Effects of long-term straw management and fertilizer nitrogen additions on soil nitrogen supply and crop yields at two sites in eastern England

Abstract

The effects of straw incorporation (early and late cultivation) and straw burning were contrasted in a split-plot study examining the impact of long-term straw residue management, and six fertilizer nitrogen (N) rates on soil mineral nitrogen, crop fertilizer N requirements and nitrate leaching losses. The experiments ran from 1984 to 1997 on light-textured soils at ADAS Gleadthorpe (Nottinghamshire, UK) and Morley Research Centre (Norfolk, UK).

Soil incorporation of the straw residues returned an estimated 633 kg N/ha at Gleadthorpe and 429 kg N/ha at Morley on the treatment receiving 150 kg/ha per year fertilizer N since 1984. Straw disposal method had no consistent effect on grain and straw yields, crop N uptake, or optimal fertilizer N rates. In every year there was a positive response (P<0·001) to fertilizer N in straw/grain yields, N contents and crop N offtakes at both sites. Nitrate leaching losses were slightly reduced by less than 10 kg N/ha where straw residues had been incorporated, while fertilizer N additions increased nitrate leached at both sites.

At both sites there was a consistent effect (P<0·001) of straw disposal method on autumn soil mineral N, with values following the pattern burn>early incorporate>late plough. The incorporation of straw residues induced temporary N immobilization compared with the treatment where straw was burnt, while the earlier timing of tillage on the incorporate treatment resulted in slightly more mineral N compared with the later ploughed treatment. Fertilizer N rate increased (P<0·001) soil mineral nitrogen at both sites. At Morley, there was more organic carbon in the plough layer where straw had been incorporated (mean 1·09 g/100 g) rather than burnt (mean 0·89 g/100 g), and a strong positive relationship between organic carbon and fertilizer N rate (r²=93·2%, P<0·01). There was a detectable effect of fertilizer N on readily mineralizable N in the plough layer at both Gleadthorpe (P<0·001) and Morley (P<0·05). At Morley, there was a consistent trend (P=0·06) for readily mineralizable N to be higher where straw had been incorporated rather than burnt, indicating that ploughing-in residues may contribute to soil nitrogen supply over the longer term.