Cultivation of wheat following pea and triticale/pea mixtures increases yields and nitrogen content

Abstract

An experiment was conducted in 2004–2007 at the University of Podlasie Zawady Experimental Station (52°06′N, 22°50′E), Siedlce, Poland, to examine the effect of either post-harvest residues or residues and straw of spring triticale (Triticale), field pea (Pisum sativum L.) and their mixtures containing the following proportions of both components: 75+25, 50+50, 25+75% on the subsequent crop of winter wheat (Triticum aestivum L.). A field experiment was designed as split-blocks with three replicates. Residue mass, straw mass as well as N, P, K, Ca and Mg amounts were determined in the residues and straw. The residue amount of spring triticale was the greatest. N, Ca and Mg amounts in the residues of spring triticale/field pea mixtures were similar or higher whereas P and K amounts were similar or lower compared with spring triticale residues. Spring triticale straw contained less N, P, Ca and Mg than the straw of either field pea or spring triticale/field pea mixtures. Grain yield, yield components, N content and N uptake in the grain of winter wheat following field pea and spring triticale/field pea mixtures were significantly higher compared with winter wheat following spring triticale. Increasing proportions of field pea in mixtures with spring triticale cultivated as previous crops significantly increased winter wheat grain yields as well as N content and uptake. The residues of the previous crops combined with the straw significantly increased winter wheat grain yield, number of ears per m², number of grains in an ear, thousand-grain weight and N content and uptake. The highest winter wheat grain yield and N uptake were determined following an application of residues and straw of field pea and 25+75% spring triticale/field pea mixture. The grain of winter wheat after field pea had the greatest N content.     

Nitrogen acquisition by pea and barley and the effect of their crop residues on available nitrogen for subsequent crops

Nitrogen acquisition by field pea (Pisum sativum L.) and spring barley (Hordeum vulgare L.) grown on a sandy loam soil and availability of N in three subsequent sequences of a cropping system were studied in an outdoor pot experiment. The effect of crop residues on the N availability was evaluated using ¹⁵N-labelled residues. Field pea fixed 75% of its N requirement and the N₂ fixation almost balanced the N removed with the seeds. The barley crop recovered 80% of the ¹⁵N-labelled fertilizer N supplied and the N in the barley grain corresponded to 80% of the fertilizer N taken up by the crop. The uptake of soil-derived N by a test crop (N catch crop) of white mustard (Sinapis alba L.) grown in the autumn was higher after pea than after barley. The N uptake in the test crop was reduced by 27% and 34% after pea and barley residue incorporation, respectively, probably due to N immobilization. The dry matter production and total N uptake of a spring barley crop following pea or barley, with a period of unplanted soil in the autumn/winter, were significantly higher after pea than after barley. The barley crop following pea and barley recovered 11% of the pea and 8% of the barley residue N. The pea and barley residue N recovered constituted only 2.5% and <1%, respectively, of total N in the N-fertilized barley. The total N uptake in a test crop of mustard grown in the second autumn following pea and barley cultivation was not significantly influenced by pre-precrop and residue treatment. In the short term, the incorporation of crop residues was not important in terms of contributing N to the subsequent crop compared to soil and fertilizer N sources, but residues improved the conservation of soil N in the autumn. In the long-term, crop residues are an important factor in maintaining soil fertility and supplying plant-available N via mineralization.     

Plant availability and leaching of 15N-labelled mineral fertilizer residues retained in agricultural soil for 25 years: A lysimeter study

Background

A high use-efficiency of fertilizer N remains essential to sustain high crop productivity with low environmental impact. However, little is known on the long-term lability of mineral fertilizer N.

Aims

To quantify crop uptake and leaching of ¹⁵N-labelled mineral fertilizer that has been retained in an agricultural soil for 25–30 years in crops with variable growing season.

Methods

A field plot received ¹⁵N-labelled mineral fertilizers over a period of 5 years and was then kept under arable cropping for 12 years. After relocation to 16 lysimeters, the topsoil grew set-aside grassland for the next 13 years. Then crop uptakes and leaching losses of ¹⁵N remaining in soil was tested over a 2-year period by either converting set-aside grass to production grassland, or by replacing it with spring barley (+/− autumn cover crop) or vegetation-free fallow. All treatments received unlabelled mineral N fertilizers.

