Effects of four consecutive annual applications of elemental S and sulphate-S fertilizers on yield, S uptake and seed quality of wheat

Abstract

Malhi, S. S. 2006. Effects of four consecutive annual applications of elemental S and sulphate-S fertilizers on yield, S uptake and seed quality of wheat. Can. J. Plant Sci. 86: 399-412. A field experiment from 1999 to 2002 was carried out near Tisdale in northeastern Saskatchewan on a S-deficient Gray Luvisol (Typic Cryoboralf) soil to compare the effects of elemental S and sulphate-S fertilizers on yield, seed protein, total S concentration, S uptake, and recovery of applied S in wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) and residual SO 4 -S in soil. Treatments were combinations of 10 and 20 kg S ha -1 rates applied in autumn and spring for two granular bentonitic elemental S fertilizers (ES-90 and ES-95), one fertilizer containing both elemental S and sulphate-S (Agrium Plus), and ammonium sulphate, plus a zero-S control. The S fertilizers were surface-broadcast and all plots had a preseeding rotovation in spring to incorporate fertilizers into the soil. Seed (1 yr) and straw (3 yr) yield, seed protein concentration (1 yr), and total S concentration and S uptake in seed and straw (all years except uptake of S in seed in 2001 and 2002) showed significant response to S fertilization. Ammonium sulphate and Agrium Plus were generally more effective compared with the elemental S fertilizers, when there was a significant response to sulphate-S containing fertilizers. Autumn application of elemental S fertilizers was sometimes more effective than spring application, while an opposite trend was observed for sulphate-S containing fertilizers in some cases. The increase in S rate from 10 to 20 kg S ha -1 tended to increase the measured wheat parameters in many elemental S treatments, but for sulphate-S fertilizers the effect was less pronounced. The concentration of total S in seed and straw was relatively more responsive to S fertilization than yield and S uptake, particularly for seed. The effect of S fertilization on wheat was less pronounced in drought years, particularly on seed yield, suggesting that drought rather than S availability was limiting wheat growth. There was some build-up of residual SO 4 -S in the 0-60 cm depth of soil in many S fertilizer treatments after four successive applications, but there was little or no difference in soil SO 4 -S between elemental S and sulphate-S fertilizers. In conclusion, the results from four successive annual applications of elemental S and sulphate-S fertilizers in autumn and spring on the same area indicate that bentonitic granular elemental S fertilizers had comparatively less influence on wheat than granular sulphate-S fertilizers and further research to improve the effectiveness of these elemental S fertilizers is suggested. , l'auteur a entrepris une expérience sur un luvisol gris carencé en soufre (Cryoboralf typique) près de Tisdale, dans le nord-est de la Saskatchewan, en vue de comparer les effets de l'application d'un engrais à base de S élémentaire et d'un autre à base de S-sulfate sur le rendement, la teneur en protéines du grain, la concentration totale de S, l'absorp...

Influence of six successive annual applications of sulphur fertilizers on wheat in a wheat–canola rotation on a sulphur deficient soil

“…The results from the six consecutive annual applications showed that elemental S fertilizers did not consistently supply sulphate-S to plants in the growing season for optimum total S concentration and S uptake, and the residual cumulative effect of elemental S fertilizers during the study period was not greater than that of sulphate-S fertilizers. These results are supported by previous experimentation Karamanos and Janzen 1991;Grant et al 2004;Malhi 2006).…”

“…Our data suggest that there was a smaller increase in sulphate-S in soil with elemental S compared with sulphate-S containing fertilizers, after 4 yr of application. Similar results were also observed at another site for canola and wheat (Malhi 2005(Malhi , 2006.…”

“…This was most likely due to the fact that cereals require less S than oilseed crops for optimum yield (Wetter et al 1970;Bole and Pittman 1984). With the exception of the first year, yield responses of wheat to elemental S fertilizer with six annual applications were relatively more frequent in this study than in a previous 4-yr study with wheat in northeastern Saskatchewan (Malhi 2006). This suggests that long-term continuous use of elemental S on the same land may help meet the S needs of wheat (relatively less S requiring crop than canola for optimum seed yield) in most years.…”

“…In western Canada, canola and wheat have been used as test crops to determine the efficacy of elemental S fertilizers applied once, and the response was compared for the year of application and the following years (Grant et al 2003(Grant et al , 2004. There is limited information on the relative effects of consecutive multi-year applications of sulphate-S and elemental S containing fertilizers on cereals in the Parkland Region of the Canadian prairies (Malhi 2006). The objective of this study was to compare the effects of successive autumn and spring applications of elemental S and sulphate-S fertilizers to the same soil for a number of years and follow the residual effects on yield, seed protein and total S concentration, and S uptake of wheat, and residual sulphate-S and nitrate-N in soil.…”

Stability of Foliar Nitrogen:sulfur Ratio in Spring Red Wheat and Sulfur Dilution Curve

“…In the second year, for the most part of the sampling moments, significant differences were determined in S concentration by S application (Table 3), which can be explained by the higher S rate used (20 and 40 kg S ha −1 , for the first and second year, respectively). Similar results were obtained in wheat by Rasmussen et al (1977), Robson et al (1995), and Malhi (2006) and in barley by Eriksen et al (2001). Zadoks et al (1974).…”