ISSN:
1573-0867
Keywords:
15N balance
;
losses
;
leaching
;
sulfur-coated urea
;
supergranules
;
wetland rice
Source:
Springer Online Journal Archives 1860-2000
Topics:
Agriculture, Forestry, Horticulture, Fishery, Domestic Science, Nutrition
Notes:
Abstract Two modified urea products (urea supergranules [USG] and sulfur-coated urea [SCU]) were compared with conventional urea and ammonium sulfate as sources of nitrogen (N), applied at 58 kg N ha−1 and 116 kg N ha−1, for lowland rice grown in an alkaline soil of low organic matter and light texture (Typic Ustipsamment) having a water percolation rate of 109 mm day−1. The SCU and USG were applied at transplanting, and the whole dose of nitrogen was15N-labeled; the SCU was prepared in the laboratory and was not completely representative of commercial SCU. The SCU was broadcast and incorporated, whereas the USG was point-placed at a depth of 7–8 cm. The urea and ammonium sulfate applications were split: two-thirds was broadcast and incorporated at transplanting, and one-third was broadcast at panicle initiation. All fertilizers except the last one-third of the urea and ammonium sulfate were labeled with15N so that a fertilizer-N balance at flowering and maturity stages of the crop could be constructed and the magnitude of N loss assessed. At all harvests and N rates, rice recovered more15N from SCU than from the other sources. At maturity, the crop recovered 38 to 42% of the15N from SCU and only 23 to 31% of the15N from the conventional fertilizers, urea and ammonium sulfate, whose recovery rates were not significantly different. In contrast, less than 9% of the USG-N was utilized. Fertilizer nitrogen uptake was directly related to the yield response from the different sources. Most of the fertilizer N was taken up by the time the plants were flowering although recovery did increase up to maturity in some treatments. Analysis of the soil plus roots revealed that less than 1% of the added15N was in the mineral form. Between 20 and 30% of the15N applied as urea, SCU, and ammonium sulfate was recovered in the soil plus roots, mainly in the 0–15 cm soil layer. Only 16% of the15N applied as USG was recovered in the soil, and this15N was distributed throughout the soil profile to a depth of 70 cm, which was the lowest depth of sampling. Calculations of the15N balance showed that 46 to 50% of the urea and ammonium sulfate was unaccounted for and considered lost from the system. Only 27 to 38% of the15N applied as SCU was not recovered at maturity, but 78% of the USG application was unaccounted for. The extensive losses and poor plant recovery of USG at this site are discussed in relation to the high percolation rate, which is atypical of many ricegrowing areas.
Type of Medium:
Electronic Resource
URL:
http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/BF01048801
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