Nitrous Oxide Emissions in Response to ESN and Urea Application in a No-Till Barley Cropping System |
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| Authors: | Chunli Li Robert E Blackshaw George W Clayton John T O’Donovan K Neil Harker |
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| Institution: | 1. Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, Lethbridge Research Center, Lethbridge, Alberta, Canada;2. Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, Lacombe Research Center, Lacombe, Alberta, Canada |
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| Abstract: | We investigated the effect of environmentally smart nitrogen (ESN) fertilizer on nitrous oxide (N2O) emissions under no-till barley (Hordeum vulgare L.) production over 3 years at three sites in Alberta, Canada. Treatments included two barley cultivars, with ESN and urea applied at 1× and 1.5× the recommended rate, and herbicide at 50% and 100% of registered in-crop rates. Cumulative N2O emissions over the growing season were low (0.11 to 1.32 kg nitrogen (N) per hectare or 0.05–0.22 g N kg?1 grain yield), and not affected by barley cultivars or herbicide rates in all nine site-years, nor by fertilizer type or rate in seven out of nine site-years. However, average N2O emissions from ESN were 15% lower (P = 0.05) than urea across all site-years. Our results suggest ESN could play a role in reducing N2O emissions, but the reduction will depend on rainfall events and crop N utilization. |
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| Keywords: | Cereal environmentally smart nitrogen nitrous oxide emissions polymer-coated urea semi-arid climate semi-humid climate urea |
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