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Fertilizer Nitrogen Distribution Under Irrigation Between Soil, Plant, and Aquifer¹

ABSTRACT

A field experiment was established on a Sverdrup sandy loam in Central Minnesota to evaluate the effects of amounts and timing of nitrogen (N) fertilizer applications on N uptake by irrigated corn (Zea mays L.) and the movement of N into the aquifer 4.5 m below the soil surface. Nitrogen was applied as urea at rates of 179 and 269 kg N/ha in one application at planting or in split applications through the season. Soil solution analysis showed NO₃ moving below the rooting zone in all plots with much higher concentrations below the one-time fertilizer applications. Split applications of N had only minimal effect on the concentration of NO₃-N in the aquifer but one-time applications increased the concentration by 7 and 10 ppm. The use of ¹³N showed that splitting the 179-kg rate increased the N in the plant derived from fertilizer from 33.1 to 54.5%, and increased the recovery of fertilizer N by the plant from 30.4 to 52.1%, even though whole plant yields were not affected. Nearly one-fourth of the applied N remained in the upper 45-cm soil layer at harvest regardless of treatment. No accumulation of NO₃ was found in the soil profile or underlying material to a depth of 3.0 m.

Key Words: ground water pollution • leaching • ¹³N • recovery of fertilizer N

¹ Scientific Journal Series Article no. 10,482 of the Minnesota Agric. Exp. Stn. Supported in part by the Office of Water Resour. and Technol., Dep. of Interior through Univ. of Minnesota Water Resour. Res. Center (OWRT Project no. A-034), and by the Irrigation Center, Staples Area Vocational Technical Inst., Staples, MN 56479.

² Research Assistant, Professor of Soil Science, and Research Assistant, respectively, Univ. of Minnesota, St. Paul, MN 55108.

Received for publication September 30, 1978.

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