Application Of Ammonium Sulfate Research Articles

ВЛИЯНИЕ СЕРНОГО БЕНТОНИТА НА РОСТ И ПРОДУКТИВНОСТЬ ПОДСОЛНЕЧНИКА

The research was carried out in order to study the effectiveness of the use of various new sulfur-containing fertilizers on sunflower crops in the soil and climatic conditions of the Republic of Tatarstan. Field experiments were conducted in 2023 on the basis of Agrobiotechnopark LLC (Narmonka village, Laishevsky Municipal District of the Republic of Tatarstan), laboratory analyses were carried out at the Center for Agroecological Research of the Kazan State Agrarian University. According to the research results, it was found that the introduction of 150 kg/ha of sulfur bentonite in the studied hybrids provides the growth capacity of cotyledonous leaflets by 26.3 and 29.4 %, respectively, compared with the control version of the experiment. When sulfur bentonite is applied at a dose of 150 kg/ha, the plant height of the studied Anthemis and Terramis hybrids increases by 4 and 7 cm (+3 and 5.6 %) compared with the control variant, and plant safety increases by 1.4 and 0.7 %, respectively. But the maximum values in terms of height and plant safety were obtained using the ammonium sulfate application option of 100 kg / ha, which is explained by the greater need for sunflower nitrogen than sulfur. The mass of productive seeds from one basket, depending on the hybrids studied and the fertilizers applied, ranged from 69 g in the control to 98 g in the last version of the experiment, which is 43% higher compared with the option without adding sulfur bentonite.

Nitrogen management in common bean cultivars in soil infected by Meloidogyne incognita

The selection of an appropriate nitrogen (N) source can mitigate the negative effect of root-knot nematodes on the yield of common beans. A greenhouse experiment was conducted to assess the application efficiency of four N sources (urea, ammonium sulfate, ammonium nitrate, and sodium nitrate) and inoculation with Rhizobium tropici on the yield components, chlorophyll, and total nitrogen (N) leaf contents of four common bean cultivars (IDR Curió, IDR Sabiá, IDR Tuiuiú, and IDR Bem-te-vi). These beans were cultivated in substrates both infected and uninfected with Meloidogyne incognita. In the soil containing phytonematodes, the IDR Curió cultivar exhibited the highest shoot and root dry weight yield, resulting in the greatest root volume, total N content, and grain yield. Among the N sources, the application of either urea or ammonium sulfate proved the most effective in enhancing common bean productivity in soil, irrespective of the cultivar or whether the soil was infected with Meloidogyne incognita.

Microbial Interactions in the Management of Groundnut Stem Rot

Groundnut (Arachis hypogaea L.) is an important oil seed crop in the world belonging to the Leguminosae family. It is one of the essential food and cash crops of our country. In India, a large number of diseases attack groundnut [1]. Among soil borne diseases, stem rot or white mold caused by Sclerotium rolfsii Sacc. [2] is an important disease causing significant yield losses in several groundnut growing countries (Mehan et al., 1994). Sclerotium rolfsii Sacc. is a destructive soil borne fungal pathogen of oil seed crop in India. Different practices are recommended for management of groundnut stem rot such as deep summer ploughing, destruction of plant debris, crop rotation with jowar and bajra, seed treatment with carbendazim or captan or mancozeb or tebuconazole, soil drenching with hexaconazole, application of ammonium sulphate or calcium ammonium nitrate instead of urea and application of gypsum at flowering stage. Further, no single treatment is full proof and disease continues to cause losses in farmers’ fields. Biological control offers an interesting alternative to fungicides for sustainable management of soil borne diseases. Biocontrol is a non-chemical measure, could be effective as chemical control by various techniques. Among the techniques, the mixture of antagonists was studied to enchance the control efficacy. In most studies, the involvement of only mechanism of biological control is demonstrated. Involvement of more than one mechanism has been reported in only a few systems. Use of several biocontrol agents with several mechanisms of control fits in well with the concepts of integrated disease management, in which several means of disease suppression are applied concurrently. When single or more means of mechanisms are not effective, the others may compensate for the former absence. The present study, involved three major bacterial antagonists viz., Streptomyces violaceusniger, Streptomyces exfoliatus and Pseudomonas fluorescens to find out the effective dose of mixtures. The different doses from 10-1 to 10-5 were studied, the dose 10-1 of Streptomyces violaceusniger have more efficiency of 86.70, than S. exfoliatus. The efficacy of Streptomyces violaceusniger with combination of other antagonists were tested and found that, the mixture of Streptomyces violaceusniger and P. fluorescens have synergistic activity than any other combinations which have synergistic factor greater than one.

