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Field experiments with anhydrous ammonia
Author(s) -
Eagle D. J.
Publication year - 1971
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/jsfa.2740220502
Subject(s) - anhydrous , nitrate , ammonia , agronomy , ammonium nitrate , ammonium , arable land , soil water , chemistry , nitrogen , leaching (pedology) , chernozem , environmental science , sugar beet , agriculture , biology , soil science , ecology , organic chemistry
The results are reported of 50 experiments carried out by the National Agricultural Advisory Service comparing injected anhydrous ammonia with solid ammonium nitrate for arable crops and grass. Autumn‐applied anhydrous ammonia was found to be inefficient for arable crops owing to winter loss by leaching. Spring injections for spring cereals and sugar‐beet were as effective as ammonium nitrate provided that soil conditions allowed efficient injection. Spring injections for winter wheat were as effective as ammonium nitrate on light and medium textured soils but less so on clay soils. The slow‐acting nature of anhydrous ammonia resulted in less lodging than did ammonium nitrate and less resultant yield depression under conditions leading to severe lodging in cereals. In grassland, the slow‐acting nature of anhydrous ammonia gave a delayed response compared with ammonium nitrate but did not result in an even spread of growth throughout the season. Early spring injections resulted in a better seasonal distribution of response in high rainfall areas than in areas of low rainfall.