Skip‐Row and Equidistant‐Row Barley with Nitrogen Placement: Yield, Nitrogen Uptake, and Root Density

Small grain management strategies are sought in the subarctic that improve the plant growing environment and maximize production. This study assessed whether seed‐row configuration and N fertilizer placement could alter growth and yield of barley ( Hordeum vulgare L.) in the subarctic. Row spacing and N placement treatments established at Fairbanks, AK, during 1987 through 1989 consisted of equidistant‐row planting (0.18‐m equidistant seed rows) with N banded between alternate rows or broadcast and incorporated, and skip‐row planting (skipping every third row of equidistant rows) with N banded between the two closely spaced rows or broadcast and incorporated. Plant characteristics evaluated included tiller and head density, straw and grain yield, N uptake, leaf area, and root length density. Soil core samples were extracted to approximately 1 m in the mid‐interrow position near anthesis to determine root length density by the line intersect method. Tiller density was the primary yield component differing among treatments. Equidistant‐row barley had more tillers which resulted in a higher head density, 40% higher leaf area, and higher grain and straw yields than skip‐row barley. Rooting in the top 0.1 m of soil was more proliferous where N fertilizer was banded rather than broadcast, but total N uptake was not different among treatments. This study indicated that growth and yield of barley in the subarctic were favored by equidistant‐row planting with either banded or broadcast N applications.