U.S. Department of Agriculture: Agricultural Research Service, Lincoln, Nebraska
Date of this Version
2000
Abstract
Integrating fertilizer N (FN) with legume green manures (GM) can foster sustainable and environmentally sound agricultural systems in subtropical, semiarid soils low in organic matter. A 4-yr replicated field experiment with irrigated rice (Oryza sativa L.) and wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) rotations was conducted on a sandy loam soil in the Punjab of India to evaluate the effects of incorporating cowpea (Vigna unguiculata L.) or sesbania (Sesbania aculeata L.) GM on crop productivity, N-use efficiency, and NO3 leaching. Rice grain yields with pretransplant incorporation of 20 and 40 Mg GM ha-1 (GM20 and GM40) ranged from 5.18 to 5.81 Mg ha-1, which were equivalent to the 5.40 Mg ha-1 obtained with 120 kg FN ha-1 (FN120). Rice yield with 60 kg FN ha-1 (FN60) and GM20 was double the control yield and 6% greater than the FN120 treatment. Nitrogen utilization by rice was greater for GM20 than FN, as indicated by greater fertilizer N equivalents and an apparent N recovery by rice of 79 vs. 63%. While FN had no residual effects, residual GM produced greater wheat yields, indicating that FN applied to wheat could be reduced by 25%. Soil NO3–N leaching to 60 cm in the rice crop was apparently used by the subsequent wheat crop, which has a deeper and more extensive rooting system. After 4 yr, use of FN120 for both crops resulted in 35 kg of residual NO3–N ha-1 in the 150-cm soil profile (74% below 90 cm), whereas only 19 kg NO3–N ha-1 remained with GM20 plus FN60. Use of GM20 with FN60 for a rice–wheat rotation demonstrated greater yields of rice and wheat, 25 to 50% reduction in fertilizer N use, and decreased potential for groundwater NO3 contamination.
Comments
Published in Soil Sci. Soc. Am. J. 64:1867–1876 (2000).