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Residual Effects of Potassium Placement and Tillage Systems for Corn on Subsequent No‐Till Soybean
Author(s) -
Yin Xinhua,
Vyn Tony J.
Publication year - 2002
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/agronj2002.1112
Subject(s) - tillage , agronomy , plough , no till farming , conventional tillage , mathematics , crop rotation , soil water , chemistry , zoology , environmental science , soil fertility , biology , crop , soil science
Little is known about K fertility management for no‐till (NT) soybean [ Glycine max (L.) Merr.]. This study was conducted to evaluate the residual effects of K application rate, timing, and placement for corn ( Zea mays L.) in various tillage systems on subsequent NT soybean. Field experiments involving a corn–soybean rotation were conducted from 1998 to 2000 on long‐term NT fields with medium or high exchangeable soil K levels near Kirkton and Belmont, ON, Canada. In the corn year, treatments included the combinations of three fall K rates (0, 42, and 84 kg ha −1 ), spring K rates (two rates differing by 42 kg ha −1 ), and three tillage systems [NT, zone till (ZT), and moldboard plow (CT)]. Both CT and ZT (also known as intermittent tillage systems) reduced soil K stratification relative to continuous NT. Trifoliate leaf K concentrations increased with residual fall and spring K applications in most site‐years. Average soybean yield significantly increased by 8.3% with the application of 84 kg K ha −1 in fall plus 42 to 50 kg K ha −1 in spring to previous corn only on medium‐testing (K < 100 mg L −1 ) soils. Residual tillage had no effects on leaf K or yield of NT soybean. Application of fall and spring K fertilizers to corn was equally beneficial for subsequent soybean in either continuous or intermittent NT systems. Furthermore, soil K stratification and the residual effects of tillage and K placement method were not major production issues for narrow‐row NT soybean in these growing seasons.