Effects of short-term nitrogen supply from livestock manures and cover crops on silage maize production and nitrate leaching

2013 ◽  
Vol 29 (2) ◽  
pp. 151-160 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. J. Schröder ◽  
W. de Visser ◽  
F. B. T. Assinck ◽  
G. L. Velthof
Keyword(s):  
Nitrate Leaching ◽  
Cover Crops ◽  
Nitrogen Supply ◽  
Short Term ◽  
Maize Production ◽  
Silage Maize

scholarly journals Effects of cover crops on the nitrogen fluxes in a silage maize production system

1996 ◽  
Vol 44 (4) ◽  
pp. 293-315 ◽  
Author(s):  
J.J. Schroder ◽  
W. Van Dijk ◽  
W.J.M. De Groot
Keyword(s):  
Cover Crops ◽  
Production Systems ◽  
N Uptake ◽  
Growing Season ◽  
Residual Soil ◽  
Soil System ◽  
Maize Production ◽  
Silage Maize ◽  
N Input ◽  
N Rates

Rye and grass cover crops can potentially intercept residual soil mineral nitrogen (SMN), reduce overwinter leaching, transfer SMN to next growing seasons and reduce the fertilizer need of subsequent crops. These aspects were studied for 6 years in continuous silage maize cv. LG 2080 production systems receiving 20-304 kg N/ha, on a sandy soil in the Netherlands. Rye cv. Admiraal and grass (Lolium multiflorum cv. Combita) cover crops were able to absorb on average 40 kg N/ha into the shoots. The actual N uptake was largely determined by winter temperatures and hardly affected by residual SMN. At low N input levels cover crops reduced N leaching in accordance with their N uptake. At high N input levels, however, the reduction of leaching losses exceeded the storage capacity of the cover crop, suggesting that cover cropping stimulated the loss of N via denitrification or immobilization. Cover crops had no positive effect on maize yields at larger N rates and under these conditions cover crops did not improve the conversion of SMN into crop N. This was only partly reflected by an increase of residual SMN on plots where cover crops had been incorporated, as a large part of the excess N applied to maize was already lost during the growing season. In N-deficient maize production systems, however, cover crops increased the dry matter yield of maize. Their effect was equivalent to the effect of fertilizer N rates amounting to 105 and 44% of the shoot N in rye and L. multiflorum, respectively. In the first few years cover crops decomposed incompletely during the growing season following their incorporation. In the course of the years, however, effects on subsequent maize crops increased. This supports the hypothesis that the effects of cover crops are cumulative when grown repeatedly. Averaged over the 6 years, 115% and 73% of the shoot rye N and L. multiflorum N, respectively, were recovered in the crop-soil system.

Optimizing genotype-environment-management interactions to ensure silage maize production in the Chinese Maize Belt

2020 ◽  
Vol 80 (2) ◽  
pp. 133-146
Author(s):  
L Zhang ◽  
Z Zhang ◽  
J Cao ◽  
Y Luo ◽  
Z Li
Keyword(s):  
Field Experiments ◽  
Weather Conditions ◽  
Growth Cycle ◽  
High Energy ◽  
Risk Level ◽  
Energy Yield ◽  
Maize Production ◽  
Early Date ◽  
Environment Management ◽  
Silage Maize

Grain maize production exceeds the demand for grain maize in China. Methods for harvesting good-quality silage maize urgently need a theoretical basis and reference data in order to ensure its benefits to farmers. However, research on silage maize is limited, and very few studies have focused on its energetic value and quality. Here, we calibrated the CERES-Maize model for 24 cultivars with 93 field experiments and then performed a long-term (1980-2017) simulation to optimize genotype-environment-management (G-E-M) interactions in the 4 main agroecological zones across China. We found that CERES-Maize could reproduce the growth and development of maize well under various management and weather conditions with a phenology bias of <5 d and biomass relative root mean square error values of <5%. The simulated results showed that sowing long-growth-cycle cultivars approximately 10 d in advance could yield good-quality silage. The optimal sowing dates (from late May to July) and harvest dates (from early October to mid-November) gradually became later from north to south. A high-energy yield was expected when sowing at an early date and/or with late-maturing cultivars. We found that Northeast China and the North China Plain were potential silage maize growing areas, although these areas experienced a medium or even high frost risk. Southwestern maize experienced a low risk level, but the low soil fertility limited the attainable yield. The results of this paper provide information for designing an optimal G×E×M strategy to ensure silage maize production in the Chinese Maize Belt.

NLEAP Computer Model and Multiple Linear Regression Prediction of Nitrate Leaching in Vegetable Systems

2002 ◽  
Vol 12 (2) ◽  
pp. 250-256 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hudson Minshew ◽  
John Selker ◽  
Delbert Hemphill ◽  
Richard P. Dick
Keyword(s):  
Linear Regression ◽  
Multiple Linear Regression ◽  
Nitrate Leaching ◽  
Cover Crops ◽  
N Uptake ◽  
N Leaching ◽  
Residual Soil ◽  
Vegetable Crops ◽  
Crop N Uptake ◽  
Mlr Model

