N release pattern from green manures can be modified through species composition

Abstract

This study examined whether the N release pattern during decomposition of plant materials used as green manures can be modified in the short term through mixing plant materials with different levels of easily degradable compounds. In a lysimeter study, white clover shoots were mixed with perennial ryegrass shoots or chicory roots. Leaching of clover N was decreased more by inclusion of chicory than by ryegrass. However, decreased leaching losses over the non-growing season did not lead to enhanced N uptake by the crop during the following growing season.     

Strategies for high nitrogen production and fertilizer value of plant-based fertilizers

Background

Organic vegetable production has a demand for alternative fertilizers to replace fertilizers from sources that are not organic, that is, typically animal-based ones from conventional farming.

Aims

The aim of this study was to develop production strategies of plant-based fertilizers to maximize cumulative nitrogen (N) production (equal to N yield by green manure crops), while maintaining a low carbon-to-nitrogen (C:N) ratio, and to test the fertilizer value in organic vegetable production.

Methods

The plant-based fertilizers consisted of the perennial green manure crops—alfalfa, white clover, red clover, and a mixture of red clover and ryegrass—and the annual green-manure crops—broad bean, lupine, and pea. The crops were cut several times at different developmental stages. The harvested crops were used fresh or pelleted as fertilizers for field-grown white cabbage and leek. The fertilizer value was tested with respect to biomass, N offtake, N recovery, and soil mineral N (N_min). Poultry manure and an unfertilized treatment were used as controls.

Results

The cumulative N production of the perennial green manure crops ranged from 300 to 640 kg N ha^–1 year^–1 when cut two to five times. The highest productions occurred at early and intermediate developmental stages, when cut three to four times. Annual green manure crops produced 110–320 kg N ha^–1 year^–1, since repeated cutting was restricted. The C:N ratio of the green manure crops was 8.5–20.5, and increased with developmental stage. The fertilizer value of green manure, as measured in white cabbage and leek, was comparable to animal-based manure on the condition that the C:N ratio was low (<18). N recovery was 20%–49% for green manure and 29%–42% for poultry manure. A positive correlation was detected between soil N_min and vegetable N offtake shortly after incorporating the green manure crops, indicating synchrony between N release and crop demand.

Conclusions

Plant-based fertilizers represent highly productive and efficient fertilizers that can substitute conventional animal-based fertilizers in organic vegetable production.     

Catch crop strategy and nitrate leaching following grazed grass-clover

Cultivation of grassland presents a high risk of nitrate leaching. This study aimed to determine if leaching could be reduced by growing spring barley (Hordeum vulgare L.) as a green crop for silage with undersown Italian ryegrass (Lolium multiflorum Lam.) compared with barley grown to maturity with or without an undersown conventional catch crop of perennial ryegrass (Lolium perenne L.). All treatments received 0, 60 or 120 kg of ammonium‐N ha^?1 in cattle slurry. In spring 2003, two grass‐clover fields (3 and 5 years old, respectively, with different management histories) were ploughed. The effects of the treatments on yield and nitrate leaching were determined in the first year, while the residual effects of the treatments were determined in the second year in a crop of spring barley/perennial ryegrass. Nitrate leaching was estimated in selected treatments using soil water samples from ceramic cups. The experiment showed that compared with treatments without catch crop, green barley/Italian ryegrass reduced leaching by 163–320 kg N ha^?1, corresponding to 95–99%, and the perennial ryegrass reduced leaching to between 34 and 86 kg N ha^?1, corresponding to a reduction of 80 and 66%. Also, in the second growing season, leaching following catch crops was reduced compared with the bare soil treatment. It was concluded that the green barley/Italian ryegrass offers advantages not only for the environment but also for farmers, for whom it provides a fodder high in roughage and avoids the difficulties with clover fatigue increasingly experienced by Danish farmers.     

Effects of chitin amendment of soil on microorganisms,nematodes, and growth of white clover (Trifolium repens L.) and perennial ryegrass (Lolium perenne L.)

