BELTSVILLE, Md. -
Why is no-till com more
susceptible to nitrogen
deficiency than tilled com?
Because, as USDA scientists
discovered recently,
microorganisms hog the
available nitrogen, causing
leaves to yellow and yields to
drop.
“When farmers use less
than the optimal amount of
nitrogen fertilizer on
nitrogen-poor soil, the plants
are competing with
microorganisms that
decompose the crop residue.
In a sense, the
microorganisms win out,”
says soil scientist George
Stanford of USDA’s Science
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Here’s why no-till com needs extra nitrogen
and Education Ad
ministration.
Stanford bases his
statement on findings from a
4-year - cooperative study
between SEA soil scientists
and University of Maryland
agronomists. Until now,
scientists had blamed the
nitrogen loss on leaching.
The researchers apply five
rates of inorganic nirtogen
fertilizer, ranging from 0 to
160 pounds per acre, on no
till and conventionally tilled
plots at two locations in
Maryland.
One location had soil rich
in organic matter while the
other had nitrogen-poor soil.
In fertile soil, yields of
com (grain and stover) from
no-till and tilled plots were
about equal for all rates
tested, but in nitrogen-poor
soil, yields from no-tillage
fell behind when less than
120 pounds of fertilizer was
applied per acre.
The reduction in yield was
about proportional to the
reduction in nitrogen fer
tilizer, Stanford said.
He points out, however,
that these and other tests
show that no-till and con
ventional tillage require
about the same amount of
fertilizer nitrogen to produce
top yields.
By using fertilizer con
taining labelled nitrogen the
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scientists could trace the
nitrogen’s movement. They
located about 80 percent of
the nitrogen in both till and
no-till plots, but found a
difference in its distribution
in the nitrogen-poor, no-till
plots when fertilizer was
suboptiomal.
About half the nitrogen
was in the soil, and half m
the com, at the 120-pound
rate. At the 40-pound rate,
however, fertilizer nitrogen
was about three times higher
in the soil than in com grain,
mostly tied up by the army
of microorganisms
decomposing the crop
residue.
Microorganisms, which
Lancaster Farming, Saturday, February 9,1980—C45
contain about 5 percent
nitrogen, begin multiplying
in the early part of the
growing season when com
seedlings don’t require much
nitrogen. These bacteria and
fungi are a potential source
of nitrogen for future crops,
but during the first few years
of no-till cultivation they
immobolize the limited
supply when the com needs
it most after midseason,
explained SEA’s Joseph
Legg-
The cure for nitrogen
deficiency is simple in
crease nitrogen fertilizer.
How much? University of
Maryland agronomy
professor collaborating on
the study, V.A. Bandel,
recommends farmers in
Maryland use 120 pounds per
acre for a yield goal of 100
Sheep 9 lamb inventory
np 6 percent in 1980
HARRISBURG - In
ventory of sheep and lambs
on Pennsylvania farms on
January 1, 1980 at 85,000
head was up six pecent from
last year according to the
Pennsylvania Crop
Reporting Service.
Inventory value was
$3,185,000 compared with
last year’s value of
$3,720,000. Pennsylvania's
1979 lamb crop was
estimated at 60,000 head,
down three percent from
1978. The lambing rate was
102 per 100 ewes one year
and older m 1979 compared
with 103 per 100 in 1978.
bushels.
“A farmer has to know his
field,” he adds. “If he has a
highly fertile field due to
manuring or rotation with
legumes he can reduce
nitrogen accordingly. ”
Acreage under no-till
cultivation has increased
steadily over the last few
years due to several ad
vantages. Water infiltrates
better, making crops more
resistant to drought con-
ditions. No-till reduces soil
erosion, saves time and
labor, and reduces fuel
consumption.
However, SEA’s John
Meisinger says, savings in
fuel costs may be offset by
the cost of additional her
bicides needed to control
problem weeds in no-till
cultivation.
Sheep and lamb number m
the United States on January
1, 1980 totaled 12.5
imlbon head, up two percent
from the record low 12.2
million head a year earlier.
The inventory value of all
sheep and lambs on January
1, 1980 totaled $974 million,
up 11 percent from a year
ago.
The 1979 lamb crop of 8.04
million head increased less
than one percent from the
crop of 1978. The nation’s
1979 lambing rate was 98
lambs per 100 ewes, com
pared with 94 in 1978 and 97
m 1977.