Results

Crop uptake and leaching of ¹⁵N were generally highest in the first test year after termination of the set-aside. The leaching of residual ¹⁵N in soil declined in the order: vegetation-free soil (4.7%), spring barley (1.9%), spring barley + cover crop (0.7%) and production grassland (0.2%). Corresponding losses for the second leaching period were 2.7%, 0.9%, 0.4% and 0.06%. There was a fixed relationship between leaching losses of ¹⁵N and total N.

Conclusions

After residing in soil for 25–30 years, the lability of labelled mineral N fertilizer residues appeared slightly higher than the lability of bulk soil N. Autumn vegetation was crucial for reducing leaching losses.     

Nitrate leaching in an organic dairy/crop rotationas affected by organic manure type, livestock densityand crop

Abstract. In dairy farming systems the risk of nitrate leaching is increased by mixed rotations (pasture/arable) and the use of organic manure. We investigated the effect of four organic farming systems with different livestock densities and different types of organic manure on crop yields, nitrate leaching and N balance in an organic dairy/crop rotation (barley–grass-clover–grass-clover–barley/pea–winter wheat–fodder beet) from 1994 to 1998. Nitrate concentrations in soil water extracted by ceramic suction cups ranged from below 1 mg NO₃-N l^?1 in 1^st year grass-clover to 20–50 mg NO₃-N l^?1 in the winter following barley/pea and winter wheat. Peaks of high nitrate concentrations were observed in 2^nd year grass-clover, probably due to urination by grazing cattle. Nitrate leaching was affected by climatic conditions (drainage volume), livestock density and time since ploughing in of grass-clover. No difference in nitrate leaching was observed between the use of slurry alone and farmyard manure from deep litter housing in combination with slurry. Increasing the total-N input to the rotation by 40 kg N ha^?1 year^?1 (from 0.9 to 1.4 livestock units ha^?1) only increased leaching by 6 kg NO₃-N ha^?1. Nitrate leaching was highest in the second winter (after winter wheat) following ploughing in of the grass-clover (61 kg NO₃-N ha^?1). Leaching losses were lowest in 1^st year grass-clover (20 kg NO₃-N ha^?1). Averaged over the four years, nitrate concentration in drainage water was 57 mg l^?1. Minimizing leaching losses requires improved utilization of organic N accumulated in grazed grass-clover pastures. The N balance for the crop rotation as a whole indicated that accumulation of N in soil organic matter in the fields of these systems was small.     

Nitrogen immobilization and mineralization during initial decomposition of15N-labelled pea and barley residues

The immobilization and mineralization of N following plant residue incorporation were studied in a sandy loam soil using¹⁵N-labelled field pea (Pisum sativum L.) and spring barley (Hordeum vulgare L.) straw. Both crop residues caused a net immobilization of soil-derived inorganic N during the complete incubation period of 84 days. The maximum rate of N immobilization was found to 12 and 18 mg soil-derived N g^–1 added C after incorporation of pea and barley residues, respectively. After 7 days of incubation, 21% of the pea and 17% of the barley residue N were assimilated by the soil microbial biomass. A comparison of the¹⁵N enrichments of the soil organic N and the newly formed biomass N pools indicated that either residue N may have been assimilated directly by the microbial biomass without entering the soil inorganic N pool or the biomass had a higher preference for mineralized ammonium than for soil-derived nitrate already present in the soil. In the barley residue treatment, the microbial biomass N was apparently stabilized to a higher degree than the biomass N in the pea residue treatment, which declined during the incubation period. This was probably due to N-deficiency delaying the decomposition of the barley residue. The net mineralization of residue-derived N was 2% in the barley and 22% in the pea residue treatment after 84 days of incubation. The results demonstrated that even if crop residues have a relative low C/N ratio (15), transient immobilization of soil N in the microbial biomass may contribute to improved conservation of soil N sources.     

