Abstract
Nitrogen (N) management is critical to the profitability of grain production systems, however careful management of fertiliser is needed to minimise environmental impacts. We investigated the effect of five N fertilisation strategies on nitrous oxide (N2O) emissions and nitrogen use efficiency (NUE) of rainfed wheat grown on a clay soil in a temperate, semi-arid environment of south eastern Australia during 2013 and 2014. Treatments included urea application (50 kg N/ha) at sowing with and without nitrification inhibitor (3,4–dimethylpyrazole phosphate) and surface broadcasting of urea with and without urease inhibitor (n-butyl thiophosphoric triamide) at the end of tillering plus an unfertilised control. Daily N2O emissions were low and responsive to in-season rainfall and fertiliser addition at sowing. Cumulative emissions from sowing until harvest were highest where N was applied at sowing in 2013; 160 g N2O-N/ha, while the 0 N control emitted 28 g N2O-N/ha (over 201 days). Emissions during 2014 were 77% lower than 2013 due to dry seasonal conditions; cumulative emissions were 49 g N2O-N/ha where N was applied at sowing, with background emissions of around 0 g N2O-N/ha (over 177 days). Inhibitors showed limited scope for reducing N2O emissions in this environment, however deferring N application until the end of tillering reduced N2O emissions. Grain yield responses to fertiliser were significant; increasing grain yield by 11–31% and NUE was generally high (recovery efficiency > 68%). However, deferring N application until the end of tillering in 2014 reduced yield (− 19%) and recovery of applied N (− 74%).
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Acknowledgements
This study was funded by the Victorian Department of Economic Development, Jobs, Transport and Resources, the Grains Research and Development Corporation and the Commonwealth Department of Agriculture and Water Resources through the ‘Filling the Research Gap’ NANORP program. The authors wish to thank Keith Fischer and family of Taylors Lake for hosting trials over multiple years. They also wish to acknowledge the dedicated technical assistance provided by Jen Briggs, Mel Munn, Liana Warren and Roger Perris and thank Incitec Pivot Pty Ltd for supplying inhibitor treated fertilisers for these experiments.
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Wallace, A.J., Armstrong, R.D., Harris, R.H. et al. Fertiliser timing and use of inhibitors to reduce N2O emissions of rainfed wheat in a semi-arid environment. Nutr Cycl Agroecosyst 112, 231–252 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10705-018-9941-7
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10705-018-9941-7