Abstract
High molecular weight, anionic polyacrylamide (PAM) is currently being used as an irrigation water additive to significantly reduce soil erosion associated with furrow irrigation. PAM contains amide-N, and PAM application to soils has been correlated with increased activity of soil enzymes, such as urease and amidase, involved in N cycling. Therefore we investigated potential impacts of PAM treatment on the rate at which fertilizer N is transformed into NH4 + and NO3 – in soil. PAM-treated and untreated soil microcosms were amended with a variety of fertilizers, ranging from common rapid-release forms, such as ammonium sulfate [(NH4)2SO4] and urea, to a variety of slow-release formulations, including polymerized urea and polymer-encapsulated urea. Ammonium sulfate was also tested together with the nitrification inhibitor dicyandiamide (DCD). The fertilizers were applied at a concentration of 1.0 mg g–1, which is comparable to 100 lb acre–l, or 112 kg ha–1. Potassium chloride-extractable NH4 +-N and NO3 –-N were quantified periodically during 2–4 week incubations. PAM treatment had no significant effect on NH4 + release rates for any of the fertilizers tested and did not alter the efficacy of DCD as a nitrification inhibitor. However, the nitrification rate of urea and encapsulated urea-derived NH4 +-N was slightly accelerated in the PAM-treated soil.
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Received: 16 January 1998
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Kay-Shoemake, J., Watwood, M., Kilpatrick, L. et al. Exchangeable ammonium and nitrate from different nitrogen fertilizer preparations in polyacrylamide-treated and untreated agricultural soils. Biol Fertil Soils 31, 245–248 (2000). https://doi.org/10.1007/s003740050652
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s003740050652