Monitoring nitrogen forms in soil/plant systems under different fertilizer managements. A preliminary investigation

Abstract

A field experiment was carried out on maize ( Zea mays, L.) to study the effects of different fertilizer management on nitrogen status in soil and plant response. Three different fertilizers, mineral (MN), mineral plus buffalo manure (MN + BM) and organo-mineral with peat (OMP), were added at the usual (140, 61 and 116 kg ha −1) and the reduced (70, 31 and 58 kg ha −1) rates of N, P and K. respectively. Soil samples were analyzed for N by both the Kjeldahl method and the electro-ultrafiltration technique (EUF). The soil Kjeldahl-N concentrations were scarcely affected by the different fertilizer treatments, while the EUF-N concentrations were closely correlated with the amounts of N added. The EUF also discriminated between the NO 3-N and the sum of the ammonium and the easily extractable organic N forms (EUF-N org + NH 4). The largest proportions of EUF-Norg + NH 4 were found in the untreated plots and in the plots treated with buffalo manure. The different fertilizer treatments significantly affected grain yield, which ranged from a minimum of 6.3 t ha −1 from the untreated plots, to a maximum of 11.9 t ha −1 from those supplied with 140 kg N, 61 kg P and 116 kg K ha −1 by OMP fertilizer. The highest agronomic efficiency index for N was exhibited in the OMP treatment at the reduced rate. The grain yield was closely correlated with the total extractable EUF-N, but different relationships were found between the rate of N added, the level of EUF-NO,-N in soil and grain yield for the different fertilizer treatments.