Hostname: page-component-78c5997874-mlc7c Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-03T05:25:12.709Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Use of climatic data for estimating nitrogen fertilizer requirements of dryland wheat

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  27 March 2009

L. Korentajer ,
P. R. Berlinger ,
F. J. Dijkhus  and
J. Van Zyl
L. Korentajer
Affiliation:
Soil and Irrigation Research Institute, Private Bag X-79, Pretoria 0001, South Africa.
P. R. Berlinger
Affiliation:
Soil and Irrigation Research Institute, Private Bag X-79, Pretoria 0001, South Africa.
F. J. Dijkhus
Affiliation:
Soil and Irrigation Research Institute, Private Bag X-79, Pretoria 0001, South Africa.
J. Van Zyl
Affiliation:
Department of Agricultural Economics, University of Pretoria, Pretoria, South Africa.
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Summary

The effect of moisture stress on N fertilizer needs of spring wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) was assessed using yield and meteorological data from N x P and N x P x K factorial trials, conducted on farmers' fields in a summer and a winter rainfall area in South Africa in 1979–84. Three to five rates of N fertilizer between 15 and 135 kg N/ha (plus control) and two to four replicates were used. The data were statistically analysed by a multiple regression yield model using applied N rate, N, and seasonal moisture stress, S, as the explanatory variables. A good positive correlation (r = 0.83, S.E. = 0.341 t/ha, D.F. = 48) was obtained between the estimated and the observed yields. The effects of S on Nmax and Novl (i.e. the N rates corresponding to maximum yield and an economically optimal rate, respectively), were evaluated. For 0.05 < S 7lt; 0.3, the range of S values representative of dryland cropping conditions, Nmax was largely independent of S, whereas Nopl increased sharply with decreasing S. The results indicated that N-response models which include moisture stress parameters may be used to determine the cropping areas climatically most suitable for wheat cultivation.

Type
Review
Information
The Journal of Agricultural Science , Volume 113 , Issue 2 , October 1989 , pp. 131 - 137
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 1989

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

Directorate of Agricultural Economic Trends, Pretoria, South Africa (1986). Abstracts of Agricultural Statistics. Department of Agricultural Economics and Marketing.Google Scholar
Doorenbos, J. & Pruitt, O. (1977). Guidelines for predicting crop water requirements. FAO Irrigation and Drainage. Paper No 24.Google Scholar
French, R. H. & Schultz, J. E. (1984). Water use efficiency in a Mediterranean-type environment. I. The relationship between yield, water use and climate. Australian Journal of Agricultural Research 35, 743–764.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Heady, E. O., & Dillon, J. L. (1961). Agricultural Production Functions, 667 pp. Ames : Iowa State University Press.Google Scholar
Hutson, J. L. (1986). Water retentivity of some South African soils in relation to particle size criteria and bulk density. South African Journal of Plant and Soil 5,151–156.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Kirkham, M. B. & Kanemasu, E. T. (1983). Wheat. In Crop-water Relations (Eds Teary, I. D. & Peet, M. M.), pp. 481–520. New York : John Wiley and Sons.Google Scholar
Kissel, D. E., Ritchie, J. T. & Richardson, C. W. (1975). A stress day concept to improve nitrogen fertilization: dry grain sorghum in the Texas blackland prairie. Bulletin, Texas Agricultural Experiment Station MP-120.Google Scholar
Korentajer, L. & Berliner, P. R. (1988). The effects of moisture stress on nitrogen fertilizer response in dryland wheat. Agronomy Journal 80, 977–981.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Storrier, R. R. (1975). Wheat nutrition. In Australian Field Crops, vol. 1, Wheat and Other Temperate Cereals (Eds Lanzeby, A. & Matheson, E. M.), pp. 256–287. London : Angus and Robertson.Google Scholar