The effect of N fertilizer placement, formulation, timing, and rate on the agronomic performance in wheat

Abstract

Increasing the efficiency of nitrogen fertilizer uptake by crops improves the agronomic, economic, and environmental value of fertilizer N. Band placement of urea below the soil surface increased recovery of N in plants in both conventional and no-tillage systems. The latter systems require all fertilizers be applied before or during the seeding operation. In order to avoid seedling damage caused by fertilizer, side banding and mid-row banding opener systems have been developed to separate the seed and fertilizer. The objective of this study was to compare the agronomic performance in wheat between side banding and mid-row banding N fertilization and estimate effects of fertilizer formulation, timing and rate in an Orthic Brown Chernozem. A three-year experiment (2000-2002) was conducted near Swift Current in the Brown Soil Zone (Swinton silt loam, Orthic Brown Chernozem) of southern Saskatchewan. Seventeen treatments were arranged in a randomized complete block design in four replications with plot size of 3 m × 9.2 m. A Canada Western Red Spring wheat, AC Barrie, was seeded on a no-tillage management. Results showed that the environment had a major impact on the grain yield and biomass production. In general, the difference in agronomic performance between side banding and mid-row banding treatments was small.