A lysimeter study of the fate of fertilizer nitrogen in spring barley crops grown on shallow soil overlying Chalk: crop uptake and leaching losses

The objective of this work was to determine the fate of fertilizer nitrogen (labelled with nitrogen-15) applied to an undisturbed shallow soil overlying Chalk contained in 10 lysimeters (80 cm diameter, 135 cm deep). Measurements are reported of the nitrogen uptake by four spring barley crops and the rate and extent of leaching of nitrate beyond the roots. The crops were fertilized with 0, 80 or 120 kg N ha^?1 in each of four years, but only the first application in 1977 was labelled with nitrogen ?15. Rainfall and irrigation approximated to the long-term average, but in two treatments dry or wet spring conditions were imposed for the 10 weeks after sowing the first crop in 1977. The dry matter and grain yields of the spring barley crops varied from year to year in the ranges 8.7–14.0 t ha^?1 and 3.5–6.1 t ha^?1 respectively. The total nitrogen harvested in the crop approximated to the amount of nitrogen applied in each year with an apparent recovery of fertilizer in the range 38–76%. The recovery of nitrogen derived from fertilizer (labelled with nitrogen-15) was 46–54% in the first crop and after 2 years rapidly declined to below 1%. The total amount of nitrogen-15 labelled fertilizer recovered in four barley crops was 49–57% of that applied. Mean annual nitrate concentrations in water draining from the base of the lysimeters were in the range 11.8–26.7 mg N 1^?1 and did not differ significantly between nitrogen fertilizer treatments (0, 80 and 120 kg N ha^?1 a^?1). In all treatments nitrate concentrations varied considerably within each growing season, with a cycle of peaks and troughs. Annual losses of nitrate were in the range 39–128 kg N ha^?1, and the mean annual losses over the 4 years varied between lysimeters from 65 to 83 kg N ha^?1. Nitrogen-15 labelled nitrate was detected in the first drainage water collected in autumn following its spring application, 5 months earlier. Recovery of fertilizer-derived nitrogen in drainage water was greatest during the winter following the second barley crop, and was 3.4–3.7% of the nitrogen-15 applied. Over the 4 years of the experiment 6.3–6.6% of labelled fertilizer was accounted for in drainage water, representing 2–3% of the total nitrogen lost by leaching.     

Effects of various cover crops after peas on nitrate leaching and nitrogen supply to succeeding winter wheat or potato crops

In organic farming systems, it has been demonstrated that grain pulses such as peas often do not enhance soil N supply to the following crops. This may be due to large N removals via harvested grains as well as N‐leaching losses during winter. In two field‐trial series, the effects of legume (common vetch, hairy vetch, peas) and nonlegume (oil radish) cover crops (CC), and mixtures of both, sown after peas, on soil nitrate content, N uptake, and yield of following potatoes or winter wheat were studied. The overall objective of these experiments was to obtain detailed information on how to influence N availability after main‐crop peas by adapting cover‐cropping strategies. Cover crops accumulated 56 to 108 kg N ha^–1 in aboveground biomass, and legume CC fixed 30–70 kg N ha^–1 by N₂ fixation, depending on the soil N supply and the length of the growing period of the CC. Nitrogen concentration in the aboveground biomass of legume CC was much higher and the C : N ratio much lower than in the nonlegume oil radish CC. At the time of CC incorporation (wheat series) as well as at the end of the growing season (potato series), soil nitrate content did not differ between the nonlegume CC species and mixtures, whereas pure stands of legume CC showed slightly increased soil nitrate content. When the CC were incorporated in autumn (beginning of October) nitrate leaching increased, especially from leguminous CC. However, most of the N leached only into soil layers down to 1.50 m and was recovered more or less by the following winter wheat. When CC were incorporated in late winter (February) no increase in nitrate leaching was observed. In spring, N availability for winter wheat or potatoes was much greater after legumes and, after mixtures containing legumes, resulting in significantly higher N uptake and yields in both crops. In conclusion, autumn‐incorporated CC mixtures of legumes and nonlegumes accomplished both: reduced nitrate leaching and larger N availability to the succeeding crop. When the CC were incorporated in winter and a spring‐sown main crop followed even pure stands of legume CC were able to achieve both goals.     