Effects of soil amendment with crabshell chitin on the growth of white clover (Trifolium repens L.) and perennial ryegrass (Lolium perenne L.), and on populations of soil bacteria, fungi, and plant-parasitic and free-living nematodes were investigated in a pot trial. Five soil samples were collected from Te Puke (Paengaroa Shallow Sand, a Typic Hapludand) and five from Hamilton (Bruntwood silt loam, an Aquic Hapludand), New Zealand. Subsamples of each soil were either amended with chitin or unamended and planted with white clover and ryegrass. The ryegrass shoot weight in amended soil was greater (P<0.01), most probably due to N mineralised from chitin. A significantly lower (P<0.01) root: shoot ratio of ryegrass in the amended soil also suggested improved N availability, and therefore less root mass was needed to support a given shoot mass. A reduction in nodulation was observed in 12-day-old white clover seedlings (P<0.05) and also in 6-week-old seedlings (P<0.01). The shoot weight of white clover was significantly lower (P<0.05) in amended soil, possibly due to phytotoxic effects of chitin. Chitin increased (P<0.01) the populations of bacteria and fungi by 13-fold and 2.5-fold, respectively. The cyst nematode of white clover, Heterodera trifolii, was significantly reduced in chitin-amended soil, possibly due to increased levels of chitinase produced by rhizosphere microorganisms. Two other plant-parasitic nematodes, Pratylenchus spp. and Tylenchus spp., were also reduced in ryegrass roots and in soil as a result of the chitin amendment. However, the total number of free-living nematodes increased 5.4-fold in amended soil.     

套种绿肥对茶园土壤理化性状的影响

通过田间小区试验,以不套种任何绿肥处理为对照,研究了白三叶(Trifolium repens L.)、多年生黑麦草(Lolium perenne L.)和两者混播的3种套种模式对茶园土壤理化性状及环境小气候的影响。结果表明:茶园套种绿肥有降低土壤体积质量、降低土壤紧实度、改善土壤气相和液相比例的趋势,套种绿肥可明显降低地表、5 cm、10 cm和15 cm土层温度,减小土壤温度变幅。最高温时,各土层降温效果均为:黑麦草白三叶混播。绿肥处理的土壤有机质含量、全氮含量、速效磷含量和速效钾含量较对照有所增加,增幅分别为6.67%~12.6%、0.8%~15.2%、24.1%~26.7%和6.8%~88.9%。绿肥处理与对照相比,土壤微生物数量明显增加:细菌数量、真菌数量、放线菌数量分别是对照的1.75倍~2.58倍、1.22倍~1.88倍和1.15倍~1.46倍。因此,茶园套种白三叶和套种黑麦草对土壤生态环境效应的改善和茶园土壤基本肥力的效果相对更佳,值得在生产上进一步推广应用。     

Rhizodeposition of nitrogen by red clover,white clover and ryegrass leys

Correct assessment of the rhizodeposition of N in grassland is essential for the evaluation of biological N₂-fixation of legumes, for the total N balance of agro-ecosystems, and for the pre-cropping value of grasslands. Using a leaf-feeding technique by which plants were ¹⁵N labelled while growing in mezotrons in the field, the rhizodeposition of N by unfertilised red clover, white clover and perennial ryegrass growing in pure stands was shown to amount to 64, 71 and 9 g N m⁻², respectively, over two complete growing seasons. The corresponding values for red clover and white clover growing in mixtures with ryegrass were 89 and 32 g N m⁻², respectively. The rhizodeposited N compounds, including fine roots, constituted more than 80% of the total plant-derived N in the soil, and in all cases exceeded the amount of N present in stubble. In the mixtures of red clover–ryegrass and white clover–ryegrass and the pure stands of red clover, white clover and ryegrass, respectively, the rhizodeposition constituted a 1.05, 1.52, 1.26, 2.21 and 2.77 fold increase over the total N in the shoots harvested during the two production years. In pure stands and mixtures of clover, 84 and 92%, respectively, of this N derived from biological N₂ fixation. It is concluded that rhizodeposition provides a very substantial input of N to the legume-based grassland systems with great consequences for ecosystem N balance and turnover. Furthermore, the amount of atmospheric-derived N in the rhizodeposits may exceed that in the harvested shoots.     

Release of carbon and nitrogen from fodder radish (Raphanus sativus) shoots and roots incubated in soils with different management history

Plant roots are generally considered to decompose slower than shoots and contribute more to accumulation of soil organic matter, and management history is expected to shape the structure and function of decomposer communities in soil. Here we study the effect of chemical characteristics of shoots and roots from fodder radish (Raphanus sativus oleiformis L.), a widely used cover crop, on the release of their C and N after addition to soil. Shoots and roots were incubated for 180?d at 20°C using four soils with different management histories (organic versus mineral fertiliser, with and without use of cover crops), and the release of CO₂ and extractable mineral N was determined. More shoot C than root C was mineralised during the first 10?d of incubation. After 180?d, 58% of the C input was mineralised with no difference between shoots and roots. At the end of incubation, shoots had released more N (42% of shoot N) than roots (28% of root N). Moreover, management history did not affect net mineralisation of added plant C. Residues incubated in soil with a management history involving cover crops showed an enhanced net N mineralisation. Therefore, long-term decomposition of C added in radish shoots and roots is unaffected by differences in chemical characteristics or soil management history. However, the net mineralisation of N in shoots is faster than for N in roots, and net N mineralisation of added materials is higher in soil with than without a history of cover crops.

