Nitrogen Efficiency and Nutrient Absorption by a Sorghum-Oats Forage Succession

Abstract

Balance between nutrient uptake by the crop and the amount of applied fertilizer is desired in a production system, and this measurement can predict the nutrient use efficiency. The present study aimed to evaluate nitrogen-(N-) use and recovery efficiency and extraction of N, phosphorus (P), and potassium (K) by sorghum (Sorghum bicolor) and black oat (Avena strigosa) forages under nitrogen fertilization in three consecutive crop cultivation. The experiment was carried out at Federal Technological University of Paraná (UTFPR), Dois Vizinhos, Paraná, Brazil, in Rhodic Hapludox soil. Treatments included 0, 37.5, 75, 150, 225, 300, and 375 kg N ha −1 applied to sorghum in the summer seasons of 2010/2011 and 2011/2012, intercalated by, respectively, 0, 40, 80, 120, 160, 200, and 240 kg N ha −1 applied to black oat in the winter/2011. Forage production, N, P, and K extraction, and N recovery efficiency were determined through samplings during the crop cycle. The highest sorghum forage production and N and K extraction were under 230 to 300 kg N ha −1 , which was around 190 kg N ha −1 for black oat. The values of N recovery, efficiency, and N-use physiological efficiency were higher under lower N rates for both crops. Based on this, about 150 kg N ha −1 is recommended to obtain good sorghum forage production with higher N efficiency levels, which is about 120 kg N ha −1 for black oat.

Growth and Productivity of Brown Midrib Sorghum Mutant Line Patir 3.7 (Sorghum bicolor L. Moench) Treated with Different Levels of Nitrogen Fertilizer

“…The increased level of N fertilizer above 50 kg ha -1 did not affect the number of the leaves, size of leaves, and stems. These results are in line with the results reported by Restelatto et al (2015) that there was a decrease in efficiency with the increase in nitrogen rates in sorghum and oat.…”

Partial replacement of nitrogen fertilization with legumes in tropical pasture overseeded with temperate species for the production of steers

“…Restelatto et al . (2015) recommended a black oat forage production with high N efficiency levels of approximately 120 kg N/ha, a value close to the 100 kg used in the current experiment.…”

Sorghum biomass production in the continental United States and its potential impacts on soil organic carbon and nitrous oxide emissions

“…Sorghum is dominantly grown in Southern United States as a result, there is lack of data on agricultural management for sorghum over continental United States. We used a constant fertilizer application rate of 120 kg N/ha based on the recommendation for the economic yield of dryland sorghum cultivation (Ogunlela, 1988; Restelatto, Pavinato, Sartor, Einsfeld, & Baldicera, 2015). Other limitations of this study include the use of constant phenotype and parameter representation over space and time.…”