Changes in N leaching and crop production as a result of measures to reduce N losses to water in a 6‐yr crop rotation

The effects of various measures introduced to increase nitrogen (N)‐use efficiency and reduce N losses to water in a 6‐yr crop rotation (winter wheat, spring barley, green manure, winter wheat, spring barley, spring oilseed rape) were examined with respect to N leaching, soil mineral N (SMN) accumulation and grain yield. An N‐use efficient system (NUE) with delayed tillage until late autumn and spring, direct drilling of winter wheat, earlier sowing of winter and spring crops and use of a catch crop in winter wheat was compared with a conventional system (CON) in a field experiment with six separately tile‐drained plots in south‐western Sweden during the period 1999–2011 (two crop rotation cycles). Total leaching of NO₃‐N from the NUE system was significantly 46 and 33% lower than in the CON system during the first and second crop rotation cycle, respectively, with the most pronounced differences apparently related to management strategies for winter wheat. Differences in NO₃‐N leaching largely reflected differences in SMN during autumn and winter. There was a tendency for lower yields in the NUE system, probably due to problems with couch grass. Overall, the measures for conserving N, when frequently used within a crop rotation, effectively reduced NO₃ concentrations in drainage water and NO₃‐N leaching losses, without severely affecting yield.     

Temporal course of net N mineralization and immobilization in topsoil following incorporation of crop residues of winter oilseed rape,peas and oats in a northern climate

The impact of incorporated residues of winter oilseed rape, peas and oats on soil N availability and the risk of N leaching during autumn and winter in a northern climate is not clear. Therefore, the aim was to determine the influence of incorporated residues on net N mineralization–immobilization in topsoil during autumn and winter. A field experiment carried out at three sites in South Sweden provided soil samples and crop residues for an interpretive, in situ incubation study. Topsoil corresponding to a 7‐cm soil layer from each site used for the field experiment was incubated with and without aboveground residues under natural temperature conditions at a single field location. On the basis of the incubation study, we concluded that in the field experiment, soil N dynamics during autumn and winter trials were the combined outcome of net N mineralization in the topsoil fraction not affected by aboveground residues and net N immobilization in the fraction in contact with aboveground crop residues. In the absence of aboveground residues, the net rate of N mineralization during early autumn was similar after both oilseed rape and peas, but values were larger than that after oats. After incorporation, aboveground residues of winter oilseed rape and peas made no contribution to soil mineral N in late autumn and thus did not increase the risk of N losses during winter. In fact, the residues of oilseed rape, peas and oats reduced the amount of soil mineral N by 7–14 kg N/ha during the main drainage period (October–March). Therefore, incorporating chopped aboveground residues should be encouraged before sowing winter wheat after peas and winter oilseed rape.     

Nitrogen immobilization and mineralization during initial decomposition of15N-labelled pea and barley residues

The immobilization and mineralization of N following plant residue incorporation were studied in a sandy loam soil using¹⁵N-labelled field pea (Pisum sativum L.) and spring barley (Hordeum vulgare L.) straw. Both crop residues caused a net immobilization of soil-derived inorganic N during the complete incubation period of 84 days. The maximum rate of N immobilization was found to 12 and 18 mg soil-derived N g^?1 added C after incorporation of pea and barley residues, respectively. After 7 days of incubation, 21% of the pea and 17% of the barley residue N were assimilated by the soil microbial biomass. A comparison of the¹⁵N enrichments of the soil organic N and the newly formed biomass N pools indicated that either residue N may have been assimilated directly by the microbial biomass without entering the soil inorganic N pool or the biomass had a higher preference for mineralized ammonium than for soil-derived nitrate already present in the soil. In the barley residue treatment, the microbial biomass N was apparently stabilized to a higher degree than the biomass N in the pea residue treatment, which declined during the incubation period. This was probably due to N-deficiency delaying the decomposition of the barley residue. The net mineralization of residue-derived N was 2% in the barley and 22% in the pea residue treatment after 84 days of incubation. The results demonstrated that even if crop residues have a relative low C/N ratio (15), transient immobilization of soil N in the microbial biomass may contribute to improved conservation of soil N sources.     