Abbreviations: CC: cover crop; IF: inorganic fertilizer; M: manure     

Comparison of nitrogen mineralisation patterns from root residues of<Emphasis Type="Italic"> Trifolium subterraneum</Emphasis> and<Emphasis Type="Italic"> Medicago sativa</Emphasis>

Crops grown in the first or second year after Medicago sativa L. (lucerne or alfalfa) in southern Australia have sometimes yielded less than crops grown after Trifolium subterraneum L. (subterranean clover), despite the greater annual accumulation of legume nitrogen (N) and enhanced N₂ fixation in lucerne-based pastures. To understand why, we studied the N mineralisation patterns of root residues collected from 16- or 20-week-old plants using incubation assays, in two separate experiments with contrasting soil types (a red loam and a grey clay loam). Fine roots of both species added to soil produced more mineral N than the control soil with no root residues added. In contrast, less mineral N accumulated in the presence of coarse roots than in the control soil. These patterns were not explained by differences in physical size or surface-area, but appeared to be more related to the carbon to nitrogen ratio (C:N) of fine and coarse roots. Fine roots of both species had a C:N of about 11, while the C:N of coarse roots ranged from 28 to 37. Subterranean clover had a high proportion of fine roots giving a weighted average C:N of 19 for the whole root system, and could be expected to result in a rapid net mineralisation of N. The root systems of lucerne on the other hand, consisted mainly of coarse roots giving an average C:N of 26, and would be likely to induce a transient net immobilisation of N and a delay in net mineralisation. The same general patterns of N mineralisation/immobilisation were observed in the second experiment. Tissue chemical analyses suggested that even where the total C:N of subterranean clover and lucerne residues were similar, the amounts of C and N in the soluble fraction of the residues and the C:N of that soluble fraction could largely account for the observed differences in N mineralisation/immobilisation.     

Different leguminous pre-crops increased yield of succeeding cereals in two consecutive years

Leguminous pre-crops are an important source of green manure in organic crop rotations for improving soil fertility and achieving high yields of cereals. We aimed to study the potential of various leguminous species, other than the traditionally cultivated red clover (Trifolium pratense L.), as green manure pre-crops for subsequent cereals. The use of different legume species enables to exploit advantages of specific legumes in organic cereal production. In order to test the legumes as pre-crops for cereals, we carried out trials located in the temperate climate zone of northeast Europe (58°44′59.41″ N, 26°24′54.02″ E). We sowed the following perennial legumes as pre-crops: red clover, alsike clover (Trifolium hybridum L.) and Washington lupine (Lupinus polyphyllus Lindl.), biennial white sweet clover (Melilotus albus Medik.) and annual Alexandria clover (Trifolium alexandrinum L.), and crimson clover (Trifolium incarnatum L.). Timothy (Phleum pratense L.) was used as a control. The leguminous pre-crops were followed by three spring cereals (barley, oat and spring wheat) and two winter cereals (rye and winter wheat). We tested the first-year after-effect (all cereals) and second-year after-effect (only barley and oat) of pre-crops on the grain yield of cereals. Perennial and biennial legume species produced the highest dry matter yield and contained the highest amount of nutrients, especially nitrogen, compared to annual species. All subsequent cereals produced significant extra yields after each leguminous pre-crop in the following two years, although the effect was smaller in the second year. The most suitable pre-crops for spring cereals were red and alsike clover followed by lupine, whereas the best pre-crops for winter cereals were sweet clover and annual clovers. Our results show the potential of various leguminous pre-crop species as valuable sources of green manure in organic crop rotation.     

