Composting municipal solid waste and biosolids and applying it on arable land have become an alternative way to treat waste in large municipalities in North America. However, cost of compost transportation and application constrains the compost use on the land further away from where it is produced. A fouryear experiment was conducted (1998)(1999)(2000)(2001) in less productive soils in Alberta to determine the effect of once in four year application of cocompost on soil nutrient dynamics and crop N uptakes. There were three crop blocks: barley (Hordeum vulgare L.), wheat (Triticum aestivum L), and canola (Brassica rapa), and they were rotated annually. The compost was only applied in 1998 at a rate of 50, 100 and 200 t/ha. Soil samples were taken in spring of every year after initial compost application to determine extractable N, P, K, S, Cu, Zn, Soil pH and EC. Each year, crops were harvested and N uptake was determined. Total concentrations of an array of heavy metals in the first year and fourth year after compost application were determined as well. The results showed that the release of N from the compost was high in the first year after compost application and then declined in each subsequent year. Similar to that release pattern was sulphur. The release of phosphorus from compost was steady throughout the four-year experimental time. Crop N uptake from compost application varied with crops and sites. The over all N use efficiency for three crops and two sites was 11%, 3%, 1% and 2% for the first and subsequent three years. The total heavy metal concentrations in the compost amended soils in the first and fourth year after compost application were similar, and they were below the standard of Canadian Fertilizer Act. Our results showed that N released from compost occurred mostly in the first two years after application, suggesting that an application frequency of once in every second year may be better than the once in every four year application strategy, especially with 100 t/ha application rate.

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Elemental sulfur (S) may have lower costs, but lack of its availability as plant-available sulfate-S (SO 4 -S) at the time of crop uptake may render it ineffective as an S fertilizer. Four incubation experiments were conducted to investigate the

It is unknown if winter pea (Pisum sativum L.) and winter lentil (Lens culinaris Medik.) are feasible cropping options in Alberta. Field experiments were conducted at six locations in southern and central Alberta, Canada, between 2008 and 2012, to determine the adaptability of winter pea and lentil. Two winter pea cultivars, Specter and Windham, and one winter lentil cultivar, Morton, were seeded at three fall planting dates and three seeding rates. Spring cultivars were grown for comparison. In southern Alberta, winter pea and lentil yielded up to 39% more than spring types. The highest winter pea yield was achieved when planting was completed during the first 3 wk of September. The highest winter lentil yield was achieved when planting was completed in the second and third weeks of September. Seeding rate had little or no impact on yield; therefore, winter pea should be seeded at 75 plants m−2 and winter lentil at 110 plants m−2. Seed was analyzed to compare constituent parameters. There were minor differences in the composition of winter and spring pulses. Windham had lower starch but higher resistant starch, protein, crude fat, and ash content compared with spring pea cultivars. Specter had higher resistant starch but was similar to Cutlass for all other parameters. Morton had a higher starch content than CDC Redberry; however, starch quality was similar. Winter pulses have potential to create new and profitable opportunities for growers in the Bow Island and Lethbridge areas of southern Alberta.

Six field experiments were conducted on sulfur-(S) deficient Gray Luvisol (Typic Cryoboralf) and Dark Gray Chernozem (Typic Cryoborolls) soils at various locations in Alberta and Saskatchewan to evaluate the effectiveness of elemental S (ES-90, ES-95, Urea S, Fine S Powder), sulfate-S (ammonium sulfate, sodium sulfate), and elemental S + sulfate-S (Sulgro-68, Agrium Plus) fertilizers, and their rates and placement methods on seed yield and S uptake of canola and barley, and forage dry matter yield of pure bromegrass and bromegrass-alfalfa mixed stands. There was a substantial increase in yield and/or S uptake from sulfate-S application in most experiments. This indicated that the soils used in these experiments were deficient in plant-available S, especially for canola. In the initial year, the performance of elemental S fertilizers was usually inferior to sulfate-S fertilizers. Among the elemental S fertilizers, the ES-95 tended to produce greater yield and S uptake than ES-90. In general, there was no difference in seed yield between early (May 1) and late (May 23) spring applications for the elemental S (Urea S). The results indicated that from the second or third year of initiating annual applications the effectiveness of some elemental S fertilizers almost approached the level of sulfate-S fertilizers. Residual effect of S application lasted for at least three years. Overall, the findings suggest that correction of a severe S deficiency by elemental S alone may be risky in the short term, and thus addition of some sulfate-S in the initial 1 or 2 years to supplement the sulfate-S from elemental S is advisable. Increased exposure