Nitrous oxide emissions, cereal growth, N recovery and soil nitrogen status after ploughing organically managed grass/clover swards

The period after ploughing of grass–clover leys within a ley‐arable rotation is when nitrogen accumulated during the ley phase is most vulnerable to loss. We investigated how ploughing date and timing of cessation of grazing before ploughing affected nitrous oxide (N₂O) losses of the first cereal crop. Ploughing dates were July and October for a winter wheat pilot study and January and March for spring barley in the main experiment. Timings of cessation of grazing (main experiment only) were October, January and March. Spring barley yield, nitrogen uptake and soil mineral nitrogen were also assessed. A separate large‐scale laboratory incubation was made to assess the effect of temperature and rainfall on nitrous oxide emissions and nitrate leaching under controlled conditions. Nitrous oxide emissions in the 1‐ to 2‐month period after autumn or spring ploughing, or sowing were typically between 20 and 150 g N ha^?1 day^?1 and increased with temperature and rainfall. Tillage for crop establishment stimulated N₂O emissions with up to 2.1 kg N ha^?1 released in the month after spring tillage. Cumulative nitrous oxide emissions were greatest (～8 kg ha^?1 over 17 months) after cessation of grazing in March before March ploughing, and lowest (～5.5 kg ha^?1) after cessation of grazing in January before January ploughing. These losses were 1.2–3.9% of the N inputs. In the laboratory study, winter ploughing stimulated nitrate leaching more than nitrous oxide emissions. The optimum time of ploughing appears to be early spring when the cold restricts nitrogen mineralization initially, but sufficient nitrogen becomes available for early crop growth and satisfactory N offtake as temperature increases. Early cessation of grazing is advantageous in leaving an adequate supply of residues of good quality (narrow C:N ratio) for ploughing‐in. Restricting tillage operations to cool, dry conditions, being aware of possible compaction and increasing the use of undersown grass–clover should improve the sustainability of organic farming.     

Importance of soil mineral N in early spring and subsequent net N mineralisation for winter wheat following winter oilseed rape and peas in a milder climate

Abstract

Nine biennial field experiments, 2000–2004, in south Sweden, 55–56°N, with winter wheat following winter oilseed rape, peas, and oats, were used to estimate the impact of a future milder climate on winter wheat production in central Sweden, 58–60°N. The trials included studies 1) on losses during winter of soil mineral nitrogen (N_min, 0–90 cm soil), accumulated after the preceding crops in late autumn, 2) on soil N mineralisation (N_net) during the growing season of the wheat (early spring to ripeness) and 3) on grain yield and optimum N fertilisation (Opt-N rate) of the wheat. Average N_min in late autumn following winter oilseed rape, peas, and oats was 68, 64, and 45 kg ha^?1, respectively, but decreased until early spring. Increased future losses of N_min during the winter in central Sweden due to no or very short periods with soil frost should enhance the demand for fertiliser N and reduce the better residual N effect of winter oilseed rape and peas, compared with oats. Their better N effect will then mainly depend on larger N_net (from March to maturity during the winter wheat year). Owing to more plant-available soil N (mainly as N_net) Opt-N rates were lower after oilseed rape and peas than after oats despite increased wheat yields (700 kg ha^?1) at optimum N fertilisation. In addition to these break crop effects, a milder climate should increase winter wheat yields in central Sweden by 2000–3000 kg ha^?1 and require about 30–45 kg ha^?1 more fertiliser N at optimum N fertilisation than the present yield levels. Increased losses and higher N fertilisation to the subsequent winter wheat in future indicates a need for an estimation of the residual N effect at the individual sites, rather than using mean values as at present, to increase N efficiency.     

Sowing a winter catch crop can reduce nitrate leaching losses from winter‐applied urine under simulated forage grazing: a lysimeter study