Remote sensing of sugarbeet canopies for improved nitrogen fertilizer recommendations for a subsequent wheat crop

Abstract

Return to soil of high N, green sugarbeet (Beta vulgaris L.) tops, but not the return of low N, yellow to yellow‐green tops, reduces the magnitude of N‐fertilizer responses for the following crop. Twelve N fertilizer trials with spring wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) were established at sites with late‐season ‘green’ (8 sites) or ‘yellow’ (4 sites) sugarbeet canopies the previous year. Late‐season, aerial color photographs of sugarbeet fields and global positioning system (GPS) technology were used to locate the experimental sites. Based on the soil NO₃‐N test customarily used in the Northern Grain Plains, N fertilizer responses were expected at 11 of the 12 sites. However, no significant grain‐yield responses were obtained at the eight antecedent ‘green’ sugarbeet sites. Expected yield and grain‐N responses were obtained at the four antecedent ‘yellow’ sites. In contrast to the usual soil NO₃‐test, remote sensing of the previous sugarbeet crop resulted in successful prediction of N‐fertilizer responses at all 12 experimental sites. Application of N fertilizer at the ‘green’ canopy sites increased the likelihood that excess soil NO₃‐N would be present after the wheat harvest. A precision farming technique, involving remote sensing of late‐season sugarbeet canopies, use of GPS technology, and use of variable rate N‐fertilizer application is recommended for a wheat crop following sugarbeet.     

Green Manuring with Clover and Ryegrass Catch Crops Undersown in Small Grains: Effects on Soil Mineral Nitrogen in Field and Laboratory Experiments

Abstract

In three field trials in southern Norway, Italian ryegrass (Lolium multiflorum Lam.), white clover (Trifolium repens L.) or subterranean clover (T. subterraneuni L.) was undersown in spring grain at three N fertilizer rates and ploughed under in late October as a green manure for a succeeding spring grain crop. The content of topsoil (0-20 cm) mineral nitrogen was determined during the growth of the grain crop, after grain harvest and after ploughing. In addition, mineralization of nitrogen and carbon was measured in green-manured soil incubated at 15°C and controlled moisture conditions. During grain crop growth, ryegrass tended to reduce soil mineral N compared with the other treatments. After grain harvest, in a small-plot experiment where extra nitrate was added, ryegrass reduced soil nitrate N (0-18 cm) from 4.2 to 0.4 g m^?2 within 13 days, while the clovers had negligible effect compared with bare soil. Up to 9.4 g N m^?2 was present in above-plus below-ground ryegrass biomass at ploughing. In incubated ryegrass soil, there was a temporary net N immobilization of up to 0.9 g N m^?2 as compared with unamended soil. In clover-amended soil, mineral N exceeded that in unamended soil by up to 5 g N m^?2.     

Utilisation by white clover and ryegrass of sulphur from 35s‐Labelled Gypsum

Abstract

This investigation reports the uptake of S from a surface application of ³⁵S‐labelled gypsum by a ryegrass‐white clover mixture sward and by a pure ryegrass stand, each growing at three levels of N in the field. Nitrogen stimulated ryegrass growth, reducing the contribution of white clover to the total yield, whereas S did not influence the yield of either species. Gypsum, while not increasing the total S in the white clover, contributed 23 to 50% of the total S concentration. In contrast, gypsum increased the total S in the ryegrass. The level of N nutrition did not alter the fertiliser S in white clover, but depressed the total S in the ryegrass. Nitrogen enhanced the fertiliser S in ryegrass at the first harvest, however, at the second harvest N depressed the fertiliser S.

Recovery of applied S was increased by N, reaching a maximum value of 19.8% by two harvest, and was decreased with increasing rate of gypsum. Without ‐N the white clover accounted for 50% and 27% of the S recovery by the mixture at the 1st and 2nd harvests respectively, the proportion dropping to less than 20% for each harvest at a high level of N.

There was no apparent competitive advantage of ryegrass over white clover when grown in association although the data indicated a greater ability by ryegrass to absorb S from a surface application. Under conditions of incipient S deficiency the reduction in the contribution of white clover to production with increasing N supply was considered to be due to factors other than the availability of S in the environment.     

