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Soil-Test Biological Activity with the Flush of CO2: III. Corn Yield Responses to Applied Nitrogen.
- Source :
-
Soil Science Society of America Journal . MAy/Jun2018, Vol. 82 Issue 3, p708-721. 14p. - Publication Year :
- 2018
-
Abstract
- Corn (Zea mays L.) is an important cereal grain in many states and typically receives large N fertilizer inputs, irrespective of historical management. Tailoring N inputs to soil-specific conditions would help to increase efficiency of N use and avoid environmental contamination. A total of 47 trials were conducted on research stations and private farms in four different regions of North Carolina and Virginia from 2014 to 2016 to associate soil N availability with yield response to sidedress N application. Corn grain yield was 10.6 ± 3.4 Mg ha–1 on 36 sites and silage yield was 44.6 ± 8.2 Mg ha–1 on 11 sites. There was positive association between relative yield (i.e., yield without sidedress N application divided by yield with full fertilization) and levels of both plant available N (residual inorganic N + net N mineralization during 24 d) and the flush of CO2 following rewetting of dried soil during 3 d. Economically optimum N fertilizer requirement (EONR) at sidedress declined with increasing level of plant available N and soil-test biological activity (i.e., the flush of CO2). The scalable N factor for production at EONR declined from 20 kg N Mg–1 of grain (i.e., 1.1 lb N bu–1) with no soil biological activity to no N required with soil-test biological activity of 600 mg CO2–C kg–1 in a 3-d period (depth of 0–10 cm). The flush of CO2 when determined in spring at or prior to planting corn was considered an ideal soil-test indicator of soil biological activity due to its simple, rapid, and reliable characteristics related to potential soil N mineralization and corn yield responses to applied N fertilizer [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
- Subjects :
- *CORN yields
*CORN
*GRAIN
*GRAIN yields
*FACTORS of production
*BIOINDICATORS
Subjects
Details
- Language :
- English
- ISSN :
- 03615995
- Volume :
- 82
- Issue :
- 3
- Database :
- Academic Search Index
- Journal :
- Soil Science Society of America Journal
- Publication Type :
- Academic Journal
- Accession number :
- 136831862
- Full Text :
- https://doi.org/10.2136/sssaj2018.01.0029