Ammonia volatilization from ammonium sulfate as sulfur source

AbstractSurface application of ammonium sulfate (AMS) as S source to soils with pH ≥7.0 is subjected to ammonia (NH3) volatilization. However, AMS volatilizes less NH3 than urea does. In soils with pH <7.0, unlike urea, very little NH3 volatilization from AMS occurs. The associated N with AMS may enhance early biological N fixation by leguminous crops as compared to S sources without N such as polyhalite.

Optimization of chemical fertilizer application for blueberry vegetative growth, fruit quality and soil condition

Commercial cultivation of blueberry has rapidly expanded in China in recent years. However, suboptimal fertilization results in poor growth and management practices in blueberry orchards. The present study studied fertilization of southern highbush blueberry in southwest of China. We evaluated the effects of inorganic nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium fertilizers at different doses. Plant vegetative growth, leaf photosynthesis parameters, fruit quality and soil nutrient contents were analyzed. Application of ammonium sulfate enhanced fruit weight, sweetness, and nutrient content, including vitamin C and anthocyanin contents. Comparison of P and K fertilizer treatments revealed that 30 g P/plant in combination with 30 g K/plant conferred superior plant growth and improved fruit sweetness and nutrient content. Using ammonium sulfate as the N source and monopotassium phosphate as the P and K source contributed to maintenance of soil acidity

Evaluation of Different doses and Modes of Application of Ferrous Ammonium Sulfate for Maximizing Rice Production

The field experiment on rice was carried out during the Kharif season 2021 at Agricultural Engineering Research Farm, JNKVV, Jabalpur (M.P.) to evaluate the effect of ferrous ammonium sulfate (FASt) on rice production. Eight treatments were applied, namely RDF- Recommended dose of fertilizer (N:P:K) (120:60:40), RDF + FASt at 15 kg/ha for soil application, RDF + FASt at 25 kg/ha for soil application, RDF + FASt at 35 kg/ha for soil application, RDF + 2 Spray of FASt 0.25% at 25 and 45 DAT, RDF + 2 Spray of FASt 0.50% at 25 and 45 DAT, RDF + 1 Spray of FASt 0.25% at 25 DAT, RDF + 1 Spray of FASt 0.50% at 25 DAT. The studies revealed that applying FASt to transplanted rice significantly increased grain yield over the control. All the growth parameters and yield attributes were found highest in the treatment soil application of ferrous ammonium sulfate (FASt) at 35 kg/ha with a recommended dose of fertilizer (RDF) and more effective comparatively foliar application of FASt at 0.25% and 0.50%. It recorded a maximum grain yield (5188 kg/ha) with a higher harvest index (38.85).

Эффективность применения азотных удобрений при возделывании озимой пшеницы по предшественнику подсолнечник