Free-living nitrogen-fixing bacteria in temperate cropping systems: Influence of nitrogen source

Sustainable cropping systems rely on a minimum of external inputs. In these systems N is largely acquired in animal manures and leguminous green manures. Little is known of how these organic forms of N fertilizer influence the presence and activity of free-living N₂-fixing bacteria. High concentrations of inorganic N in soil inhibit N₂-fixation in cyanobacteria and Azotobacter spp. It is likely that manure and fertilizer applications would result in concentrations of inorganic N capable of inhibiting N₂ fixation and, ultimately, the presence of these organisms. We investigated the effect of synthetic and organic N fertilizer sources on the populations and N₂-fixation potential of free-living N₂-fixing bacteria in the Farming Systems Trial at the Rodale Research Institute. Field plots received the following N treatments prior to corn (Zea mays L.) production: (1) Legume rotations and green manures supplying about 165 kg N ha^-1; (2) beef cattle manure applied at a rate of 220 kg N ha^-1 (plus 60 kg N ha^-1 from 1994 hay plow-down); or (3) fertilizer N (urea and NH₄NO₃) applied at a rate of 145 kg N ha^-1. Soil samples were collected at two depths from corn plots four times during the growing season, and analyzed for soil moisture, soil pH, numbers of N₂-fixing cyanobacteria and Azotobacter spp., extractable NH _inf4 ^sup+ and NO _inf3 ^sup- , and potentially mineralizable N. Soil samples collected in mid-July were analyzed for nitrogenase activity (by C₂H₂ reduction) and total C and N. Populations of Azotobacter spp. and cyanobacteria were influenced only slightly by treatment; however, cyanobacteria species composition was notably influenced by treatment. Nitrogenase activity in surface soils was greatest in legume-N plots and in subsurface plots levels were greatest in fertilizer-N plots. Populations and activity of free-living N-fixing bacteria appeared to be somewhat reduced in all plots as a result of low soil pH levels and high concentrations of inorganic N across all treatments. Annual applications of N to all plots resulted in high levels of potentially mineralizable N that in turn may have reduced non-symbiotic N₂-fixation in all plots.     

Repeated use of green-manure catch crops in organic cereal production – grain yields and nitrogen supply

Abstract

By restricted access to manure, nitrogen (N) supply in organic agriculture relies on biological N-fixation. This study compares grain yields after one full-season green manure (FSGM) to yields with repeated use of a green-manure catch crop. At two sites in south-eastern Norway, in a simple 4-year rotation (oats/wheat/oats/wheat), the repeated use of ryegrass, clover, or a mixture of ryegrass and clover as catch crops was compared with an FSGM established as a catch crop in year 1. The FSGM treatments had no subsequent catch crops. In year 5, the final residual effects were measured in barley.

The yield levels were about equal for grains with no catch crop and a ryegrass catch crop. On average, the green-manure catch crops increased subsequent cereal yields close to 30%. The FSGM increased subsequent cereal yields significantly in two years, but across the rotation the yields were comparable to those of the treatments without green-manure catch crop. To achieve acceptable yields under Norwegian conditions, more than 25% of the land should be used for full-season green manure, or this method combined with green-manure catch crops. The accumulated amount of N in aboveground biomass in late autumn did not compensate for the N removed by cereal yields. To account for the deficiency, the roots of the green-manure catch crops would have to contain about 60% of the total N (tot-N) required to balance the cereal yields. Such high average values for root N are likely not realistic to achieve. However, measurement of biomass in late autumn may not reflect all N made available to concurrent or subsequent main crops.     

Effects of manure quality and application forms on soil C and N turnover of a subtropical oasis soil under laboratory conditions

Our knowledge of the agricultural sustainability of the millennia-old mountain oases in northern Oman is restricted in particular with respect to C and N turnover. A laboratory study was conducted (1) to analyse the effects of rewetting and drying on soil microorganisms after adding different manures, (2) to investigate the effects of mulching or incorporating of these manures, and (3) to evaluate the relationships between C and N mineralisation rates and manure quality indices. During the first 9-day rewetting and drying cycle, i.e. the mulch period, the content of extractable organic C decreased by approximately 40% in all four treatments. During the second 9-day rewetting and drying cycle, i.e. the incorporation period, this fraction decreased insignificantly in almost all treatments. The control and mature manure treatments form the first pair with a low percentage of total organic C evolved as CO₂ (0.3% in 18 days) and a considerable percentage of total N mineralised as NH₄ and NO₃ (1% in 18 days), the fresh and immature manure treatments form the second pair with a higher amount of total organic C evolved as CO₂ (0.5% in 18 days) and no net N mineralisation. During the first 9-day rewetting and drying cycle, the contents of microbial biomass C and biomass N increased by approximately 150% in all four treatments. During the second 9-day rewetting and drying cycle, no further increase was observed in the control and immature manure treatments and a roughly 30% increase in the other two treatments.     

