Abstract
Experiments were conducted in Montana to evaluate Environmentally Smart Nitrogen (ESN) as a nitrogen (N) source in wheat. Plots were arranged in a split-plot design with ESN, urea, and a 50%-50% urea-ESN blend at low, medium, and high at-seeding N rates in the subplot, with four replications. Measurements included grain yield (GY), protein (GP), and N uptake (GNU). A partial budget economic analysis was performed to assess the net benefits of the three sources. Average GY varied from 1816 to 5583 kg ha−1and grain protein (GP) content ranged from 9.1 to 17.3% among site-years. Urea, ESN, and the blend resulted in higher GYs at 3, 2, and 2 site-years out of 8 evaluated site-years, respectively. Topdressing N improved GY for all sources. No trend in GP associated with N source was observed. With GP-adjusted revenue, farmer would not recover investment costs from ESN or blend compared with urea. With ESN costing consistently more than urea per unit of N, we recommend urea as N source for spring wheat in Northern Great Plains.
Highlights
To address the nutritional needs of the fast-growing human population, the annual cereal production will have to increase to about 3 billion tones by 2050 from currently produced 2.1 billion tones [1]
This paper summarizes the results from a three-year-long study that compared the effect of Environmentally Smart Nitrogen (ESN) and urea-ESN blend with urea, for spring wheat production in the Northern Great Plains
In 2011, the lowest grain yield (GY) was observed at Conrad (2488 kg ha−1), followed by Corvallis (2623 to 3161 kg ha−1)
Summary
The concern is that the rate of growth in cereal GY has been steadily declining worldwide. The reports indicate that the rate of growth of major cereals has dropped from 3.2 percent per year in the 1960s to only 1.5 percent in 2000 [1, 2]. The genetics and biotech industries estimated their ability to increase cereal GYs due to genetic GY potential of 3 to 4% per year [3], history indicates that the genetic advances alone may not be sufficient to solve the world’s food shortage issues [4]. The fertilizer use is estimated to increase dramatically worldwide at an expected rate of 2.5 million metric tons per year [6]
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