Abstract. The current paper has presented the results of applying various terms and types of nitrogen additional fertilizing in the cultivation of winter bread wheat. The purpose of the study was to establish the productivity and grain quality of winter bread wheat sown after sunflower, when using nitrogen additional fertilizing. Ammophos and ammonium sulfate were applied under seedbed cultivation; ammonium nitrate, urea and carbamide-ammonia mixture were used as additional fertilizing at different periods of active winter wheat vegetation. Methods. The research was conducted at the Agricultural Research Center “Donskoy” in 2017–2019. When laying and conducting the experiment, taking into account the yield, generally accepted methods were used; the technology of winter wheat cultivation and the dose of nitrogen fertilizing corresponds to the Zonal farming systems of the Rostov region. Scientific novelty. For the first time there have been determined the best terms, methods and doses of nitrogen additional fertilizing with various types of fertilizers for winter bread wheat in the southern part of the Rostov region. Results. There was established a significant effect of the terms of nitrogen fertilizing on productivity, as well as on winter wheat quality. Portioned application of ammonium nitrate at a dose of N90 contributed to obtaining the maximum productivity of 6.15 t/ha in the trial, and productivity increase in comparison with the control variant was 2.34 t/ha or 61.4%. In other variants of the trial, productivity increase due to the use of nitrogen fertilizers ranged from 0.90 to 2.26 t/ha. Autumn application of ammonium sulfate at a dose of N30 under seedbed cultivation was an effective agricultural method that contributed to an additional productivity improvement on 0.55–0.64 t/ha. The high efficiency of nitrogen additional fertilizing was due to an improvement of the indicators of yield structure elements, namely, ‘kernel weight per head’ and ‘number of productive stems’. Nitrogen additional fertilizing improved qualitative characteristics of the product. There has been found out that under a portioned application of ammonium nitrate at a dose of N90, there were yielded the highest economic indicators, such as 30117 rubles/ha of conditional net income and 112.9 % of production profitability.

Comparing various sulfur sources for soybean grown on an acid Oxisol in Brazil

AbstractA greenhouse experiment and a 2‐yr field trial were conducted to compare various S sources for soybean [Glycine max (L.) Merr.] grown on an acid Oxisol in Brazil. In the greenhouse, the sources included ammonium sulfate (AMS), monoammonium phosphate with a S ratio = 50:50 of AMS/elemental S (ES) – (AMS + ES), and ES + bentonite containing 90% ES. All sources were surface‐applied at 0, 5, 10, 20, and 40 mg S kg–1. Separately, all S sources were incorporated into the soil at 20 mg S kg–1. Yield and S uptake by the grain followed the order AMS = MAP – (AMS + ES) > ES + bentonite. No significant differences in grain yield and S uptake were observed between surface application and incorporation, except those of surface application were greater than those of incorporation with MAP – (AMS + ES). In the field trial, single superphosphate (SSP) and phosphogypsum (PG) were also included. All sources were surface‐applied at 30 kg S ha–1 yr–1. Additionally, AMS was split‐applied in equal amounts at planting and R1 stage. In both years, grain yield and S uptake followed the order AMS = MAP – (AMS + ES) = PG = SSP > ES + bentonite = control. The highest S uptake was observed with split‐application of AMS in the first but not the second year. The benefit of a split application of AMS over a one‐time application for S uptake in the first year was probably caused by reduced SO4–S leaching.

Effectiveness of ammonium sulphate application in brown mustard (Brassica juncea L.) sowings on leached chernozem in the Western Ciscaucasia

The article presents the research (2020-2021) on the effect of ammonium sulphate on the yield structure and yield of spring mustard of the variety Yunona on the leached chernozem of the Western Ciscaucasia. We established that the highest effectiveness of ammonium sulphate application on brown mustard sowings was achieved by split application of N22S25 at the seedling stage and N22S25 at the stem extension stage. These methods help increase the yield by 0.05-0.44 t/ha in comparison with the control due to an increase in thousand-seed weight by 18-48 %, the number of productive branches on one plant by 11-22 %, pods – by 5.5-28 %, and seeds in a pod – by 11-18 %.

