Age of No‐Till System and Nitrogen Management on Common Bean Nutrition and Yield

Abstract

In the no‐till (NT) system, N availability may change depending on the number of years since NT was adopted. Thus, an experiment was conducted in a Typic Rhodudalf in Botucatu, São Paulo, Brazil, to evaluate the influence of the age (timing of establishment) of the NT system and N fertilizer management on the nutrition, yield, and N‐use efficiency (NUE) of common bean (Phaseolus vulgaris L.) crop. Treatments included four management systems (a newly implemented NT system, an established NT system, a newly implemented NT with an application of 60 kg ha−1 N at pre‐sowing, and an established NT with an application of 60 kg ha−1 N at pre‐sowing) and four N rates (0, 30, 60, and 120 kg ha−1) sidedressed at the V4 stage of common bean. The age of the NT system did not affect common bean nutrition or its response to sidedressed N application, but the established NT system, regardless of N application at pre‐sowing, provided a slightly greater common bean yield. In both the newly implemented and established NT systems, N fertilization increased the aboveground biomass, seed yield, and protein concentration in seeds. Even with the application of N at pre‐sowing, seed yield increased in response to sidedressed N fertilization in all the management systems. The NUE by common bean was greater in treatments receiving N at pre‐sowing. A higher seed yield and NUE of common bean grown in the NT systems after grass was achieved with the combined application of N at pre‐sowing and sidedressing.