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Growth and yield of sugar beet on contrasting soils in relation to nitrogen supply: I. Soil nitrogen analyses and yield

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  27 March 2009

P. J. Last  and
A. P. Draycott
P. J. Last
Affiliation:
Broom's Barn Experimental Station, Higham, Bury St Edmunds
A. P. Draycott
Affiliation:
Broom's Barn Experimental Station, Higham, Bury St Edmunds
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Summary

Nine field experiments with sugar beet in 1968–70 tested eight amounts of nitrogen fertilizer (0–290 kg N/ha) on a shallow calcareous loam (Icknield Series), on a deep sandy loam (Newport Series) and on a heavy clay loam (Evesham Series). Top soils and subsoils, sampled during autumn, winter and spring before the experiments, were analysed by several methods for available and potentially-available nitrogen. The largest increases in potentially-available mineral-nitrogen shown by incubation occurred in the calcareous loams every year in both top soil and sub-soil, and the sandy loam, particularly the sub-soil, generally produced least. Attempts to forecast the optimum nitrogen fertilizer dressing from the soil analyses were moderately successful, the best technique being anaerobic incubation of air-dry soil; the date of sampling had little effect. The optimum dressings were always between 0 and 125 kgN/ha, the calcareous loams generally needing least nitrogen fertilizer and the loamy sands most.

Type
Research Article
Information
The Journal of Agricultural Science , Volume 85 , Issue 1 , August 1975 , pp. 19 - 26
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 1975

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References

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