Enriching organic carbon bioavailability can mitigate soil acidification induced by nitrogen fertilization in croplands through microbial nitrogen immobilization

AbstractExcessive application of ammonium‐based N fertilizers promote nitrification, which is mainly responsible for intensive acidification in cropland soils. Thus, there is an urgent need for the development of control measures to manage soil acidification induced by N fertilization. In this study, we investigated the potential of enriching organic C bioavailability to mitigate acidification induced by N fertilization through microbial N immobilization using an indoor incubation experiment. Results showed that the sole application of ammonium sulfate [(NH4)2SO4] or urea to a cropland soil promoted nitrification of fertilizer N, and subsequently soil pH decreased by 0.48–1.00 units after 45‐d incubation. The combined application of glucose with N fertilizers induced microbial immobilization of almost all fertilizer N within 1 d and gradually induced mineralization of soil organic N after 1 wk of incubation. More than 65% of immobilized total extractable N was returned to soil solution and mainly existed as NH4+–N and extractable organic N, with the pH decrement being <0.10 units after 45‐d incubation. These results indicated that (a) enriching organic C bioavailability in cropland soils intensified microbial N immobilization, (b) intensification of microbial N immobilization induced a buffering effect to regulate soil inorganic N supply, and (c) microbial N immobilization had great potential to inhibit soil acidification and retard aluminum mobilization. The results obtained in this study provide a theoretical strategy to control soil acidification and increase N use efficiency in croplands.

MG-RICH SYNTHETIC GYPSUM OR BASALT AS AN ALTERNATIVE SOURCE OF AMELIORANT TO MANAGE SOIL ACIDITY FOR PLANTATION TREE CROPS

The rubber and oil palm in Malaysia are mainly cultivated on acidic Ultisols and Oxisols, which occupy about 70 per cent of the country’s land surface. The pH of the soils varies from 4 to 5; however, the crops can withstand this level of soil acidity. This is not the case for cocoa, which grows best if the pH is greater than 5, at which Al3+, Fe2+ and Mn2+ toxic to its roots are mostly precipitated as inert hydroxides; the respective pKa of the ions are 5, 4.58 and 6. Long-term application of ammonium sulphate on soils in Malaysian plantations can result in increased soil acidity due to nitrification of NH4+ released by the N-fertiliser. Thus, in the long run, soil pH can be lowered to the level that affects the growth and production of the crops. For oil palm, soil pH should be maintained at the level greater than 4.3. Treating Ultisols and Oxisols cropped to cocoa, rubber or even oil palm with ground magnesium limestone (GML), Mg-rich synthetic gypsum (MRSG) and ground basalt increases their pH, with the level dependent on the amount applied. Besides increasing soil pH, application of the ameliorants (MRSG or basalt) increases Ca, Mg and even S in the soils that translate into enhanced crop growth and eventually their production is sustained.

Morpho-anatomical, biochemical and molecular genetic responses of canola (Brassica napus L.) to sulphur application

Brassica napus (canola), a major economic crop in Egypt, contains much oils and proteins. In the present study, the foliar applications of ammonium sulphate (A.S.) [(NH4)2SO4] (0, 1% 0.2% and 0.3%) to canola plants had distinctive impacts on the morpho-anatomical, biochemical, and molecular genetic responses. Interestingly, there is a positive impact when sulphur (S) is foliarly applied at 0.2% of A.S. as revealed in antioxidants, flavonoids, total carbohydrates, and protein contents which were significantly affected. On the other hand, higher levels of glucosinolates were recorded for 0.3% and 1% A.S. (4.838 and 1.905, respectively). The electrophoretic analysis of proteins displayed 51 bands of molecular weights ranging from 8.555 to 240.6 kDa with 88.24% polymorphism with a mean band frequency of 0.373. Cytotoxicity assay revealed that the lower cell death was detected in treated root tips of canola plants following 0.2% A.S. treatment, as compared to control. With increasing of sulphur treatment, the root cortex thickness, number of conducting elements, and pericycle thickness decreased while root pith area increased. In canola leaves of high S level, the leaf blade thickness, the thickness of abaxial and adaxial epidermis surface, mesophyll thickness, and metaxylem area increased, while the xylem conducting elements number decreased. Moreover, SCoT molecular markers have been used to evaluate the genetic variation among Brassica napus genotypes subjected to different A.S. treatments. Four of the seven SCoT primers were revealed to be polymorphic in both treated and untreated samples. A total of 39 amplicons, ranging in size from 200 to 1080 bp, were amplified, with 9 (23.07%) of them being polymorphic. Clustering dendogram based on SCot markers data divided Brassica genotypes into two main clusters based on similarity coefficients indices. B. napus treated with 0.2% A.S. was separated in a distinct cluster. Furthermore, treatments with sulphur enhanced the activity of antioxidant enzymes as well as the expression level of their encoding genes (CAT, catalase; POD, peroxidase; APX, ascorbate peroxidase; SOD, superoxide dismutase; GR, glutathione reductase), particularly at 1% and 0.2% A.S. treatments. Taken together, this study revealed that foliar application of sulphur treatments, particularly at 0.2%, have a great potential to improve canola crop.

