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The use of organic substrates with contrasting C/N ratio in the regulation of nitrogen use efficiency and losses in a potato agroecosystem

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Abstract

The effect of the application of organic amendments of contrasting C/N ratio, combined with mineral N fertilizer, on the N budget of a potato crop was evaluated. The hypothesis was that the combination of substrates of contrasting chemical composition can improve the synchronization between N crop requirements and N availability in the soil, increasing yields and reducing losses to the environment. Potato plants were cultivated in microplots (0.225 m2) in the tropical uplands of Venezuela, using mineral N (labeled with 15N), poultry manure (C/N = 12), and rice hulls (C/N = 90) as N sources. Four treatments with the same total dose of N (25.0 g N m−2) were applied: (1) MF: mineral fertilizer; (2) P + F: poultry manure and mineral fertilizer; (3) R + F: rice hulls and mineral fertilizer and (4) P + R + F: poultry manure, rice hulls and mineral fertilizer. Labeled and non-labeled N was measured in drained water and plant and soils compartments, and a N budget was established for each treatment. The ratio of N crop uptake to N losses was proposed as an ecological indicator of N use efficiency. The highest value (3.0) of this ratio was obtained in the treatment combining the two organic substrates of contrasting quality, P + R + F, followed by the R + F (2.0) and P + F (1.8) and the lowest ratio was obtained in the MF treatment (0.9). The P + R + F combination may represent a good soil amendment to obtain a high yield with a lower environmental impact, at least in the short-term. The generalization of these results to other soils and climates is discussed.

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Acknowledgments

This research was founded by FONACIT (grants S1-2000000810 and F-2002000424) and framed within the MOSANDES project (CYTED, project XII.4). We wish to thank Francis Guillén, Zulay Mendez, Sonia Morales, Nelson Marquez and Alexander Suarez for their technical assistance, Carlos Díaz for his support during fieldwork and the fruitful discussions, Gloria and Ana Graziella Machado for all their kind cooperation and Julia K. Smith for the English revision.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Laboratorio de Investigación en Análisis Químico Industrial y Agropecuario, Departamento de Química, Facultad de Ciencias, Universidad de los Andes, Mérida, 5101, Venezuela

    Daniel Machado

  2. Instituto de Ciencias Ambientales y Ecológicas, Facultad de Ciencias, Universidad de los Andes, Mérida, 5101, Venezuela

    Lina Sarmiento

  3. Instituto de Investigaciones Agrobiológicas de Galicia, CSIC, Apartado 122, Avda de Vigo s/n, 15780, Santiago de Compostela, Spain

    Serafin Gonzalez-Prieto

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  1. Daniel Machado
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  2. Lina Sarmiento
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Correspondence to Lina Sarmiento.

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Machado, D., Sarmiento, L. & Gonzalez-Prieto, S. The use of organic substrates with contrasting C/N ratio in the regulation of nitrogen use efficiency and losses in a potato agroecosystem. Nutr Cycl Agroecosyst 88, 411–427 (2010). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10705-010-9366-4

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