Abstract
Green manure legumes represent an important nitrogen (N) source potentially reducing the need for fertilizer inputs. Organic vegetable production systems, which aim to reduce reliance on external N sources, require enhanced control over legume-derived N and high transfer efficiency, with which this N contributes to the N supply for vegetable crops. The primary objective of the study was to quantify the N fertilizer value of cut green manure herbage transferred to vegetable crops and to evaluate residual effects on subsequent cereal crops. During four field experiments, the apparent net N mineralization of soil incorporated and surface mulched cut-and-carry biomass differing in nutrient composition and application rate ranged from 6 to 39% and from 4 and 27% within the year of their application, respectively. Despite a positive response of mulch N mineralization to application rate, the highest short-term N release was observed for soil incorporated herbage with low C:N ratio, being potentially comparable to that of organic N fertilizers. Net residual N effects on subsequent cereal crops averaged 5.2 and 5.3% for soil incorporated and mulched herbage biomass respectively, and did not compensate for low N mineralization rates in the year of application. Ensiled herbage exhibited low short-term N mineralization rates not exceeding 9%, limiting its potential to replace organic N fertilizers for early-season vegetable crops. Thus, a significant challenge arises from the lack of timely synchronicity between biomass availability and vegetable cropping periods, constraining efforts to reduce reliance on external N sources.
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Data availability
The datasets generated during the current study are available from the corresponding author on reasonable request.
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KK and GH contributed to study design, data acquisition and analysis. KK performed the literature review and drafted the initial manuscript. GH contributed to manuscript review and editing. Both authors approved the final version of the manuscript as submitted.
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Katroschan, KU., Hirthe, G. Nitrogen supply by cut-and-carry biomass for vegetable crops and subsequent cereals. Nutr Cycl Agroecosyst (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10705-024-10357-6
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10705-024-10357-6