Application of ammonium sulfate affects greenhouse gases and microbial diversity of an oil palm plantation on tropical peat

ABSTRACT Nitrogen fertilizer application is crucial in maintaining soil fertility and crop productivity in oil palm (Elaeis guineensis Jacq.) plantations. However, the effects of N addition on soil’s chemical and biological properties, particularly tropical peat are still unclear. This study investigated the impact of N fertilizer addition on peat properties, greenhouse gas (GHG) fluxes, soil bacterial and fungal diversity in an oil palm plantation on tropical peat. A long-term field experiment (from 2012 to 2013 and 2016 to 2017) was conducted to compare the application of 124.3 kg N ha −1 y −1 of ammonium sulfate (the treatment) to no N application (the control). Baseline data were collected from a primary peat swamp. Overall, N fertilizer input slightly decreased soil pH, total carbon (C), total N, pyrophosphate solubility index (PSI) but increased nitrate (NO3 −), ammonium (NH4 +) concentration, methane (CH4), and nitrous oxide (N2O) fluxes. The result suggested a reduction in soil bacterial diversity but an increase in soil fungal diversity. Forest soil showed naturally low NO3 − concentration but a NH4 + concentration comparable to that in the oil palm plantation. These findings provide evidence of changes in soil chemical and biological properties from long-term ammonium sulfate application on tropical peat.

The application of ammonium sulphate and amino acid on cotton: effects on can improve growth, yield, quality and nitrogen absorption

A field study was carried out to determine the influence of foliage applied plant growth promoter and retardant in improving soil applied sulphur fertilizer use efficiency in cotton during two consecutive summers 2014 and 2015. Experimental trial comprised of three different sources of sulphur (ammonium sulphate, potassium sulphate and elemental sulphur) and foliar spray of plant growth promoter and growth retardant including tap water was taken as control. Among treatments soil applied ammonium sulphate with foliage applied amino acid produced maximum plant height, sympodial branches, pods per plant, seed cotton yield, fiber yield, biological yield, protein contents, oil contents and leaf nitrogen uptake as compared to the other treatments. Whereas, soil applied potassium sulphate with foliar spray of mepiquat chloride on cotton significantly improved the boll weight and leaf potassium uptake. We conclude that soil applied ammonium sulphate and foliage spray of amino acid was more effective in improving the productivity and quality attributes of cotton.

Effect of Various Sources and Levels of Sulphur on Growth, Dry Matter Production and Nutrient Uptake of Indian Mustard (Brassica juncea L.)

A field experiment was conducted to assess the response of Indian mustard to various sources and levels of sulphur during rabi season of 2021 at College Farm, College of Agriculture, PJTSAU, Rajendranagar, Hyderabad. The experiment was carried out with three sources of sulphur (ammonium sulphate, gypsum and bentonite sulphur) and three levels of sulphur (20, 40 and 60 kg S ha-1) with one additional treatment (control i.e., 0 kg S ha-1) in factorial concept and replicated thrice. Significant crop response was observed for plant height, leaf area index and dry matter production with application of ammonium sulphate among all the three sources. Among the levels of sulphur, the higher values of plant height, leaf area index and dry matter recorded on application of 60 kg S ha-1, which showed parity with 40 kg S ha-1. The similar trend was also noticed for seed yield and nutrient uptake (N and S).

