable in this region of the mixed-grass prairie.

The source of mineral nitrogen for cereals in south-eastern Australia

1998 ◽  
Vol 49 (3) ◽  
pp. 511 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. F. Angus ◽  
A. F. van Herwaarden ◽  
D. P. Heenan ◽  
R. A. Fischer ◽  
G. N. Howe
Keyword(s):  
Root Zone ◽  
Growing Season ◽  
Crop Growth ◽  
Mineral Nitrogen ◽  
Soil Mineral ◽  
Soil Mineral Nitrogen ◽  
Mineral N ◽  
Total N ◽  
Eastern Australia ◽  
Net Mineralisation

The relative importance of soil mineral nitrogen (N) available at the time of sowing ormineralised during the growing season was investigated for 6 crops of dryland wheat. The soil mineral N in the root-zone was sampled at sowing and maturity and the rate of net mineralisation in the top 10 cm was estimated by sequential sampling throughout the growing season, using an in situ method. Mineralisation during crop growth was modelled in relation to total soil N, ambient temperature, andsoil water content. Mineral N accumulated before sowing varied by a factor of 3 between the sites (from 67 to 195 kgN/ha), while the net mineralisation during crop growth varied by a factor of 2 (from 43 to 99 kgN/ha). The model indicated that 0·092% of total N was mineralised per day when temperature and water were not limiting, with rates decreasing for lower temperatures and soil water contents. When tested with independent data, the model predicted the mineralisation rate of soil growing continuous wheat crops but underestimated mineralisation of soil in a clover-wheat rotation. For crops yielding <3 t/ha, the supply of N was mostly from mineralisation during crop growth and the contribution from mineral N accumulated before sowing was relatively small. For crops yielding >4 t/ha, thesupply of N was mostly from N present in the soil at the time of sowing. The implication is that for crops to achieve their water-limited yield, they must be supplied with an amount of N greater than can be expected from mineralisation during the growing season, either from fertiliser or from mineral N accumulated earlier.

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.

Nitrogen availability in a Darling Downs soil following cereal, oilseed and grain legume crops. 2. Effects of residual soil nitrogen and fertiliser nitrogen on subsequent wheat crops

1986 ◽  
Vol 26 (3) ◽  
pp. 353 ◽  
Author(s):  
WM Strong ◽  
J Harbison ◽  
RHG Nielsen ◽  
BD Hall ◽  
EK Best
Keyword(s):  
Protein Content ◽  
Protein Concentration ◽  
Grain Legumes ◽  
Grain Legume ◽  
Wheat Crop ◽  
Soil Mineral N ◽  
Soil Mineral ◽  
Wheat Grain ◽  
Mineral N ◽  
Top Soil

Two dryland wheat crops were grown in 1977 and 1978 following each of 18 cereal, oilseed, or grain legume crops grown in 1976 on a black earth soil on the Darling Downs of Queensland. Combined grain yields of the two crops following the grain legumes fieldpea, lathyrus, lentil and lupin cv. Ultra were higher (P< 0.05) than those following all cereal and oilseed crops except canary seed, safflower and rapeseed cv. Torch. Urea (0-90 kg/ha N), applied to wheat in 1977 on a site adjacent to the crop comparison experiment, had little effect on grain yield in that year. However, in 1978, wheat responded to residues of these applications up to the 50 kg/ha N rate. Variation in wheat yields following the 18 crops appeared to be related to nitrogen (N) supply. The quantity of N assimilated into wheat grain was directly related to the quantity of soil mineral N to a depth of 1.2 m when the 1977 crop was planted. This varied from 37 kg/ha N after oats to 160 kg/ha N after lathyrus. Efficiency of recovery of soil mineral N by the 1977 wheat crop was very low, due probably to the unavailability of N in top soil during the dry winter. Poor availability of N in the top soil was also the most likely cause of a similarly low recovery of fertiliser N applied to the 1977 wheat crop. There was a better apparent recovery of N by the second wheat crop; soil mineral N levels for all treatments had declined to between 17 and 28 kg/ha N after crop harvest. In spite of a low overall efficiency of N uptake by wheat in 1977, more N was assimilated into the grain following legumes (27-39 kg/ha) than following cereals (1 6-2 1 kg/ha), even when fertilised with up to 90 kg/ha N (19 kg/ha). The presence of mineral N in subsoil layers (0.3-0.9 m) following legumes was considered responsible for relatively high grain yields and N uptakes of the following wheat crop in this season of limited growing-season rainfall. Protein concentration of wheat grain was generally higher following grain legumes than following all cereals or oilseeds except safflower. Grain protein concentration was increased by the application of N fertiliser, but fertilised wheat in 1977 generally showed a lower protein content than wheat following grain legumes. However, the second wheat crop following most legumes (except lathyrus) showed a protein content similar to the second wheat crop following N fertiliser application.

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