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Soil tests for predicting nitrogen supply for grassland under controlled environmental conditions

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  22 April 2014

N. T. MCDONALD ,
C. J. WATSON ,
R. J. LAUGHLIN ,
S. T. J. LALOR ,
J. GRANT  and
D. P. WALL
N. T. MCDONALD
Affiliation:
Agricultural Catchments Programme, Teagasc, Environmental Research Centre, Johnstown Castle, Co Wexford, Ireland Institute for Global Food Security, School of Biological Sciences, Queen's University, Belfast, BT9 5AG, Northern Ireland, UK
C. J. WATSON
Affiliation:
Institute for Global Food Security, School of Biological Sciences, Queen's University, Belfast, BT9 5AG, Northern Ireland, UK Agri-Food and Biosciences Institute, Newforge Lane, Belfast, BT9 5PX, Northern Ireland, UK
R. J. LAUGHLIN
Affiliation:
Agri-Food and Biosciences Institute, Newforge Lane, Belfast, BT9 5PX, Northern Ireland, UK
S. T. J. LALOR
Affiliation:
Teagasc, Environmental Research Centre, Johnstown Castle, Co. Wexford, Ireland
J. GRANT
Affiliation:
Teagasc, Food Research Centre, Ashtown, Dublin 15, Ireland
D. P. WALL*
Affiliation:
Teagasc, Environmental Research Centre, Johnstown Castle, Co. Wexford, Ireland
*
*To whom all correspondence should be addressed. Email: david.wall@teagasc.ie
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Summary

Mineralized soil nitrogen (N) is an important source of N for grassland production. Some soils can supply large quantities of plant-available N through mineralization of soil organic matter. Grass grown on such soils require less fertilizer N applications per unit yield. A reliable, accurate and user-friendly method to account for soil N supply potential across a large diversity of soils and growing conditions is needed to improve N management and N recommendations over time. In the current study, the effectiveness of chemical N tests and soil properties to predict soil N supply for grass uptake across 30 Irish soil types varying in N supply potential was investigated under controlled environmental conditions. The Illinois soil N test (ISNT) combined with soil C : N ratio provided a good estimate of soil N supply in soils with low residual mineral N. Total oxidized N (TON) had the largest impact on grass dry matter (DM) yield and N uptake across the 30 soil types, declining in its influence in later growth periods. This reflected the high initial mineral N levels in these soils, which declined over time. In the current study, a model with ISNT-N, C : N and TON (log TON) best explained variability in grass DM yield and N uptake. All three rapid chemical soil tests could be performed routinely on field samples to provide an estimate of soil N supply prior to making N fertilizer application decisions. It can be concluded that these soil tests, through their assessment of soil N supply potential, can be effective tools for N management on grassland; however, field studies are needed to evaluate this under more diverse growing conditions.

Type
Nitrogen Workshop Special Issue Papers
Information
The Journal of Agricultural Science , Volume 152 , Supplement S1: Special Issue from the 17th International Nitrogen Workshop , December 2014 , pp. 82 - 95
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2014 

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