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Assessing agronomic and environmental implications of different N fertilisation strategies in subtropical grain cropping systems on Oxisols

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Abstract

A multi-season 15N tracer recovery experiment was conducted on an Oxisol cropped with wheat, maize and sorghum to compare crop N recoveries of different fertilisation strategies and determine the main pathways of N losses that limit N recovery in these agroecosystems. In the wheat and maize seasons, 15N-labelled fertiliser was applied as conventional urea (CONV) and urea coated with a nitrification inhibitor (DMPP). In sorghum, the fate of 15N-labelled urea was monitored in this crop following a legume ley pasture (L70) or a grass ley pasture (G100). The fertiliser N applied to sorghum in the legume-cereal rotation was reduced (70 kg N ha−1) compared to the grass-cereal (100 kg N ha−1) to assess the availability of the N residual from the legume ley pasture. Average crop N recoveries were 73 % (CONV) and 77 % (DMPP) in wheat and 50 % (CONV) and 51 % (DMPP) in maize, while in sorghum were 71 % (L70) and 53 % (G100). Data gathered in this study indicate that the intrinsic physical and chemical conditions of Oxisols can be extremely effective in limiting N losses via deep leaching or denitrification. Elevated crop 15N recoveries can be therefore obtained in subtropical Oxisols using conventional urea while in these agroecosystems DMPP urea has no significant scope to increase fertiliser N recovery in the crop. Overall, introducing a legume phase to limit the fertiliser N requirements of the following cereal crop proved to be the most effective strategy to reduce N losses and increase fertiliser N recovery.

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Abbreviations

DM:

Dry matter

Ndff:

N derived from labelled fertiliser

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Acknowledgments

The authors wish to thank Gary Harch for the field assistance, Rachel Nichols and John Taylor for the chemical analyses, and the Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry (DAFF) for providing the field site, the machinery and the staff for the farming operations. The authors also wish to thank Beverly Henry and the anonymous reviewers for the valuable comments on an earlier version of the manuscript. This research was conducted as part of the National Agricultural Nitrous Oxide Research Program (NANORP) funded by the Australian Department of Agriculture and managed by the Grain Research and Development Corporation (GRDC).

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  1. Institute for Future Environments, Queensland University of Technology, Brisbane, QLD, 4000, Australia

    Massimiliano De Antoni Migliorati, Peter R. Grace, David W. Rowlings, Clemens Scheer & Alice Strazzabosco

  2. Queensland Alliance for Agriculture and Food Innovation, University of Queensland, Kingaroy, QLD, 4610, Australia

    Mike J. Bell

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  1. Massimiliano De Antoni Migliorati
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Correspondence to Massimiliano De Antoni Migliorati.

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De Antoni Migliorati, M., Bell, M.J., Grace, P.R. et al. Assessing agronomic and environmental implications of different N fertilisation strategies in subtropical grain cropping systems on Oxisols. Nutr Cycl Agroecosyst 100, 369–382 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10705-014-9655-4

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