Dimethylpyrazole-based nitrification inhibitors have a dual role in N2O emissions mitigation in forage systems under Atlantic climate conditions

Nitrogen fertilization is the most important factor increasing nitrous oxide (N2O) emissions from agriculture, which is a powerful greenhouse gas. These emissions are mainly produced by the soil microbial processes of nitrification and denitrification, and the application of nitrification inhibitors (NIs) together with an ammonium-based fertilizer has been proved as an efficient way to decrease them. In this work the NIs dimethylpyrazole phosphate (DMPP) and dimethylpyrazole succinic acid (DMPSA) were evaluated in a temperate grassland under environmental changing field conditions in terms of their efficiency reducing N2O emissions and their effect on the amount of nitrifying and denitrifying bacterial populations responsible of these emissions. The stimulation of nitrifying bacteria induced by the application of ammonium sulphate as fertilizer was efficiently avoided by the application of both DMPP and DMPSA whatever the soil water content. The denitrifying bacteria population capable of reducing N2O up to N2 was also enhanced by both NIs provided that sufficiently high soil water conditions and low nitrate content were occurring. Therefore, both NIs showed the capacity to promote the denitrification process up to N2 as a mechanism to mitigate N2O emissions. DMPSA proved to be a promising NI, since it showed a more significant effect than DMPP in decreasing N2O emissions and increasing ryegrass yield.

Response of nitrification and nitrifying microorganisms to different nitrogen sources in the acid Ultisols of Jinyun Mountain

ABSTRACT Nitrogen-based fertilizer applications have an effect on nitrification and nitrifying microorganisms in acidic soils of agricultural and forest lands. However, the effect of different nitrogen (N) fertilizers on nitrification and nitrifying microorganisms in acidic Ultisols of the subtropical regions are not well studied. Here, we investigated the effect of ammonium sulfate and urea applications on nitrification and nitrifying microorganisms in acidic Ultisols of Jinyun Mountain. The abundance of ammonia-oxidizing archaea (AOA) and ammonia-oxidizing bacteria (AOB) amoA genes were quantitatively analyzed by real-time PCR. Our results indicated that there was a significant difference in soil pH among treatments and the maximum pH value (pH = 4.93) was recorded in urea addition due to the hydrolysis of urea. Similarly, significant differences in the content of NH4 +-N and NO3 −-N were observed among treatments. The result also revealed that urea addition had higher ammonium and nitrate than that of ammonium sulfate, and stimulated nitrification in acidic Ultisols, whereas nitrification was not stimulated by the application of ammonium sulfate. The net nitrification rate at the end of the experiment for control, ammonium sulfate, and urea treatment were −0.005, −0.003 and 0.004 mg N kg−1 soil day−1 respectively. Besides, the addition of urea significantly increased the AOA and AOB abundance. The abundance of AOA amoA gene was greater than AOB in all treatments. However, the ratio of AOA to AOB was lower in soils with ammonium sulfate and urea addition compared to control. This implies that N addition greatly stimulates AOB rather than AOA abundance. Therefore, AOB may be responsible for the higher nitrification potential in the urea added soil. In conclusion, urea addition significantly increased the content of ammonium, soil pH, AOA and AOB abundance, and stimulates nitrification. AOB may play a significant role in nitrification process in urea added acidic Ultisols.

Essential oil constituents and variations in antioxidant compounds of dried summer savory (Satureja hortensis cv. Saturn) affected by storage conditions and ammonium sulfate.