Mineralization of nitrogen in manures made from spent-slurry

An experiment to follow the mineralization of organic nitrogen in various manures showed the superiority of liquid slurry over sun-dried slurry and farm compost. The retarding effect of sun-drying on nitrogen mineralisation is attributed to poor dispersion of colloidal material and thus increased resistance to subsequent microbial decomposition. Alternate wetting and drying of the manured soil and treatment of the dried slurry with 1 per cent NaOH increased mineralisation. The manure prepared by the absorption of liquid slurry in green leaf powder mineralised rapidly indicating the value of utilising slurry in this manner. The organo-mineral fertilizer prepared by enriching slurry with urea yielded over 50 per cent nitrogen in a mineralization test, which was 30 per cent less than from urea alone.     

Prediction of Yield and Nitrogen Uptake of Wheat from Net Nitrogen Balance after Rice in Rice–Wheat Cropping System

Net nitrogen (N) balance after rice (Oryza sativa L.) and its relationship with yield and N uptake of succeeding wheat crop was studied in a greenhouse. Three urea-enriched green manures, namely dhaincha (Sesbania aculeata L.), cowpea (Vigna unguiculata L.), and guar (Cyamopsis tetragonoloba L.) were compared with split application of urea in a rice–wheat cropping sequence. After rice, a negative N balance was measured in all treatments; however, the N balance values were greater with urea than with green manures. The N balance was positively correlated with the N content but negatively correlated with lignin content and carbon (C)–N ratio of the green manures. Lignin content was a better index than C/N ratio for predicting the net N balance, which described 82.3% of the total variations. Efficiency of residual N utilization by wheat could be determined by estimating the N balance after rice. Net N balance after rice can be used as a yardstick for the prediction of yield and N uptake by wheat crop.     

Green manuring with clover and ryegrass catch crops undersown in spring wheat: effects on soil structure

Abstract. The objective of the present study was to investigate the potential of undersown catch crops to counteract soil degradation after autumn ploughing. Italian ryegrass (Lolium multiflorum Lam.) and white clover (Trifolium repens L.) were undersown in spring wheat on a loam soil in southern Norway, allowed to grow as cover crops after grain harvest and ploughed in to 20 cm depth as green manure in late October. Ryegrass prevented a collapse of the ridged plough furrow profile during winter, which occurred on grain monoculture and white-clover plots. Also, it tended to improve the water stability of aggregates, aggregate size distribution, bulk density, and pore volume in soil sampled in May. The preservation of the plough furrow profile was mainly attributed to enmeshment by an extensive system of fine roots and less to rhizosphere and microbial effects on aggregate stability. The results showed that ryegrass catch crops may give rapid structure improvements that are likely to contribute appreciably to easier seedbed preparation and less soil degradation in arable farming systems, even if the soil is ploughed in autumn.     

氮锌复合作用对单播和混播牧草氮素来源的影响

在亚热带中山草地黄棕壤上研究了氮锌复合作用对单播和混播牧草氮素来源的影响 ,结果表明 :施氮降低了白三叶前期固氮百分数 ,但低水平施氮显著提高了白三叶后期固氮百分数。在各种施氮水平下 ,施锌 6mg kg之处理 %Ndfa最高。施氮显著降低了氮转移的数量 ,低量施锌促进了氮转移 ;施氮促进了牧草对肥料氮的吸收 ,所有施氮水平下 ,单播黑麦草 %Ndff以施锌 6～ 2 0mg kg较高。在施氮 3 0～ 90mg kg,混播黑麦草和混播白三叶 %Ndff以施锌 6～ 2 0mg kg较低 ;单播和混播黑麦草 %Ndfs随施氮水平增加显著下降 ,施锌对单播黑麦草的 %Ndfs影响不明显。在所有施氮水平下 ,施锌 6～ 2 0mg kg减少了混播白三叶和混播黑麦草对土壤氮的吸收     

Assessing nitrogen transfer from legumes to associated grasses

A new method for directly assessing the transfer of N from legumes to associated grasses was developed and tested. Legume plants were labelled with ¹⁵N by foliar absorption and N transfer was estimated from the difference in ¹⁵N concentration between grasses associated with the labelled legumes and those from unlabelled control plots or pots. In a pot experiment, 2.2% of the N in subterranean clover (Trifolium subterraneum L.) was transferred to annual ryegrass (Lolium rigidum Gaud.) over a 29-day period whereas in a 36-day field study there was no measurable transfer of N from subterranean clover or lucerne (Medicago sativa L.) to ryegrass.