Determination of nitrogen release by organic fertilizers as influenced by fertilizer type and soil characteristics

Paper Details

Research Paper 01/04/2014
Views (207) Download (4)
current_issue_feature_image
publication_file

Determination of nitrogen release by organic fertilizers as influenced by fertilizer type and soil characteristics

Paul Kinoti Ng’ang’a, Karoline Maria Jezik, Bernhard Freyer
Int. J. Agron. Agri. Res.4( 4), 56-64, April 2014.
Certificate: IJAAR 2014 [Generate Certificate]

Abstract

Incubation and pot experiments were carried out at the University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences, Vienna, Austria during the months of July to October 2011 to investigate suitability of grain legume seeds (pea, yellow lupin and faba bean) and organic fertilizers of industry-processed plant and microbial residues (Maltaflor®-spezial, Phytoperls®, Agrobiosol® and Rizi-Korn) as possible substitute for animal based organic fertilizers. Incubation experiment investigated fertilizer net N mineralization using one soil type, while pot experiment determined apparent N utilization using four soil types and oat as a test plant. In both experiments, treatments were laid down in a Complete Randomized Design and replicated four times. The objective of this study was to determine fertilizer and soil characteristics that influence N release of the tested fertilizers. Results showed that, seventy percent of total net mineralization occurred within the first two weeks of incubation. Total net N mineralization was influenced by fertilizer type and ranged between 42 – 61 % and was closely related to N content (r2 = 0.97***) than C/N ratio (r2 = 0.79***). Similar results but with weaker relationship (r2 = 0.60***) was obtained from pot experiment which also showed that, apparent N utilization of oat was influenced by both soil texture and organic matter when the N content was low. These results suggest that, N content of the tested fertilizers is a good indicator for the N release although soil can modify this process.

VIEWS 5

Becker M, Ladha JK, Simpson IC, Ottow JCG. 2004. Parameters affecting residue nitrogen mineralization in flooded soils. Soil Science Society of America Journal 58, 1666-1671.

Bending GD, Turner MK, Jones JE. 2002. Interactions between crop residue and soil organic matter quality and the functional diversity of soil microbial communities. Soil Biology and Biochemistry 34, 1073-1082.

Bhardwaj HL, Hamama AA, Merrick LC. 2008. Genotypic and environmental effects on lupin seed composition. Plant Foods for Human Nutrition 53, 1-13.

Braun A, Mayer J, von Fragstein P. 2000. Coarse pulse seed meals – are they suited for fertilizing purposes in early vegetable cultivation? In: Alföldi, T., Lockeretz,

Constantinides M, Fownes JH. 2004. Nitrogen mineralization from leaves and litter of tropical plants: relationships to nitrogen, lignin and soluble polyphenol concentrations. Soil Biology and Biochemistry 26, 49-55.

Corbeels M, O´Connell AM, Grove TS, Mendham DS, Rance SJ. 2003. Nitrogen release from eucalypt leaves and legume residues as influenced by their biochemical quality and degree of contact with soil. Plant Soil 250, 15-28.

De Neve S, Pannier J, Hofmann G. 2004. Fractionation of vegetable crop residues in relation to in situ N mineralization. European Journal of Agronomy 3(4), 267-272.

De Neve S, Hofmann G. 2006. Modelling N mineralization of vegetable crop residues during laboratory incubations. Soil Biology and Biochemistry 28, 1451-1457.

Drury CF, Zhang TQ, Kay BD. 2003. The non-limiting and least limiting water ranges for soil nitrogen mineralization. Soil Science Society of America Journal 67, 1388-1404.

Fox RH, Myers RJK, Vallis I. 2010. The nitrogen mineralization rate of legume residues in soil as influenced by their polyphenol, lignin, and nitrogen contents. Plant Soil 129, 251-259.

Frankenberger WT, Abdelmagid HM. 2012. Kinetic parameters of nitrogen mineralization rates of leguminous crops incorporated into soil. Plant Soil 87,257-271.

Handayanto E, Cadisch G, Giller KE. 2004. Nitrogen release from prunings of legume hedgerow trees in relation to quality of the prunings and incubation method. Plant Soil 160, 237-248.

Heuberger H, Kreuzmair A, Weh F, von Tucher S, Schnitzler WH. 2005. Vegetabile Dünger als Stickstoffquelle für Topfbasilikum – Freisetzung und Aufnahme von Stickstoff aus vegetabilen Düngern bei Basilikum (Ocimum basilicum L.) in Topfkultur –. Zeitschrift fur Arzenei-& Gewurzpflanzen 3, 140-143.

Iritani WM, Arnold CY. 2006. Nitrogen release of vegetable crop residues during incubation as related to their chemical composition. Soil Science 89, 74-82.

Jensen ES. 2004. Mineralization-immobilization of nitrogen in soil amended with low C:N ratio plant residues with different particle sizes. Soil Biology and Biochemistry 2 (4), 519-521.

Khalil MI, Hossain MB, Schmidhalter U. 2005. Carbon and nitrogen mineralization in different upland soils of the subtropics treated with organic materials. Soil Biology and Biochemistry 37, 1507-1518.

Kuo S, Sainju UM. 2008. Nitrogen mineralization and availability of mixed leguminous and non-leguminous cover crop residues in soil. Biology and Fertility of Soils 26, 346-353.

Mendham DS, Kumaraswamy S, Balasundaran M, Sankaran KV, Corbeels M, Grove TS, O´Connell AM, Rance SJ. 2004. Legumes cover cropping effects on early growth and soil nitrogen supply in eucalypt plantations in south western India. Biology and Fertility of Soils 39, 375-382.

Müller MM, Sundman V. 2008. The fate of nitrogen (15N) released from different plant materials during decomposition under field conditions. Plant Soil 105, 133-139.

Mulvaney RL. 1996. Nitrogen – Inorganic forms. In: Bigham, J.M. (ed.): Methods of soil analysis. Part 3, SSSA, Inc. Madison, WI, p. 1123-1184.

Schmitz H J, Fischer P. 2003. Vegetabile Dünger in Substraten für den ökologischen Gemüsebau. Gemüse 2, 18-22.

Smith SJ, Sharpley AN. 2010. Soil nitrogen mineralization in the presence of surface and incorporated crop residues. Agronomy Journal 82, 112-116.

Strong DT, Sale PWG, Helyar KR. 2009. The influence of the soil matrix on nitrogen mineralisation and nitrification. IV. Texture. Australian Journal Soil Research 37, 329-344.

Thönnissen C, Midmore DJ, Ladha JK, Olk DC, Schmidhalter U. 2000b. Legume decomposition and nitrogen release when applied as green manures to tropical vegetable production systems. Agronomy Journal 92, 253-260.

Trinsoutrot I, Recous S, Bentz B, Linères M, Chèneby D, Nicolardot B. 2000. Biochemical quality of crop residues and carbon and nitrogen mineralization kinetics under non limiting nitrogen conditions. Soil Science Society of America Journal 64, 918-926.

Vigil MF, Kissel DE. 2001. Equations for estimating the amount of nitrogen mineralized from crop residues. Soil Science Society of America Journal 55, 757-761.

Vilsmeier K. 1984. Kurzmitteilung: Bestimmung von Dicyandiamid, Nitrit und Nitrat in Bodenextrakten mit Hochdruckflüssigkeitschromotographie. Zeitschrift für Pflanzenennahrung und Bodenkunde 14, 264-268.