Response of Wheat to Residual Fertilizer Nitrogen Applied to Previously Failed Corn
Response of W heat to Residual Fertilizer Nitrogen Applied to Previously Failed Corn
D. W. Sweeney 0 1
D. Ruiz Diaz 0 1
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1 Kansas State University Agricultural Experiment Station and Cooperative Extension Service , USA
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Response of W heat to Residual Fertilizer Nitrogen Applied to Previously
Failed Corn
Abstract
When drought conditions result in poor corn growth and yield, the potential exists for carryover of fertilizer
nitrogen (N) to wheat. Soil sampling at the wheat jointing stage showed that NO3-N levels increased slightly
as previous N rate increased up to 240 lb/a N, but did not appear sufficient for the wheat yield increase to
previous N rate. The relationship between wheat normalized difference vegetative index (NDVI)
measurements at jointing and wheat yield was linear. The use of crop active sensors such as the GreenSeeker
(Trimble Navigation Ltd., Sunnyvale, CA) may provide plant response data to supplement soil sampling to
more adequately determine residual effects on a following wheat crop.
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Kansas Fertilizer
Research 2015
Response of Wheat to Residual Fertilizer
Nitrogen Applied to Previously Failed Corn
D.W. Sweeney and D. Ruiz Diaz1
Summary
When drought conditions result in poor corn growth and yield, the potential exists for
carryover of fertilizer nitrogen (N) to wheat. Soil sampling at the wheat jointing stage
showed that NO3-N levels increased slightly as previous N rate increased up to 240 lb/a
N, but did not appear sufficient for the wheat yield increase to previous N rate. The
relationship between wheat normalized difference vegetative index (NDVI)
measurements at jointing and wheat yield was linear. The use of crop active sensors such as the
GreenSeeker (Trimble Navigation Ltd., Sunnyvale, CA) may provide plant response
data to supplement soil sampling to more adequately determine residual effects on a
following wheat crop.
Introduction
In 2012, extreme hot and dry conditions reduced corn crop yields. These
drought-induced, low-yielding conditions likely resulted in low N uptake by corn. As a result, the
potential exists for unused fertilizer N left in the soil, but the potential carryover of
unused N fertilizer is uncertain because of the dynamics of N cycling. The objective of
this study was to determine the effect of residual N that had been applied to a previous,
drought-failed corn on the following wheat crop.
Experimental Procedures
A study was started in 2012 to determine the effect of N rates and nitrification
inhibitors on short-season corn grown with no tillage. The experimental design was a
splitplot arrangement of a randomized complete block with four replications. Nitrogen
fertilizer rates were the whole plots and nitrification inhibitors were the subplots. An
untreated control was included in each replication. Because of replanting and hot, dry
weather, corn yields were less than 30 bu/a with no response to nitrification inhibitors
and a slight decline in yields as N rate increased (data not shown).
Because many farmers rotate winter wheat after corn and the 2012 experiment would
not be repeated, ‘Everest’ wheat was drilled on October 12, 2012, with no added
fertilizer and no tillage. The same plots with the same experimental design were used to study
the residual effect of the N treatments. Wheat was harvested on June 25, 2013. In early
April when the wheat was beginning to joint (Feekes 6), soil samples were taken from
1 Kansas State University Department of Agronomy.
each plot to a 12-in. depth and analyzed for NH4-N and NO3-N. At the same time, a
GreenSeeker handheld crop sensor was used to take NDVI readings.
Results and Discussion
The use of nitrification inhibitors on the previous corn crop had no residual effect on
soil inorganic N levels and wheat NDVI readings taken in early April or wheat (...truncated)