Hostname: page-component-78c5997874-lj6df Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-03T05:10:59.688Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Effect of nitrogen fertilizer rate on soil nitrate nitrogen content after harvesting winter wheat

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  27 March 2009

K. Chaney
K. Chaney
Affiliation:
Levington Agriculture Ltd, Levington Research Station, Ipswich, Suffolk, IP10 0LU, UK
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Summary

The nitrate nitrogen content of the soil (0–90 cm) was measured immediately after the harvest of winter wheat at eight sites in central and eastern England in 1987 and 1988. On average, 50% of the total nitrate detected was in the 0–30 cm, 30% in the 30–60 cm and 20% in the 60–90 cm soil horizon. Although soil nitrate N increased with the amount of N fertilizer applied, it was not a linear relationship. There were small nonsignificant increases in soil nitrate up to the optimum fertilizer rate for yield but, once the optimum was reached, further addition of fertilizer increased nitrate contents significantly.

Therefore, applying the correct quantity of N for high grain yield did not significantly increase soil nitrate residues after harvest compared with the no-fertilizer treatment. This emphasizes the importance of applying the appropriate rate of N for each crop, because applying too much is not only uneconomic but also significantly increases the amount of mineral N which could be subsequently leached over the winter.

Type
Research Article
Information
The Journal of Agricultural Science , Volume 114 , Issue 2 , April 1990 , pp. 171 - 176
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 1990

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

REFERENCES

Black, C. A. (1965). Nitrite by colorimetric methods. In Methods of Soil Analysis, Part 2 (Ed. Black, C. A.) Agronomy No. 9, Part 2. Pp. 1221–1224. Madison, Wisconsin: American Society of Agronomy.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Dilz, K. (1988). Efficiency of uptake and utilization of fertilizer nitrogen by plants. In Nitrogen Efficiency in Agricultural soils. (Eds Jenkinson, D. S. & Smith, K. A.), pp. 1—26. Barking, UK: Elsevier Applied Science.Google Scholar
European Economic Community (1980). Council directive 80/778/EEC relating to the quality of water intended for human consumption. Official Journal of the European Communities. 11 pp. L229, 30.8.1980.Google Scholar
Macdonald, A. J., Powlson, D. S., Poulton, P. R. & Jenkinson, D. S. (1989). Unused fertilizer nitrogen in arable soils - its contribution to nitrate leaching. Journal of the Science of Food and Agriculture 46, 407–419.CrossRefGoogle Scholar