Predicting soil nitrogen supplying power for canola growth
Qian, P., J.J. Schoenau and K. Greer. 1996. In Soils and Crops Workshop Proc., pp. 541-546. Univ. Saskatchewan
Abstract
One of the requirements in addressing the nitrogen (N) demands of any crop is to be able to predict the N supplying power of the soil in which the crop is grown (Stanford et al., 1965). The N mineralized from organic matter during the growing season often contributes a significant proportion of the soil N available to plants and should be taken into account for economic fertilization and reducing environmental concern (Richter et al., 1988). Canola is a crop with a high demand for N, and for which information on N release potential from soil is useful in fertility management.
Anion exchange resin burial has been used to assess mineralizable soil organic N and has proven to be a simple and effective method of addressing relative nitrate release rates by mineralization among different soils (Qian and Schoenau, 1995). Our objectives in this study were (1) to further confii the suitability of a two week aerobic in-lab membrane incubation in predicting N release potential, (2) to develop a one week anaerobic in-lab membrane incubation and assess its performance, and (3) to establish a basis for interpreting measured nitrate supply rates to membrane surfaces in relation to region, management and plant N uptake under growth chamber conditions.