Predicting leaching of residual soil nitrate-nitrogen (NO3-N) in wet climates is important for reducing risks of groundwater contamination and conserving soil N. The goal of this research was to determine the potential to use easily measurable or readily available soilclimatic-plant data that could be put into simple computer models and used to predict NO3 leaching under various management systems. Two computer programs were compared for their potential to predict monthly NO3-N leaching losses in western Oregon vegetable systems with or without cover crops. The models were a statistical multiple linear regression (MLR) model and the commercially available Nitrate Leaching and Economical Analysis Package model (NLEAP 1.13). The best MLR model found using stepwise regression to predict annual leachate NO3-N had four independent variables (log transformed fall soil NO3-N, leachate volume, summer crop N uptake, and N fertilizer rate) (P < 0.001, R2 = 0.57). Comparisons were made between NLEAP and field data for mass of NO3-N leached between the months of September and May from 1992 to 1997. Predictions with NLEAP showed greater correlation to observed data during high-rainfall years compared to dry or averagerainfall years. The model was found to be sensitive to yield estimates, but vegetation management choices were limiting for vegetable crops and for systems that included a cover crop.

Effects of the timing of ploughing-in temporary leguminous pastures and two winter cover crops on nitrogen mineralization, nitrate leaching and spring wheat growth

1995 ◽  
Vol 124 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-9 ◽  
Author(s):  
G. S. Francis ◽  
R. J. Haynes ◽  
P. H. Williams
Keyword(s):  
Spring Wheat ◽  
Nitrate Leaching ◽  
Cover Crops ◽  
N Uptake ◽  
First Year ◽  
Mineral N ◽  
Leaching Losses ◽  
Winter Cover ◽  
Winter Cover Crops ◽  
Second Year

SUMMARYTwo field experiments at Canterbury, New Zealand during 1991–93 investigated the effect of the timing of ploughing a 4-year-old ryegrass/white clover pasture and the effect of two winter cover crops on subsequent N mineralization, nitrate leaching and growth and N uptake of the following wheat crops.Net N mineralization of organic N (of plant and soil origin) increased with increased fallow period between ploughing and leaching. The total amount of N accumulated in the profile by the start of winter ranged from 107 to 131 and from 42 to 45 kg N/ha for fallow treatments started in March and May respectively. Winter wheat (planted in May) had no effect on mineral N contents by the start of winter, whereas greenfeed (GF) oats (planted in March) significantly reduced the mineral N content in one year.Cumulative leaching losses over the first winter after ploughing-in pasture varied markedly between years in relation to rainfall amount and distribution. Leaching losses were greater from the March fallow (72–106 kg N/ha) than the May fallow treatments (8–52 kg N/ha). Winter wheat did not reduce leaching losses in either year. GF oats did not reduce losses in 1991/92, but losses in 1992/93, when major drainage events occurred late in the winter, were only c. 40% of those under fallow.Incorporation of a large amount (> 7 t/ha dry matter) of pasture or GF oat residue in spring depressed yield and total N uptake of the following spring wheat, largely due to net N immobilization which could be overcome by the application of fertilizer N.First-year treatments had very little residual effect in the second year. Leaching losses over the second winter (mean 142 kg N/ha) were largely unaffected by the extent of first year leaching losses. Second year leaching losses were greater than first year losses, probably due to the greater amount of mineral N at depth in the soil before the start of the second winter.

scholarly journals Improving maize production through nitrogen supply from ten rarely-used organic resources in Ghana

2016 ◽  
Author(s):  
Samuel T. Partey ◽  
Naresh V. Thevathasan ◽  
Robert B. Zougmoré ◽  
Richard F. Preziosi
Keyword(s):  
Nitrogen Supply ◽  
Maize Production ◽  
Organic Resources

scholarly journals Carbon Footprint and Life-Cycle Costs of Maize Production in Conventional and Non-Inversion Tillage Systems

Agronomy ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 10 (12) ◽  
pp. 1877
Author(s):  
Małgorzata Holka ◽  
Jerzy Bieńkowski
Keyword(s):  
Life Cycle ◽  
Carbon Footprint ◽  
Cover Crops ◽  
Ghg Emissions ◽  
Nitrogen Fertilizers ◽  
Life Cycle Costs ◽  
Agricultural Practice ◽  
No Tillage ◽  
Tillage Systems ◽  
Maize Production

Given the problem of climate change and the requirements laid down by the European Union in the field of gradual decarbonization of production, it is necessary to implement solutions of reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions into agricultural practice. This research paper aimed to evaluate the carbon footprint and life-cycle costs of grain maize production in various tillage systems. The material for the analyses was data from 2015–2017 collected on 15 farms located in the Wielkopolska region (Poland) and growing maize for grain in three tillage systems: conventional, reduced, and no-tillage. The life-cycle assessment and life-cycle costing methodologies were applied to assess the GHG emissions and costs associated with the grain maize production in the stages from “cradle-to-farm gate”, i.e., from obtaining raw materials and producing means for agricultural production, through the processes of maize cultivation to grain harvesting. The calculated values of the carbon footprint indicator for maize production in conventional, reduced, and no-tillage systems were 2347.4, 2353.4, and 1868.7 CO2 eq. ha−1, respectively. The largest source of GHG emissions was the use of nitrogen fertilizers. Non-inversion tillage with cover crops and leaving a large amount of crop residues in the field increased the sequestration of organic carbon and contributed to a significant reduction of the carbon footprint in maize production. The conventional tillage system demonstrated the highest overall life-cycle costs per hectare.

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