Split‐nitrogen application with cover cropping reduces subsurface nitrate losses while maintaining corn yields

Preza‐Fontes, Giovani; Pittelkow, Cameron M.; Greer, Kristin D.; Bhattarai, Rabin; Christianson, Laura E.

doi:10.1002/jeq2.20283

Cited by 12 publications

(15 citation statements)

References 44 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…(2017) and Preza‐Fontes et al. (2021) found the same corn yields in all years for similar fertilizer treatments as in our study. Results in Jaynes (2015) differed where they reported an increase in corn yield with a sidedress application compared with fall and preplant.…”

Section: Resultssupporting

confidence: 87%

“…The SS mid-vegetative season surface applied urea would require precipitation to be moved into the corn root zone and to reduce the risk of ammonia losses (the SS inseason urea application included a urease inhibitor) (Fenn & Miyamoto, 1981). Pittelkow et al (2017) and Preza-Fontes et al (2021) found the same corn yields in all years for similar fertilizer treatments as in our study. Results in Jaynes ( 2015) differed where they reported an increase in corn yield with a sidedress application compared with fall and preplant.…”

Section: Corn Plant Sensing and Crop Productionsupporting

confidence: 84%

“…Preza‐Fontes et al. (2021), also in Illinois, reported similar NO 3 –N concentrations from their split‐N and pre‐plant treatments. In the soybean phase, SS FWNC was 14% lower than S ( p < .05) but not lower than F. In the soybean phase, SS was 24% greater than 0N ( p < .05) but not different in the corn phase.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 71%

See 2 more Smart Citations

Impact of nitrogen fertilizer timing on nitrate loss and crop production in northwest Iowa

et al. 2022

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

In the U.S. Midwest, nitrate in subsurface tile drainage from corn (Zea mays L.)–soybean [Glycine max (L.) Merr.] systems is detrimental to water quality at local and national scales. The objective of this replicated plot study in northwest Iowa, performed in 2015–2020, was to investigate the influence of nitrogen (N) fertilizer timing on crop production and NO3 load in subsurface (tile) drainage discharge. Four treatments applied to corn included fall anhydrous ammonia with a nitrification inhibitor (F), spring anhydrous ammonia (S), split‐banded urea at planting and mid‐vegetative growth (SS), and no N fertilizer (0N). Across crops and years, NO3–N concentration in subsurface drainage discharge was the same at 11.7 mg L–1 for F and S applied anhydrous ammonia (AA). The NO3–N concentration was statistically lower with SS urea (10 mg L–1) than F and S, and 0N was lower than SS at 8.3 mg L–1. Average annual NO3–N loads were not different between any treatments due to plot variability in drainage discharge. Corn responded to N application, with overall mean yield the same for F, S, and SS. There were no agronomic or water quality benefits for applying AA in spring compared with fall, where the F included a nitrification inhibitor and was applied to cold soils. Split‐applied urea had a small positive water quality impact but no crop yield enhancement. This study shows that there were improvements to NO3–N concentration in subsurface drainage discharge, but more nutrient reduction practices are needed than fertilizer N management alone to reduce nitrate load to surface water systems.

show abstract

Section: Resultssupporting

confidence: 87%

Section: Corn Plant Sensing and Crop Productionsupporting

confidence: 84%

See 1 more Smart Citation

Impact of nitrogen fertilizer timing on nitrate loss and crop production in northwest Iowa

et al. 2022

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…Preza‐Fontes et al. (2021) previously described field and plot management. Briefly, each 0.85‐ha plot was tile‐drained at ∼1.2 m depth with 18 m spacing (drainage design coefficient, or the rate at which water is to be removed from a drainage area, usually within 24 h: 9.5 mm d −1 ), and each plot was separated by border tiles (Figure 1).…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Assessing the concept of control points for dissolved reactive phosphorus losses in subsurface drainage