Grazing of winter forage crops is a common management option used in the dairy industry of New Zealand, particularly in the South Island, where they are used to feed nonlactating, pregnant dairy cows prior to calving. However, there is concern that the large crop yields per hectare grazed, combined with a high stocking density of cows, lead to large amounts of urinary nitrogen (N) deposited on bare, wet soil that, in turn, could lead to large nitrate leaching losses. We report the results of a simulated winter forage grazing event using field lysimeters planted with a kale (Brassica oleracea L.) crop. The effect of sowing a ‘catch crop’ of oat (Avena sativa L.) following the simulated winter forage grazing on nitrate leaching losses from urine applied at different times throughout the winter was measured. A catch crop sown between 1 and 63 days after the urine deposition in early winter reduced N leaching losses from urine patches by ~34% on average (range: 19–49%) over the winter–spring period compared with no catch crop. Generally, the sooner the catch crop was sown following the crop harvest, the greater the uptake of N by the catch crop and the greater the reduction in nitrate leaching losses. The results indicate that sowing of a catch crop following winter crop grazing could be an effective management strategy to reduce nitrate leaching as well as increase the N‐use efficiency of dairy winter forage grazing systems.     

Cover crop growth and impact on N leaching as affected by pre‐ and postharvest sowing and time of incorporation

In Northern Europe, cover crops are traditionally established before spring crops by undersowing, but some cover crops might also have an effect if preharvest sown before spring crops and even winter crops. The effects of cover crop sowing date, sowing technique and succeeding main crop on biomass production, N uptake, nitrate leaching and soil inorganic N were tested in lysimeters and in the field. Cruciferous cover crops (oil radish, white mustard) were sown preharvest by broadcasting into winter wheat in July and were allowed to grow until a following winter wheat was established in September. Other preharvest cover crops were left in place until late autumn. For comparison, the same cruciferous cover crops were established postharvest after light harrowing. Perennial ryegrass undersown in spring barley was also included. Aboveground N uptake in preharvest cover crops amounted to a maximum of 24 kg N/ha in September before sowing winter wheat. When left until late autumn, preharvest oil radish took up a maximum of 66 kg N/ha, and ryegrass and postharvest cover crops 35 kg N/ha. Preharvest establishment of cruciferous cover crops before a spring‐sown crop thus seems promising. The soil was depleted of inorganic N to the same extent in late autumn irrespective of cover crop type, sowing time and technique within winter wheat or spring barley. However, the reduction in nitrate leaching of preharvest cover crops incorporated after 2 months and followed by winter wheat was only half of that achieved by cover crops left until late autumn or spring.     

Effects of cropping system and rates of nitrogen in animal slurry and mineral fertilizer on nitrate leaching from a sandy loam

Abstract. Leaching of nitrate from a sandy loam cropped with spring barley, winter wheat and grass was compared in a 4-year lysimeter study. Crops were grown continuously or in a sequence including sugarbeet. Lysimeters were unfertilized or supplied with equivalent amounts of inorganic nitrogen in calcium ammonium nitrate (CAN) or animal slurry according to recommended rates (1N) or 50% above recommended rates (1.5N).
Compared with unfertilized crops, leaching of nitrate increased only slightly when 1N (CAN) was added. Successive annual additions of 1.5N (CAN) or 1N and 1.5N (animal slurry) caused the cumulative loss of nitrate to increase significantly. More nitrate was leached after application of slurry because organic nitrogen in the slurry-was mineralized.
With 1N (CAN) the leaching losses of nitrate were in the following order: continuous spring barley undersown with Italian ryegrass < continuous ley of perennial ryegrass < spring barley in rotation and undersown with grass < perennial ryegrass grown in rotation = winter wheat grown in rotation < sugarbeet in rotation < continuous winter wheat < continuous barley < bare fallow.
At recommended levels of CAN (1N), cumulative nitrate losses over the four years were similar for the crops when grown in rotation or continuously. When crops received 1.5N (CAN) or animal slurry, nitrate losses from the crops grown continuously exceeded those from crops in rotation. Including a catch crop in the continuous cropping system eliminated the differences in nitrate leaching between the two cropping systems.     

Yield structure components of autumn- and spring-sown pea (Pisum sativum L.)

ABSTRACT

Climate change brings increasing attention to winter sowing of traditionally spring sown crops. Crop stand height, soil coverage, grain yield and yield components of six winter pea varieties and one spring pea variety were compared in eastern Austrian growing conditions in 2014 and 2015. Crop stands of winter pea were taller up to the end of May before they declined and crop stands of spring pea were taller from early June on. Winter pea covered the soil at least partly over winter and showed faster soil coverage in spring. At the end of May, just some weeks before harvest, spring pea attained equal soil coverage. Grain yield of winter pea was almost double that of spring pea due to higher pod density whereas spring pea produced more grains pod^?1 than four out of six winter pea varieties and a higher thousand grain weight than all winter pea varieties. Consequently, grain density was higher for winter pea while the single pod yield was higher for spring pea. Growing winter peas in Central Europe might be a good strategy for increasing grain legume productivity and thereby European feed protein production.     

