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Yield and uptake of fertilizer nitrogen by direct‐drilled winter barley growing on a chalk soil
Author(s) -
Christian D.G.,
Crees R.,
Dowdell R.J.
Publication year - 1985
Publication title -
soil use and management
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.709
H-Index - 81
eISSN - 1475-2743
pISSN - 0266-0032
DOI - 10.1111/j.1475-2743.1985.tb00661.x
Subject(s) - nitrogen , straw , agronomy , fertilizer , dry matter , yield (engineering) , crop , ammonium , zoology , ammonium nitrate , environmental science , chemistry , biology , materials science , organic chemistry , metallurgy
. This paper reports the growth and yield of grain and the utilization of fertilizer nitrogen applied on either one or two occasions in spring to a crop of winter barley established by direct drilling on a chalk soil in southern England. Nitrogen, as ammonium nitrate, was applied at rates of 0 to 140 kg N ha −1 in a range of proportions on two occasions (March and April 1981); nitrogen‐15 was used to facilitate study of the nitrogen utilization by the crop. When sampled before the second top‐dressing in April, the greatest number of tillers were found on plants treated with 70 and 100 kg N ha −1 in March. The total above ground dry matter production at harvest was greatest when the split nitrogen dressing totalled more than 100 kg N ha −1 , although the apparent efficiency of nitrogen usage (kg DM per kg N applied) was greatest when 60 kg N ha −1 was divided equally between the two application dates. Grain yield was heaviest (6.471 ha −1 ) at the largest rate of nitrogen applied (140 kg N ha −1 ); the lightest yield from the nitrogen treated crops was recorded from 100 kg N ha −1 applied as a single dressing in April that stimulated shoot production and decreased individual grain weight. The recovery in grain and straw of labelled fertilizer nitrogen applied only in March averaged 42.2% and was 49.8% when the nitrogen was applied only in April. The recovery of nitrogen applied in both March and April at the total rate of 100 kg N ha −1 but split 30/70 or 70/30 was 44.5% and 42.5% respectively. Non‐fertilizer sources of nitrogen contributed 60.7–71.7% of the total nitrogen uptake by the crop at harvest.