On‐farm comparison of variable rates of nitrogen with uniform application to maize on canopy reflectance,soil nitrate,and grain yield |
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| Authors: | Bao‐Luo Ma Tian‐Yun Wu Jiali Shang |
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| Affiliation: | Agriculture and Agri‐Food Canada, Eastern Cereal and Oilseed Research Centre (ECORC), Central Experimental Farm, Ottawa, ON. K1A 0C6, Canada |
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| Abstract: | Recent development in canopy optical‐sensing technology provides the opportunity to apply fertilizer variably at the field scale according to spatial variation in plant growth. A field experiment was conducted in Ottawa, Canada, for two consecutive years to determine the effect of fertilizer nitrogen (N) input at variable‐ vs. uniform‐application strategies at the V6–V8 growth stage, on soil mineral N, canopy reflectance, and grain yield of maize (Zea mays L.). The variable N rates were calculated using an algorithm derived from readings of average normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI) of about 0.8 m × 4.6 m, and N fertilizer was then applied to individual patches of the same size of NDVI readings (0.8 m × 4.6 m) within a plot (2184 m2). Canopy reflectance, expressed as NDVI, was monitored with a hand‐held spectrometer, twice weekly before tasseling and once a week thereafter until physiological maturity. Soil mineral N (0–30 cm depth) was analyzed at the V6 and VT growth stages. Our data show that both variable and uniform‐application strategies for N side‐dressings based on canopy‐reflectance mapping data required less amount of N fertilizer (with an average rate of 80 kg N ha–1 as side‐dressing in addition to 30 kg N ha–1 applied at planting), and produced grain yields similar to and higher nitrogen‐use efficiency (NUE) than the preplant fully fertilized (180 kg N ha–1) treatment. No difference was observed in either grain yield or NUE between the variable‐ and uniform‐application strategies. Compared to unfertilized or fully fertilized treatments, the enhancements in grain yield and NUE of the variable‐rate strategy originated from the later N input as side‐dressing rather than the variation in N rates. The variable‐rate strategy resulted in less spatial variations in soil mineral N at the VT growth stage and greater spatial variations in grain yield at harvest than the uniform‐rate strategy. Both variable‐ and uniform‐application strategies reduced spatial variations in soil mineral N at the VT stage and grain yield compared to the unfertilized treatment. The variable‐rate strategy resulted in more sampling points with high soil mineral N than the uniform‐rate strategy at the VT stage. |
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| Keywords: | nitrogen‐use efficiency N‐management strategy precision agriculture variable‐rate application Zea mays (L ) |
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