Differentiating between the supply of N to wheat from above and belowground residues of preceding crops of pea and canola

Belowground N comprises an important component of total residue N, but the N from this pool is often not included in studies that use ¹⁵N approaches to trace residue-derived N in succeeding crops. The objective of this greenhouse study was to differentiate between N supplied from aboveground and belowground crop residues, including rhizodeposits, of pea and canola to wheat using ¹⁵N labeling. A cross ¹⁵N-labeling approach was used in which wheat was grown on ¹⁵N-labeled belowground residues and non-labeled aboveground residues and vice versa. On average, the amount of N in wheat derived from belowground residues was almost twice the amount from aboveground residues. The higher input of both aboveground and belowground residue biomass and hence residue N from canola compared to pea tended to increase the residue-derived N in wheat from canola (6.4 %) relative to pea (4.7 %). However, differences in the percent recovery of ¹⁵N based on the amount of residue-¹⁵N initially applied revealed that a higher proportion of belowground residue N from pea (13.4 %) was recovered in wheat compared to the corresponding aboveground residue N from pea (8.8 %), and both belowground and aboveground residue N from canola (6.5 and 7.3 %, respectively). The total supply of N to wheat from preceding pea and canola crops was relatively low, likely due to wide C/N ratios. This study demonstrates the importance of belowground residue N to the supply of N to succeeding crops as well as differences between species.     

Alysimeter study of the effects of a ryegrass catch crop, during a winter wheat/maize rotation, on nitrate leaching and on the following crop

The effects of an intercrop catch crop (Italian ryegrass) on (i) the amounts and concentrations of nitrate leached during the autumn and winter intercrop period, and (ii) the following crop, were examined in a lysimeter experiment and compared with that from a bare fallow treatment. The catch crop was grown in a winter wheat/maize rotation, after harvest of the wheat, and incorporated into the soil before sowing the maize. A calcium and potassium nitrate fertilizer labelled with ¹⁵N (200 kg N ha^?1; 9.35 atom per cent excess) was applied to the winter wheat in spring. Total N uptake by the winter wheat was 154 kg ha^?1 and the recovery of fertilizer-derived N (labelled with ¹⁵N) was 60%. The catch crop (grown without further addition of N) yielded 3.8t ha^?1 herbage dry matter, containing 43 kg N ha^?1, of which 4.1 % was derived from the ¹⁵N-labelled fertilizer. Two-hundred kg unlabelled N ha^?1 was applied to the maize crop. During the intercrop period the nitrate concentration in water draining from the bare fallow lysimeters reached 68 mg N1^?1, with an average of 40 mg N1^?1. With the catch crop, it declined rapidly, from 41 mg N I^?1 to 0.25 mg N I^?1, at the end of ryegrass growth. Over this period, 110 kg N ha^?1 was leached under bare fallow, compared with 40 kg N ha^?1 under the catch crop. ¹⁵N-labelled nitrate was detected in the first drainage water collected in autumn, 5 months after the spring application. The quantity of fertilizer-N that was leached during this winter period was greater under bare fallow (18.7% of applied N) than when a catch crop was grown (7.1 %). In both treatments, labelled fertilizer-N contributed about 34% of the total N lost during this period. With the ryegrass catch crop incorporated at the time of seedbed preparation in spring, the subsequent maize grain-yield was lowered by an average of 13%. Total N-uptake by the maize sown following bare fallow was 224 kg N ha^?1, compared with 180 kg ha^?1 with prior incorporation of ryegrass; the corresponding values for uptake of residual labelled N were 3% (bare fallow) and 2% (ryegrass) of the initial application. Following the maize harvest, where ryegrass was incorporated, 22.7% of the previous year's labelled fertilizer addition was present in an organic form on the top 30 cm of lysimeter soil. This compares with 15.7% for the bare fallow intercropping treatment. Tracer analyses showed overall recoveries of labelled N of 91.7% for the winter wheat/ ryegrass/maize rotation and 97% for the winter wheat/bare fallow/maize rotation. The study clearly demonstrated the ecological importance of a catch crop in reducing N-leaching as well as its efficient use of fertilizer in the plant-soil system from this particular rotation. However, the fate of the organic N in the ploughed-down catch crop is uncertain and problems were encountered in establishing the next crop of maize.     

