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Tillage and Nitrogen Fertilization Influence Grain and Soil Nitrogen in an Annual Cropping System
Author(s) -
Halvorson Ardell D.,
Wienhold Brian J.,
Black Alfred L.
Publication year - 2001
Publication title -
agronomy journal
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.752
H-Index - 131
eISSN - 1435-0645
pISSN - 0002-1962
DOI - 10.2134/agronj2001.934836x
Subject(s) - agronomy , cropping system , tillage , sunflower , leaching (pedology) , helianthus annuus , crop rotation , fertilizer , conventional tillage , environmental science , nitrogen , crop , soil water , biology , chemistry , soil science , organic chemistry
Increasing the frequency of cropping in dryland systems in the northern Great Plains requires the application of N fertilizer to maintain optimum crop yields. A 12‐yr annual cropping rotation [spring wheat ( Triticum aestivum L.)–winter wheat–sunflower ( Helianthus annuus L.)] under dryland conditions was monitored to determine the influence of tillage system [conventional till (CT), minimum till (MT), and no till (NT)] and N fertilizer rate (34, 67, and 101 kg N ha −1 ) on N removed in grain and annual changes in postharvest soil NO 3 –N. Nitrogen removal in the grain increased with increasing N rate in most years. Total grain N removal was lowest with NT at the lowest N rate and highest with NT at the highest N rate compared with CT. Total grain N removal after 12 cropping seasons was 144, 84, and 61% of the total N applied for the 34, 67, and 101 kg N ha −1 fertilizer rates, respectively. Residual soil NO 3 –N levels were not affected by N rate or tillage system in the first 3 yr, but they increased significantly following consecutive drought years. Residual NO 3 –N in the 150‐cm soil profile tended to be higher with CT and MT than with NT. Soil NO 3 –N movement below the crop root zone may have occurred in 1 or 2 yr when precipitation was above average. Results indicate that NT, with annual cropping, may reduce the quantity of residual soil NO 3 –N available for leaching compared with MT and CT systems.