Hostname: page-component-848d4c4894-75dct Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-06-02T19:07:26.782Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Amounts of NO3-N and NH4-N in soil, from autumn to spring, under winter wheat and their relationship to soil type, sowing date, previous crop and N uptake at Rothamsted, Woburn and Saxmundham, 1979–85

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  27 March 2009

F. V. Widdowson ,
A. Penny ,
R. J. Darby ,
E. Bird  and
M. V. Hewitt
F. V. Widdowson
Affiliation:
Rothamsted Experimental Station, Harpenden, Hertfordshire, AL5 2JQ
A. Penny
Affiliation:
Rothamsted Experimental Station, Harpenden, Hertfordshire, AL5 2JQ
R. J. Darby
Affiliation:
Rothamsted Experimental Station, Harpenden, Hertfordshire, AL5 2JQ
E. Bird
Affiliation:
Rothamsted Experimental Station, Harpenden, Hertfordshire, AL5 2JQ
M. V. Hewitt
Affiliation:
Rothamsted Experimental Station, Harpenden, Hertfordshire, AL5 2JQ
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Summary

Soil NO3-N and NH4-N were measured to 90 cm depth in autumn and again in spring, under several sets of winter wheat experiments, on contrasting sites. Crop samples were taken throughout the growing season, both before and after the fertilizer N was applied, to measure N uptake. The amount of NO3-N in soil at the outset of growth in autumn was related to the uptake of N by wheat not given any fertilizer N until April.

The effect of sowing date (September v. October) on both crop and soil N was compared, as also was the effect of soil type (retentive of NO3-N v. readily leached) and previous crop (potatoes v. oats and wheat v. beans).

The amounts of NO3-N in the soils in autumn related well with previous crop and declined gradually during winter on the heavier soils, but rapidly on the sandy soil, in the latter case as a consequence of leaching. On the heavier soils, where little leaching occurred, the decline in soil NO3-N related well with the amount of N taken up by September-sown wheat during autumn and winter, but not with that taken up by October-sown wheat, where NO3-N accumulated in the soil during winter, because uptake was so small. Hence delayed sowing enhanced the likelihood of losses of NO3-N by leaching or by denitrification. On the sandy soil at Woburn, whilst the September-sown wheat removed more N than the October-sown, losses of NO3-N by leaching were severe, so that late winter growth was restricted by shortage of N in soil, and the amount of N taken up was far smaller than at Rothamsted.

The soil measurements distinguished between the NO3-N residues remaining after beans or wheat in the same field and between residues after oats or potatoes on soils of the same soil series, but in different fields on the same farm.

The amount of NO3-N in soil and the N taken up by wheat in February-March were together used to adjust the amount of fertilizer N applied in April, using a balance sheet approach to meet a specific yield objective. Some of the N uptake data from these experiments are presented. This should aid the calculation of N requirement during specific growth periods and thus help improve the prediction of fertilizer N dressings in spring.

Type
Research Article
Information
The Journal of Agricultural Science , Volume 108 , Issue 1 , February 1987 , pp. 73 - 95
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 1987