Nitrogen conserving potential of successive ryegrass catch crops in continuous spring barley

Abstract. The nitrogen (N) conserving effects of Italian ryegrass ( Lolium multiflorum L.) undersown as a nitrate catch crop in spring barley ( Hordeum vulgare L.) were evaluated over a ten-year period in outdoor lysimeters (1.5 m deep, diam. 1 m) with sandy loam soil. Spring barley grown every year received 11.0 or 16.5 g N m⁻² before planting or was kept unfertilized. The N was given either as calcium ammonium nitrate or as ammoniacal N in pig slurry. From 1985 to 1989, ryegrass was undersown in the barley in half of the lysimeters while barley was grown alone in the remaining lysimeters. The grass sward was left uncut after barley harvest and incorporated in late winter/early spring. From 1990 to 1994 all lysimeters were in barley only.
Barley dry matter yields and crop N offtakes were not affected by the presence of undersown ryegrass, although grain yields appeared to be slightly reduced. After termination of ryegrass growing, N offtake in barley (grain+straw) was higher in lysimeters in which catch crops had been grown previously.
The loss of nitrate by leaching increased with N addition rate. Regardless of N dressing, ryegrass catch crops halved the total nitrate loss during 1985–1989, corresponding to a mean annual reduction in nitrate leaching of 2.0–3.5 g N m⁻². From 1990 to 1994, lysimeters previously undersown with ryegrass lost more nitrate than lysimeters with no history of ryegrass. The extra loss of nitrate accounted for 30% of the N retained by ryegrass catch crops during 1985–1989.
It is concluded that a substantial proportion of the N saved from leaching by ryegrass catch crops is readily mineralized and available for crop offtake as well as leaching as nitrate. To maximize benefits from ryegrass catch crops, the cropping system must be adjusted to exploit the extra N mineralization derived from the turnover of N incorporated in ryegrass biomass.     

Long continued applications of N fertilizer to cereals on sandy loam: grain and straw response to residual N

Abstract. The residual value of mineral N fertilizer applied in the spring was investigated in a field experiment where four cereals (winter wheat, winter barley, spring barley and spring oats) had been grown at reduced (0.7N), normal (1N) or high (1.3N) N fertilizer rates for 20 to 28 years. The effect of previous N fertilizer dressing was tested in two succeeding years by replacing the original N rate with five test N rates ranging from 0 to 240 kg N ha^?1 for winter cereals and 0 to 200 kg N ha^?1 for spring cereals. In the first test year, winter wheat grown on plots previously supplied with the high rate of mineral fertilizer (202 kg N ha^?1 yr^?1) yielded more grain and straw and had a higher total N uptake than wheat on plots previously supplied with the normal (174 kg N ha^?1 yr^?1) or reduced (124 kg N ha^?1 yr^?1) rate. The grain yield response and N uptake was not significantly affected by the N supply in the test year. The winter wheat grown in the second test year was unaffected by the previous N supply. Grain and straw yield response and total N uptake for spring barley, winter barley and oats, were almost identical irrespective of the previous N rate. After 20 to 28 years there were no significant differences in soil C and N (0 to 20 cm) between soil receiving three rates of N fertilizer. Soil from differently fertilized oat plots showed no significant differences in N mineralizing capacity. Nitrate leaching losses from the soils at the three N rates were estimated and the N balances for the 20 to 28 years experimental period calculated. The data indicated a reduction in overall loss of 189 to 466 kg N ha^?1 at the normal and high N rates compared with the reduced N rate. We conclude that the N supplying capacity and soil organic matter content of this fertile sandy loam soil under continuous cereal cropping with straw removal was not significantly affected by differences in N fertilizer residues.