Premium
Responses of Cereals to Residual Fertiliser Nitrogen Applied to the Preceding Potato Crop
Author(s) -
Webb J,
SylvesterBradley Roger,
Seeney Frances M
Publication year - 1997
Publication title -
journal of the science of food and agriculture
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.782
H-Index - 142
eISSN - 1097-0010
pISSN - 0022-5142
DOI - 10.1002/(sici)1097-0010(199701)73:1<63::aid-jsfa693>3.0.co;2-8
Subject(s) - agronomy , crop , soil water , yield (engineering) , environmental science , manure , nitrogen , crop yield , biology , chemistry , materials science , organic chemistry , soil science , metallurgy
The effects of N fertiliser and poultry manure, applied to potato crops, on soil mineral N (SMN) after harvest and on the grain N offtake (N off ) and yield of subsequent unfertilised cereal crops, were measured at six sites in England during 1989–1994. At three sites of medium textured soil N off increased by between 0 and 49 kg ha ‐1 and grain yield by between 0 and 2·1 t ha ‐1 , with increasing potato fertiliser N (PFN). The increases were greatest at applications of fertiliser N in excess of the optimum requirement for potatoes. No responses were found on two sandy and one shallow soil. Poultry manure applied in autumn or spring before the potatoes were planted increased N off by between 0 and 52 kg ha ‐1 and yield by between 0 and 2·1 t ha ‐1 at one site on medium textured soil but not on one of the two sandy soils. These results suggest that, at the rates of fertiliser N currently recommended for potatoes, the N requirement of subsequent cereal crops may be reduced by between 20 and 40 kg ha ‐1 on retentive soils but not on sandy and shallow soils. These reductions are less than currently recommended. However, the results also suggest that adjusting cereal fertiliser N according only to previous crop is unsatisfactory. The range of fertiliser N applied to potato crops in commercial practice is sufficiently great to significantly affect N off , yield and hence the fertiliser N requirement of the subsequent cereal crop. © 1997 SCI.