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

Addiscott, T. M. (1982). Computer assessment of the N status during winter and early spring of soils growing winter wheat. In Assessment of the Nitrogen Status of the Soils (ed. Batey, T., Vlassak, K. and Verstraeten, L. M. J.), pp. 15–26. Katholieke Universiteit Leuven.Google Scholar
Anon. (1978). La Fertilisation Azotee du Blé. Paris: Institut Technique des Céréales et Fourrages.Google Scholar
Anon. (1985). Fertilizer recommendations 1985–86. Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food, Reference Book 209, pp. 5, 12 and 13. London: H.M.S.O.Google Scholar
Barraclough, P. B. & Leigh, R. A. (1981). Growth and nutrient uptake rates of winter wheat roots. Rothamsted Experimental Station, Report for 1980, Part I, p. 246.Google Scholar
Beaux, Y. & Martin, G. (1985). Techniques culturales du blé et qualité. Perspectives Agricoles, No. 97, pp. 54–59.Google Scholar
Becker, F. A. & Aufhammer, W. (1982). Nitrogen fertilisation and methods of predicting the N requirements of winter wheat in the Federal Republic of Germany. The Fertiliser Society of London, Proceedings No. 211, pp. 33–66.Google Scholar
Johnston, A. E., Poulton, P. R. & McEwen, J. (1981). The soils of Rothamsted Farm: the carbon and nitrogen content of the soils and the effect of changes in crop rotation and manuring on pH, K and Mg. Rothamsted Experimental Station, Report for 1980, Part II, pp. 5–20.Google Scholar
Lester, E. (1980). Multidisciplinary activities. Rothamsted Experimental Station, Report for 1979, Part I, pp. 17–25.Google Scholar
Litchfield, M. H. (1967). The automated analysis of nitrite and nitrate in blood. Analyst, London 92, 132–136.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Masle-Meynard, J. (1981). Relations entre croissance et développement pendant la montaison d'une peuplement de blé d'hiver. Influence des conditions de nutrition. Agronomie 1, (5), 365–374.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Powlson, D. S., Pruden, G. & Jenkinson, D. S. (1984). Recovery of 15N-labelled fertilizer by winter wheat. In ADAS/MAFF Reference Book 385, The Nitrogen Requirement of Cereals, pp. 119–120. London: H.M.S.O.Google Scholar
Prew, R. D., Church, B. M., Dewar, A. M., Lacey, J., Penny, A., Plumb, R. T., Thorne, G. N., Todd, A. D. & Williams, T. D. (1983). Effects of eight factors on the growth and nutrient uptake of winter wheat and on the incidence of pests and diseases. Journal of Agricultural Science, Cambridge 100, 363–382.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Prew, R. D., Church, B. M., Dewar, A. M., Lacey, J., Magan, N., Penny, A., Plumb, R. T., Thorne, G. N., Todd, A. D. & Williams, T. D. (1985). Some factors limiting the growth and yield of winter wheat and their variation in two seasons. Journal of Agricultural Science, Cambridge 104, 135–162.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Prew, R. D., Beane, J., Carter, N., Church, B. M., Dewar, A. M., Lacey, J., Penny, A., Plumb, R. T., Thorne, G. N. & Todd, A. D. (1986). Some factors affecting the growth and yield of winter wheat grown as a third cereal with much or negligible take-all. Journal of Agricultural Science, Cambridge 107, 639–671.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Remy, J. C. & Hebert, J. (1977). Le devenir des engrais azotes dans le sol. Comptes Rendus des Seances de l'Academie d'Agriculture de France 63, 700–714.Google Scholar
Remy, J. C. & Viaux, Ph. (1982). The use of nitrogen fertilizers in intensive wheat growing in France. The Fertilizer Society, London, Proceedings No. 211, pp. 67–92.Google Scholar
Varley, J. A. (1966). Automatic methods for the determination of nitrogen, phosphorous and potassium in plant material. Analyst, London 91, 119–126.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Wehrmann, J., Scharpf, H. C., Molitor, D. & Bohmer, M. (1979). Predicting nitrogen fertilizer demand by determination of mineral nitrogen in soils. Report transmitted by the Government of the Federal Republic of Germany to the Economic Commission for Europe, Committee on Agricultural Problems. AGRI/SEM.9/R 14 22 September 1978.Google Scholar
Welbank, P. J. & Widdowson, F. V. (1980, 1981, 1982). Growth and yield on a contrasted site. Rothamsted Experimental Station, Yields of the Fields Experiments, 1979, pp. 266–270; 1980, pp. 224–228; 1981, pp. 244–249.Google Scholar
Widdowson, F. V. & Penny, A. (1985). Factors affecting yield. Rothamsted Experimental Station, Yields of the Field Experiments 1984, pp. 191–195.Google Scholar
Widdowson, F. V., Welbank, P. J. & Weir, A. H. (1983, 1984). Growth and yield on contrasted sites. Rothamsted Experimental Station, Yields of the Field Experiments, 1982, pp. 201–209; 1983, pp. 205–211.Google Scholar
Widdowson, F. V., Penny, A., Gutteridge, R. J., Darby, R. J. & Hewitt, M. V. (1985). Tests of amounts and times of application of nitrogen and of sequential sprays of aphicide and fungicides on winter wheat, following either beans or wheat, and the effects of take-all (G aeumannomyces graminis var. tritici), on two varieties at Saxmundham, Suffolk 1980–3. Journal of Agricultural Science, Cambridge 105, 97–122.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Zadoks, J. C., Chang, T. T. & Konzak, C. F. (1974). A decimal code for the growth stages of cereals. Weed Research 14, 415–421.CrossRefGoogle Scholar