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An analysis of the agronomic, economic and environmental effects of applying N fertilizer to sugarbeet (Beta vulgaris)

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  27 March 2009

M. F. Allison ,
M. J. Armstrong ,
K. W. Jaggard ,
A. D. Todd  and
G. F. J. Milford
M. F. Allison
Affiliation:
IACR-Broom's Barn, Higham, Bury St Edmunds, Suffolk IP28 6NP, UK
M. J. Armstrong
Affiliation:
British Sugar pic, Holmewood Hall, Holme, Cambridgeshire PE7 3PG, UK
K. W. Jaggard
Affiliation:
IACR-Broom's Barn, Higham, Bury St Edmunds, Suffolk IP28 6NP, UK
A. D. Todd
Affiliation:
IACR-Rothamsled, Harpenden, Hertfordshire AL5 2JQ, UK
G. F. J. Milford
Affiliation:
IACR-Rothamsled, Harpenden, Hertfordshire AL5 2JQ, UK
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Summary

The effects of different rates of N fertilizer (0–180 kg N/ha) were tested on the growth, yield and processing quality of sugarbeet in 34 field experiments in England between 1986 and 1988. The experiments were performed using soil types, locations and management systems that were representative of the commercial beet crop in the UK. The responses obtained showed that current recommendations for N fertilizer use are broadly correct, but large differences occurred on some soil types, in some years, between the recommended amounts and the experimentally determined optima for yield. The divergence was largest when organic manures had been applied in the autumn before the beet crop. Calculations using a simple nitrate-leaching model showed that much of the N in the manures was likely to be leached, the extent of leaching being much less if the manure application was delayed until spring. In these circumstances, spring measurement of inorganic mineral N in the soil could improve fertilizer recommendations. In situations where higher than optimum rates of fertilizer N were used, the extra N had little effect on yield. Increasing the rate from 0 to 180 kg N/ha increased the amount of nitrate left in the soil at harvest by only 8 kg N/ha. The amount of inorganic N released into the soil from crop residues at harvest increased by 50 kg N/ha with N application rate, and the fate of this N has not been established.

Type
Crops and Soils
Information
The Journal of Agricultural Science , Volume 127 , Issue 4 , December 1996 , pp. 475 - 486
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 1996

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References

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