Abstract
The effect of the timing of N fertilizer application on the uptake and partitioning of N within the crop and the yield of tubers has been studied in two experiments. In 1985 either none, 8 or 12 g N m−2 was applied and in 1986 none, 12 or 18 g N m−2. Fertilizer N was applied either at planting, around the time of tuber initiation or half at planting and the remainder in four foliar sprays of urea during tuber bulking.15N-labelled fertilizer was applied to measure the recovery of fertilizer N in the crops.
There was an apparent pre-emergence loss of nitrate from the soil when N was applied at planting in 1986, thereby reducing the efficiency of fertilizer use. Applying the N at tuber initiation delayed and reduced the accumulation of N in the canopy compared with crops receiving all their fertilizer at planting. Foliar sprays of urea slightly increased both tuber yields and tuber N contents when compared to a single application at planting. The proportion of the fertilizer N recovered in the crop was little affected by the rate of N application, but a greater proportion of foliar-applied N was recovered than N broadcast at planting, due partly to pre-emergence losses of nitrate in 1986. It is suggested that late applications of N was foliar sprays can be of benefit to crops with a long growing season and reduce environmental losses of N.
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Millard, P., Robinson, D. Effect of the timing and rate of nitrogen fertilization on the growth and recovery of fertilizer nitrogen within the potato (Solanum tuberosum L.) crop. Fertilizer Research 21, 133–140 (1990). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01087422
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01087422