Considering the importance of spice plants and their shelf life, as affected by various factors, the current study considered Summer savory plants (Satureja hortensis cv. Saturn) for evaluation under the application of different concentrations of ammonium sulfate (0, 40, 60, 80, and 100 kg/ha) as primary treatments. Based on the plant response, the control group and 100 kg/ha ammonium sulfate were selected as suitable treatments for storage experiments (i.e., storage at ambient, refrigerator, and freezer temperatures for 8 months). Based on the results, the highest percentage and yield of S. hortensis essential oil and biomass occurred in response to 100 kg ammonium sulfate, whereas the lowest amounts were observed in the control group (i.e., in the absence of ammonium sulfate). During the storage period, the essential oil content decreased, but the carvacrol content of the essential oil increased. During the different durations and conditions of storage, the stability of secondary metabolites varied. Essential oil, rosmarinic acid, and carvacrol contents maintained greater stability in plants treated with ammonium sulfate (100 kg/ha), compared with the control group during the storage period. It can be concluded that the preharvest application of ammonium sulfate on S. hortensis improved plant growth and quality indices at preharvest time, while also maintaining the stability of its active ingredients at the postharvest stage and storage time. It also led results to recommend storing Summer savory in the freezer to better preserve its secondary metabolites.

Effect of Ammonium Sulfate Application Levels on the Growth and Yield of IR-28 Rice

The study was conducted in JICA Tsukuba experimental rice field RE-2 from April 2018 to September 2018, to determine the effect of different levels of nitrogen fertilizer (Ammonium sulfate) application, on the growth and the yield of IR-28 rice. Four levels of nitrogen fertilizer were applied; 0kg.ha-1 (N0), 40kg.ha-1(N40), 60kg.ha-1(N60) and 80kg.ha-1(N80). For each of the four levels, part of the fertilizer was applied as basal dressing prior to transplanting, and the rest was applied as top-dressing at the panicle initiation stage. The experimental design was a Randomized Complete Block Design (RCBD) with four treatments and three replications. The plant length, the tiller number and the leaf colour were measured for growth data. The number of panicles per m2, the number of spikelets per panicle, the spikelet fertility rate, the 1000 grains weight, and the calculated yield were determined for yield components assessment. The plant length and the tiller number were significantly higher in N80 and N60 compared to N40 and N0, and N80 showed the highest values. There was no significant difference among the four nitrogen levels in terms of the number of panicles per m2 and the number of spikelets per panicle. The spikelet fertility rate and the 1000 grains weight were significantly higher in N80, N60 and N40 compared to N0, and no significant difference was observed among the three. Calculated yield values were higher in N80 (5.74 tons.ha-1) and N60 (5.38 tons.ha-1) compared to N40(4.88 tons.ha-1) and N0 (4.36 tons.ha-1), but there were no significant differences among the four treatments (5% Level of HSD). These results suggest that a high yield of rice can be achieved through the application of high amounts of nitrogen fertilizers. N60 nitrogen level can be recommended for optimum yield of IR-28. Although N80 showed higher yield and yield components, N60 is the best and the most economical nitrogen level required for optimum yield of IR-28.

Evaluation of biosolids‐enriched ammonium sulfate vs. ammonium sulfate in soils and for plant growth

AbstractNitrogen (N) and sulfur (S) are essential nutrients for optimum plant growth. A commercial‐grade biosolid‐enriched ammonium sulfate (Bio/AMS) was evaluated and compared with a conventional, commercial‐grade ammonium sulfate (AMS) to investigate the release patterns of N and S in soils. The laboratory‐based studies included (a) characterization of fertilizer sources, (b) soil leaching columns with 0.01% citric acid in an acid soil, (c) soil incubation followed by 1 M KCl extraction in a neutral soil, and (d) NH3 volatilization measurements in an alkaline soil. With one exception, the results showed no significant difference in the amount or the rate of N or S released from each between the two products in all the studies. In that one exception, the Bio/AMS leached significantly less N after 56 d, but not before 14 d, than the conventional AMS application. In greenhouse‐based evaluations, the Bio/AMS and AMS performed comparably at providing S nutrient to the biomass yield and S uptake by canola (Brassica napus L.) at maturity in neutral and alkaline soils. The studies also showed no significant N uptake differences between Bio/AMS and AMS by wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) biomass at maturity in acid and neutral soils. The results from these laboratory and greenhouse studies demonstrated that the Bio/AMS product is a simple physical mixture of biosolids with AMS.