Benefits from enhanced-efficiency nitrogen fertilisers in rainfed temperate pastures are seasonally driven
Helen Suter
A * , Shu Kee Lam A , Charles Walker B and Deli Chen A
+ Author Affiliations
- Author Affiliations
A School of Agriculture and Food, Faculty of Veterinary and Agricultural Sciences, The University of Melbourne, Parkville, Vic. 3010, Australia.
B Incitec Pivot Fertilisers, Seabreeze Parade, North Shore, Vic. 3214, Australia.
Soil Research 60(2) 147-157 https://doi.org/10.1071/SR21083
Submitted: 25 March 2021 Accepted: 12 August 2021 Published: 4 November 2021
© 2022 The Author(s) (or their employer(s)). Published by CSIRO Publishing
Abstract
Context: Enhanced-efficiency nitrogen (N) fertilisers (EEFs) can reduce N loss, but productivity and environmental benefits vary. A field experiment on rainfed ryegrass dominant pastures in southern Australia examined the effect of EEFs combined with reduced N rate on agronomic N efficiency (AE) (additional biomass per unit N applied) and apparent NUE (ApNUE) (additional plant N uptake per unit N applied) relative to urea.
Methods: EEFs examined were granular urea coated with (i) urease inhibitor N-(n-butyl)thiophosphoric triamide (NBPT), (ii) nitrification inhibitor 3,4-dimethylpyrazole phosphate (DMPP) or (iii) polymer coating (PCU). Nitrogen was applied five times over 9 months at 0–84 kg N ha−1 per application.
Key results: AE varied with season from –0.5 to 22.3 kg DM kg N−1 in late (dry conditions) and early spring (ideal conditions), respectively. AE of PCU was significantly lower than urea for the first harvest due to slow N release. Using DMPP led to higher AE than equivalent urea rates in August (at 34 and 50 kg N ha−1) and early October (34 kg N ha−1). At the lowest rate (17 kg N ha−1), NBPT generally led to higher AE than at higher N rates. Using NBPT at 17 kg N ha−1 led to higher AE than urea at the same rate in July, August and February. The ApNUE ranged from 3.6% (summer) to 68% (early spring), and decreased with increasing N rate. Using DMPP did not significantly change cumulative ApNUE (entire experiment) (34%) due to limited leaching and denitrifying conditions. Cumulative ApNUE was lowest with PCU (23%) due to initial slow N release.
Conclusion: Seasonal variations in pasture responses to fertiliser N affected the efficiency outcomes from using EEFs.
Implications: Benefits in ApNUE and AE from using EEFs rely on their seasonal strategic use combined with reduced N inputs. The initial slow release of N from the PCU could be overcome by strategies such as combining the PCU with uncoated urea, to improve ApNUE.
Keywords: agronomic efficiency, DMPP, NBPT, nitrogen use efficiency, nitrification inhibitor, pasture productivity, polymer coated fertiliser, urease inhibitor.
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