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Recovery of Fertilizer Nitrogen Under Field Conditions Using Nitrogen-15¹

ABSTRACT

An experiment was conducted under field conditions to study the movement and recovery of N¹⁵-enriched nitrogen fertilizer added to soil in the forms of NaNO₃ and (NH₄)₂SO₄. The plots consisted of the soil mass inside cylinders 30 or 60 cm in diameter, which were pressed into the soil to a depth of 45–60 cm. These plots were either seeded to sudangrass (sorghum sudanense) or left uncropped. The plant tops, roots, and the soil, by 15-cm layers, were analyzed for total N and excess N¹⁵ content.

Recovery of added N¹⁵ from the 32 plots ranged between 96.3 and 101.8%, and averaged 99.0%. There was no significant difference in recovery of the fertilizer N due to the percent of excess N¹⁵ in the fertilizer, size of plot, exposure to natural rainfall, cropping, N source, or the time of application of the fertilizer. Wide variation in recovery of excess N¹⁵ occurred with core sampling and it was found necessary to remove, weigh, mix and subsample the entire soil mass from within the rims. The small amounts of unrecovered N were probably due to procedural errors in the field and laboratory, and leaching and root growth beyond the sampling zone. There was no indication of any N loss in the gaseous form.

The fate of applied fertilizer N was followed under field conditions using N¹⁵-enriched nitrogen fertilizer applied to the soil in situ enclosed by large steel cylinders. Total recovery of the fertilizer N from these experiments after 8 weeks ranged from 88 to 96%, but dropped as low as 77% after 10 months. Recovery of the fertilizer N was greater from an ammonium source than from nitrate. Retter recovery of fertilizer was obtained when the plots were cropped to sudangrass rather than left fallow. Doubling the rate of application of the fertilizer N from 336 to 672 kg/ha did not affect percent of total recovery. The 4 to 12% of fertilizer N unrecovered after 8 weeks appears to be due to a loss in the gaseous form, since special precautions were taken to restrict leaching and to eliminate errors in sampling and analysis.

¹ Contribution from the US Soils Laboratory, Soil and Water Conservation Research Division, ARS, USDA; Auburn University Agr. Exp. Sta. cooperating. Presented before Div. S-3, Soil Science Society of America: Part I, Ithaca, New York, Aug. 22, 1962; Part II, Kansas City, Missouri, Nov. 16, 1964.

² Soil Scientist, Beltsville, Md., and Thorsby and Auburn, Ala., respectively. The present address of the senior author is Snake River Conservation Research Center, Kimberly (Twin Falls), Idaho. The authors express their appreciation to D. A. Ashley, B. D. Doss, J. O. Legg, and W. H. Demar for their assistance during certain phases of this investigation.

Received for publication May 5, 1966. Accepted for publication September 12, 1966.