Abstract
It has been shown that legume green manures have great potential for replacing a substantial amount of the N fertilizer required for corn (Zea mays L.) production. An experiment was conducted in central Pennsylvania (USA) to study seasonal fluctuation of nitrogen (N) availability in corn with conventional tillage (CT) and no-till (NT) following red clover (Trifolium pratense L.) and hairy vetch (Vicia villosa Roth) green manures double-cropped with winter wheat (Triticum aestivum L.). Samples of corn, weeds, and soil were taken periodically and analyzed for total N content in plant tissue and soil nitrate-N content. The sum of plant N (corn plus weed) and soil nitrate-N in the upper 45 cm profile was used as an indicator of total available N. Under CT, total available N increased rapidly upon legume incorporation and reached 80% of the maximum within 4 weeks. Under NT, total available N increased steadily after the legumes were killed with herbicides and reached a maximum within 7 to 8 weeks. Seasonal corn N accumulations with the legume N source were similar to those where corn followed fallow with 200 kg N ha−1 fertilizer with CT, but were less than those in the same fallow 200 kg N ha−1 treatment with no-till. Dry weather conditions together with weed competition reduced N availability to the no-till corn compared to the CT treatments. The seasonal fluctuations of total available N and corn N uptake suggest good synchronization between N availability from the legume green manures and N accumulation by corn plants in both tillage systems under the conditions of this study.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Allmaras R R 1965 Bias.In Methods of soil analysis. Part 1. Physical and Mineralogical Properties, Including Statistics of Measurement and Sampling. Eds. C A Black et al. pp. 24–42 Am. Soc. Agron., Madison, WI.
Dou Z 1993 Nitrogen dynamics in conventional and no-tillage corn production following legume cover crops. PhD Thesis. Dept. of Agron. Penn State Univ. University Park, PA, USA. 207 p.
Fox R H and Piekielek W P 1978 Field testing of several nitrogen availability indexes. Soil Sci. Soc. Am. J. 42, 747–750.
Fox R H and Piekielek W P 1983 Response of corn to nitrogen fertilizer and the prediction of soil nitrogen availability with chemical tests in Pennsylvania. Bulletin 843. The Penn State University, College of Agriculture, Agricultural Experiment Station, University Park, PA, USA. 33 p.
Govere E M 1989 Nitrogen contribution of red clover and hairy vetch planted as a double crop after small grain harvest to no-till corn. M.S. Thesis, Dept. of Agronomy, Penn State University, University Park, PA, USA. 52 p.
Hanway J J 1963 Growth stages of corn. Agron. J. 55, 487–492.
Hesterman O B, Russelle M P, Sheaffer C C and Heichel G H 1987 Nitrogen utilization from fertilizer and legume residues in legume-corn rotations. Agron. J. 79, 726–731.
Huntington T G, Grove J H and Frye W W 1985 Release and recovery of nitrogen from winter annual cover crops in no-till corn production. Commun. Soil Sci. Plant Anal. 16, 193–211.
Löhnis F 1926 Nitrogen availability of green manures. Soil Sci. 22, 253–290.
Magdoff F 1991 Understanding the Magdoff pre-sidedress nitrate test for corn. J. Prod. Agric. 4, 297–305.
McCalla T M and Russel J C 1943 Nitrate production as affected by grain crop residues on the surface of the soil. Univ. Neb. Agric. Exp. Stn. Res. Bull. 131.
Sarrantonio M and Scott T W 1988 Tillage effects on availability of nitrogen to corn following a winter green manure crop. Soil Sci. Soc. Am. J. 52, 1661–1668.
Stickler F C, Shrader W D and Johnson I J 1959 Comparative value of legume and fertilizer nitrogen for corn production. Agron. J. 51, 157–160.
Technicon Instrument Corp. 1977a Technicon AutoAnalyzer II. Industrial method no. 100-70 W/B. Nitrate and nitrite in water and waste water. pp. 1–3. Technicon Industrial Systems, Tarrytown, NY.
Utomo M, Frye W W and Blevins R L 1990 Sustaining soil nitrogen for corn using hairy vetch cover crop. Agron. J. 82, 979–983.
Yadvinder-Singh, Bijay-Singh and Khind C S 1992 Nutrient transformation in soils amended with green manure. Adv Soil Sci. 20, 37–309.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Dou, Z., Fox, R.H. & Toth, J.D. Tillage effect on seasonal nitrogen availability in corn supplied with legume green manures. Plant Soil 162, 203–210 (1994). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01347707
Received:
Accepted:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01347707