Abstract
Ten widely different plant species were compared for their ability to reduce soil mineral nitrogen levels in the autumn and their ability to improve the nitrogen nutrition of the succeeding crop. The species included monocots and dicots, crops that survived the winter (persistent) or were winter killed (non-persistent) as well as legumes and non legumes. Their ability to reduce soil mineral nitrogen content was dependent on both root depth and persistency of the crops in the autumn. For non-persistent catch crops most of the mineralization of plant nitrogen occurred during the winter, and for some of these so early as to allow leaching of some mineralized nitrogen. For persistent crops most of the mineralization occurred shortly after incorporation in the spring. The effect of the catch crops on nitrogen uptake by the succeeding barley crop varied from 13 to 66 kg N ha−1 and the differences between the crops could not be related to any single character, but to a combination of root depth, persistency, plant nitrate accumulation, and depletion of the soil mineral nitrogen pool in spring.
Article PDF
Similar content being viewed by others
Avoid common mistakes on your manuscript.
References
Bowden WT, Quintana JO, Pereira J, Bouldin DR, Reid WS and Lathwell DJ (1988) Screening legume green manures as nitrogen sources to succeeding non-legume crops. Plant Soil 111: 75–80
Jäggli F (1978) Sickerverluste an Mineralstoffen. Mitt Schweiz Landwirtschaft 26: 130–136
Jensen ES (1991) Nitrogen accumulation and residual effects of nitrogen catch crops. Acta Agric Scand 41: 333–344
Jensen ES (1992) The release and fate of nitrogen from catch crop materials decomposing under field conditions. J Soil Sci 43: 335–345
Ladd JN, Amato M, Jackson RB and Butler HA (1983) Utilization by wheat crops of nitrogen from legume residues decomposing in soils in the field. Soil Biol Biochem 15: 231–238
Linden AMA Van der, Veen JA Van and Frissel (1987) Modelling soil organic matter levels after long-term applications of crop residues, and farmyard and green manures. Plant Soil 101: 21–28
Marstorp H and Kirchmann H (1991) Carbon and nitrogen mineralization and crop uptake of nitrogen from six green manure legumes decomposing in soil. Acta Agric Scand 41: 243–252
Martinez J and Guiraud G (1990) A lysimeter study of the effects of a ryegrass catch crop, during a winter wheat/maize rotation, on nitrate leaching and on the following crop. J Soil Sci 41: 5–16
Oglesby KA (1992) Effects of chemical composition on nitrogen mineralization from green manures of seven tropical leguminous trees. Plant Soil 143: 127–132
Paustian K, William JP and Persson J (1992) Modeling soil organic matter in organic-amended and nitrogen-fertilized long-term plots. Soil Sci Soc Am J 65: 476–488
Sørensen JN (1992) Effect of catch crops on the content of soil mineral nitrogen before and after winter leaching. Z Pflanzenernähr Bodenk 155: 61–66
Sørensen JN and Thorup-Kristensen K (1993) Nitrogen effects of non legume catch crops. Z Pflanzenernähr Bodenk 156: 55–59
Thorup-Kristensen K (1993a) Root development of nitrogen catch crops, and of a succeeding broccoli crop. Acta Agric Scand, Sect B, Soil Plant Sci 43: 58–64
Thorup-Kristensen K (1993b) Effect of nitrogen catch crops on the nitrogen nutrition of a succeeding crop, I: effects through mineralization and pre-emptive competition Acta Agric Scand, Sect B, Soil Plant Sci 43: 74–81
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Thorup-Kristensen, K. The effect of nitrogen catch crop species on the nitrogen nutrition of succeeding crops. Fertilizer Research 37, 227–234 (1994). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00748941
Received:
Accepted:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00748941