Soil nitrogen and moisture as influenced by composts and inorganic fertilizer rate

Abstract

The addition of compost may mitigate soil degradation and contribute to the soil nutrient supply in spring cereal monoculture. A field study was carried out in eastern Quebec, Canada, to assess the impact of composts from four sources and ammonium nitrate (AN) applied at different rates in spring on soil moisture and inorganic N in spring wheat production (Triticum aestivum L. 'Messier'). The experiment was conducted in 1994 and 1995 on two different soils: a Kamouraska clay (Orthic Humic Gleysol) and a Saint-André sandy loam (Fragic Humo-Ferric Podzol). Composts were applied at rates of 0, 90, 180 and 360 kg total N ha−1. Ammonium nitrate was applied at 0, 45, 90 and 180 kg N ha–1. Treatments in which AN was added to composts were also included. Thirty days after N application, profile soil inorganic N increased linearly with rates of commercial composts and AN but not with farm composts, whereas at harvest, residual soil N was not affected by composts but was increased by AN. The relative contribution of the compost organic fraction was negligible in the first year of application. Soil inorganic N at 30 d after fertilizer applications was significantly related to plant N uptake at harvest (r2 = 0.74), suggesting useful index of compost N availability. Large amounts of compost raised soil moisture content of the sandy loam by 3–5%, particularly under dry climatic conditions. Commercial composts have a small N fertilizer value, whereas composted dairy manure should be considered preferable as a soil amendment. Key words: Dairy manure compost, shrimp wastes, peat moss, wheat

Effect of de-inking paper sludge compost application on soil chemical and biological properties

“…However, an increase in soil water content in DSPC-treated plots was not observed in 1997, suggesting that the presence of undecomposed material in the DSPC was responsible for this temporary increase. Similar shortterm effects were reported previously for raw de-inking paper sludges (Trépanier et al 1996;Aitken et al 1998;Simard et al 1998a), combined primary and secondary sludges (Cambouris et al 2000;Nemati et al 2000) and manure and commercial composts (Gagnon et al 1998). For personal use only.…”

Yield response of forage grasses to N fertilizer as related to spring soil nitrate sorbed on anionic exchange membranes

“…Based on a relationship between soil NO 3 -extracted by KCl and Nop, Bélanger et al (1998) concluded that conventional spring soil NO 3 -tests are inappropriate for predicting fertilizer N requirements of wheat in Atlantic Canada. Gagnon et al (1998), however, observed a close relationship between the soil profile inorganic N 30 d after N application and wheat N uptake at harvest. Accordingly, Zebarth and Paul (1996), recommended the use of a soil nitrate test in early to mid-June in order to determine if additional fertilizer N was required for silage corn produced in south coastal British Columbia (Canada).…”

Enzyme activity and C and N pools in soil following application of mulches

“…In our case, the shorter period of treatment with mulches may have led to the type of mulch being more significant than the amount applied. Mulching with compost indicated a potential to improve N availability in soil [supported by Gagnon et al (1998)] and a trend towards an increase in total N content later in the season. This could be a result of mineralization of N compounds from the mulches and movement into the soil, as demonstrated by Havlin et al (1990) and Inbar et al (1993).…”