Abstract
The movement and transformations in the mineral N pool below the hill and furrow were studied when different N fertilisers were applied in the irrigation water on three occasions during the growth of two maize crops. They included anhydrous ammonia, ammonium sulphate, potassium nitrate and urea. These were compared with anhydrous ammonia injected below the hill before the crop was sown.
The ammonium-forming fertilisers increased the mineral-N in the surface of the furrow in both seasons. However no differential adsorption of NH4 near the surface of the furrow was observed. We have postulated that NH4 showed preferential movement through the voids in these cracking soils and was not adsorbed at the surface as occurs on soils with discontinuous voids. The proportion of NO3 in the profile was higher after urea application than with NH4 sources and was consistent with urea moving further into the peds than NH4.
Nitrification of the anhydrous ammonia band below the hill was rapid in these soils. The proportion of NO3-N in the mineral N pool below both the hill and furrow declined with time in those locations where the air-filled porosity was generally below 10%.
The implications of applying various N sources in the irrigation water on the potential loss processes taking place in the soil are discussed.
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Muirhead, W., Melhuish, F., White, R. et al. Comparison of several nitrogen fertilisers applied in surface irrigation systems. II. Nitrogen transformations. Fertilizer Research 8, 49–65 (1985). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01048906
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01048906