et al. 2022

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Agricultural phosphorus (P) loss, which is highly variable in space and time, has been studied using the hot spot/hot moment concept, but increasing the rigor of these assessments through a relatively newer "ecosystem control point" framework may help better target management practices that provide a disproportionate water quality benefit. Sixteen relatively large (0.85 ha) subsurface drainage plots in Illinois were used as individual observational units to assess dissolved reactive P (DRP) concentrations and losses within a given field over four study years. Three plot-months were identified as DRP control points (one export and two transport control points), where each plot-month contributed >10% of the annual DRP load from the field. These control points occurred on separate plots and in both the growing and nongrowing seasons but were likely related to agronomic P applications. Elevated soil test P, especially near a historic farmstead, and soil clay content were spatial drivers of P loss across the field. The nongrowing season was hypothesized to be the most significant period of P loss, but this was only documented in two of the four study years. A cereal rye (Secale cereale L.) cover crop did not significantly reduce DRP loss in any year, but there was also no evidence of increased drainage P losses due to freezing and thawing of the cover crop biomass. This work confirmed annual subsurface drainage DRP losses were agronomically small (<3% of P application rate), although the range of DRP concentrations relative to eutrophication criteria still demonstrated a potential for negative environmental impact. The control point concept may provide a new lens to view drainage DRP losses, but this framework should be refined Abbreviations: DRP, dissolved reactive phosphorus; STP, soil test phosphorus; TP, total phosphorus.This is an open access article under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits use, distribution and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

show abstract

“…Both natural and anthropogenic factors influence NO 3 leaching, including soil properties, climate and farming practices. Reports on N leaching are extensive (Padilla et al 2018), with previous work highlighting crop choice, N fertilizer management (rate, source, timing and placement), tillage, cover crops and soil texture and carbon as influential factors, among others (Zhou and Butterbach-Bahl 2014, Eagle et al 2017, Thapa et al 2018, Hess et al 2020, Ying et al 2020, Preza-Fontes et al 2021. Regardless of experimental conditions, N fertilizer rate is a particularly strong predictor of N losses (Lawlor et al 2008, Xia et al 2017, Wang et al 2019, Huddell et al 2020.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Predicting nitrate leaching loss in temperate rainfed cereal crops: relative importance of management and environmental drivers

Tamagno

Eagle

McLellan

et al. 2022

Environ. Res. Lett.

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Nitrate (NO3) leaching from agriculture represents the primary source of groundwater contamination and freshwater ecosystem degradation. At the field level, NO3 leaching is highly variable due to interactions among soil, weather and crop management factors, but the relative effects of these drivers have not been quantified on a global scale. Using a global database of 82 field studies in temperate rainfed cereal crops with 961 observations, our objectives were to (a) quantify the relative importance of environmental and management variables to identify key leverage points for NO3 mitigation and (b) determine associated changes in crop productivity and potential tradeoffs for high and low NO3 loss scenarios. Machine learning algorithms (XGboost) and feature importance analysis showed that the amount and intensity of rainfall explained the most variability in NO3 leaching (up to 24 kg N ha−1), followed by nitrogen (N) fertilizer rate and crop N removal. In contrast, other soil and management variables such as soil texture, crop type, tillage and N source, timing and placement had less importance. To reduce N losses from global agriculture under changing weather and climatic conditions, these results highlight the need for better targeting and increased adoption of science-based, locally adapted management practices for improving N use efficiency. Future policy discussions should support this transition through different instruments while also promoting more advanced weather prediction analytics, especially in areas susceptible to extreme climatic variation.

show abstract

Split‐nitrogen application with cover cropping reduces subsurface nitrate losses while maintaining corn yields

Cited by 12 publications

References 44 publications

Impact of nitrogen fertilizer timing on nitrate loss and crop production in northwest Iowa

Impact of nitrogen fertilizer timing on nitrate loss and crop production in northwest Iowa

Assessing the concept of control points for dissolved reactive phosphorus losses in subsurface drainage

Predicting nitrate leaching loss in temperate rainfed cereal crops: relative importance of management and environmental drivers

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About