Alfalfa in rotation with annual crops reduced nitrate leaching potential

Singh, Amritpal; Afzal, Tahseen; Woodbury, Bryan L.; Wortmann, Charles S.; Iqbal, Javed

doi:10.1002/jeq2.20473

Cited by 9 publications

(2 citation statements)

References 67 publications

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“…As with natural spatial variation, ρ b is also impacted by management. It has been evaluated to be responsive and sensitive to changes in a wide range of management practices aimed at building soil health (Azooz & Arshad, 2001;Bagnall et al, 2022;Castellini et al, 2019;Soane et al, 2012;Strudley et al, 2008;Singh et al, 2023). Rightfully so, ρ b has been included as a standard dynamic soil property to be measured for all soil survey pedons (Wills et al, 2017).…”

Section: Management-induced ρ B Change and Implications For Soil N Cr...mentioning

confidence: 99%

Uncertainty resulting from constant bulk density assumption when interpreting soil nutrient concentrations

Singh,

Kukal

2024

Agricultural & Env Letters

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Soil nutrient concentrations are often expressed as parts per million (ppm) in soil test reports. For incorporation into nutrient management decisions, ppm‐based concentrations have to be converted into pounds per acre, and a conversion factor (multiplier) of 2.0 is typically recommended universally to do so. However, this conversion factor stems from an assumed value of bulk density (ρb) corresponding to silt loam soil and is invariant to any deviation beyond assumed ρb. Here, we quantify and evaluate the potential ramifications of assuming a constant ρb value on calculating soil nitrogen credits. A true dynamic conversion factor that is sensitive to variation in ρb ranges between 1.28 and 2.68 for soils across US cropland. Failure to account for this dynamic conversion factor was shown to result in an underestimation of soil N credits by up to 40%. In addition to spatial variation, management‐induced changes in ρb are also important to incorporate into the conversion factor.

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Section: Management-induced ρ B Change and Implications For Soil N Cr...mentioning

confidence: 99%

Uncertainty resulting from constant bulk density assumption when interpreting soil nutrient concentrations

Singh,

Kukal

2024

Agricultural & Env Letters

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“…For example, the implementation of a spring wheat-alfalfa crop rotation can obviously reduce the loss of soil nutrients in semi-arid areas, thereby promoting the sustainability of agroecosystems [25]. Alfalfa crop rotation compared with continuous corn is a means to greatly reduce the leaching of NO3 − -N to the aquifer and improve the surface soil, with the potential to increase soil organic carbon sequestration [26]. Previous studies have pointed out that, compared with continuous cropping, crop rotation could increase soil microbial biomass, alter microbial diversity, and mediate community composition [27][28][29].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Alfalfa with Forage Crop Rotation Alleviates Continuous Alfalfa Obstacles through Regulating Soil Enzymes and Bacterial Community Structures

Xu,

Liu,

Shen

et al. 2024

Agronomy

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Alfalfa is a perennial herbaceous forage legume that is significantly and adversely affected by monocropping. Crop rotation is the most effective measure to overcome continuous cropping obstacles. However, the mechanisms of how bacterial communities are affected and the potential links between these effects and cropping systems remain poorly understood. Based on a long-term field experiments with continuous alfalfa and forage crops with alfalfa rotation in the black soil region of the western Songnen Plain in Northeast China, the alterations in soil bacterial community structure using high-throughput sequencing of the 16S rRNA gene and soil chemical properties and enzyme activities were analyzed. The alfalfa–forage oats–silage maize–alfalfa and alfalfa–silage maize–forage oats–alfalfa system significantly increase the levels of total phosphorus and available phosphorus, and promote the activities of acid phosphatase, β-glucosidase, leucine aminopeptidase, and N-acetyl-β-glucosaminidase in comparison to continuous alfalfa. While alfalfa crop rotation did not affect the α-diversity of soil bacteria, it significantly altered the bacterial community composition and structure. Some key taxa are significantly enriched in the crop rotation system soils, including Bacillus, Sphingobium, Paenibacillus, Hydrogenispora, Rubrobacter, Haliangium, and Rubellimicrobium. Additionally, crop rotation with alfalfa increased the stability and complexity of the soil bacterial co-occurrence network. Based on our findings, we recommend promoting the alfalfa–forage oats–silage maize–alfalfa and alfalfa–silage maize–forage oats–alfalfa rotation systems as ideal practices for overcoming the challenges associated with continuous cropping of alfalfa. These systems not only enhance soil nutrient content and enzyme activities but also foster a beneficial microbial community, ultimately improving soil functionality and crop performance.

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Impact of split nitrogen applications on nitrate leaching and maize yield in irrigated loamy sand soils of Northeast Nebraska

Singh,

Rudnick,

Snow

et al. 2024

Agrosystems Geosci & Env

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Little information is available on optimizing the number of nitrogen (N) splits based on nitrate (NO3‐N) leaching and maize yield in sandy soils. To address this gap, we evaluated the impact of multiple N splits (2‐, 3‐, 4‐, and 5‐N splits) on NO3‐N leaching and maize (Zea mays L.) grain yield in irrigated loamy sand soil at a producer site in the Bazile Groundwater Management Area of Northeast Nebraska. Porous suction cup lysimeters were installed at a depth of 120 cm to collect pore water samples from 23 leaching events in 2021, a dry year. Increasing the number of N‐splits did not affect the pore‐water NO3‐N concentration; however, it was 169%, 152%, 150%, and 129% higher in 2‐, 3‐, 4‐, and 5‐N split treatments compared to control, that is, without N application. Though the 2‐, 3‐, 4‐, and 5‐N splits had 110%, 71%, 120%, and 91% higher area‐based NO3‐N leaching than the control, less deep percolation and more evapotranspiration in control led to no significant differences in area‐based NO3‐N leaching among all treatments. All N‐splits resulted in higher maize yield, nitrogen use efficiency, plant N uptake, harvest index, and aboveground biomass than control; however, the number of N‐splits did not affect these parameters. The inclusion of environmental cost reduced the return to nitrogen by 92–143 $ ha−1 across all N‐split treatments but did not significantly affect the differences among the splits. Overall, the results indicate that increasing the number of N‐splits does not provide agronomic, economic, and environmental benefits in irrigated maize fields during a dry year.

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Alfalfa in rotation with annual crops reduced nitrate leaching potential

Cited by 9 publications

References 67 publications

Uncertainty resulting from constant bulk density assumption when interpreting soil nutrient concentrations

Uncertainty resulting from constant bulk density assumption when interpreting soil nutrient concentrations

Alfalfa with Forage Crop Rotation Alleviates Continuous Alfalfa Obstacles through Regulating Soil Enzymes and Bacterial Community Structures

Impact of split nitrogen applications on nitrate leaching and maize yield in irrigated loamy sand soils of Northeast Nebraska

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