Abstract
Background and aims
Foliar nitrogen (N) fertilization of soybean crops is a practice that is being adopted in Brazil because soybean crops require N during the reproductive stages and certain soils have low N availability and reduced biological N fixation (BNF). Thus, low rates of leaf N are being used without scientific evidence for supporting the practice. The aim of this study was to analyze the uptake efficiency and allocation of N provided by foliar applications of low rates of urea-N during the soybean reproductive stage.
Methods
The study was conducted in Taquarituba, Sao Paulo State (SP), Brazil during the 2012/13 and 2013/14 crop seasons. Rates of 0, 650, 1300 and 1950 g N ha−1 applied at the R1 or R3 growth stage were analyzed. Grain yield, N extraction by the grains, shoots (including leaves + stems + pod husks), total plants (grains + shoots), N derived from fertilizer (NDFF), 15N accumulation in grains or shoots, and fertilizer N-use efficiency by plant (NUE) were measured using 15N.
Results
Foliar application of 1950 g ha−1 of N increased the N content in the shoots by up to 22 kg ha−1. Regardless of the year, the application during R3 yielded the highest NDFF values in the grains that were, on average, 20 % higher than in R1. However, the highest mean values of NDFF and NUE were obtained from the R3 or R1 applications when there was less rainfall. Despite the high NUE (64 %), foliar applications of low rates of N on soybean crops did not increase the seed yield.
Conclusions
Most of the fertilizer N was allocated to the grains, especially when applied at the R3 growth stage. The NUE of the soybean crop ranged from 51 to 72 %, and it was dependent on the phenological stage of the crop and climate conditions during crop growth in addition to the timing of fertilizer application. Foliar application of low rates of N on soybean crops did not increase seed yield.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Afza R, Hardarson G, Zapata F, Danso SKA (1987) Effects of delayed soil and foliar N fertilization on yield and N2 fixation of soybean. Plant Soil 97:361–368
Ahmad R, Waraich EA, Ashraf MY, Ahmad S, Aziz T (2014) Does nitrogen fertilization enhance drought tolerance in sunflower? A review. J Plant Nutr 37:942–963
Ashour NI, Thalooth AT (1983) Effect of soil and foliar application of nitrogen during pod development on the yield of soybean (Glycine max (L.) Merr.) plants. Field Crop Res 6:261–266
Bantilan MCS, Johansen C (1995) Research evaluation and impact analysis of biological nitrogen-fixation. Plant Soil 174:279–286
Banzato DA, Kronka S do N (2006) Experimentação agrícola. 4a ed. Jaboticabal: FUNEP
Barrie A, Prosser SJ (1996) Automated analysis of light-element stable isotopes by isotope ratio mass spectrometry. Mass spectrometry of soils. Marcel Dekker, New York, 1–46
Boote KJ, Gallaher RN, Robertson WK, Hinson K, Hammond LC (1978) Effect of foliar fertilization on photosynthesis, leaf nutrition, and yield of soybeans. Agron J 70:787–791
Brevedan RE, Egli DB, Leggett JE (1978) Influence of N nutrition on flower and pod abortion and yield of soybeans. Agron J 70:81–84
Delfine S, Tognetti R, Desiderio E, Alvino A (2005) Effect of foliar application of N and humic acids on growth and yield of durum wheat. Agron Sustain Dev 25:183–191
Ding H, Zhang Y, Qin S, Li W, Li S (2011) Effects of 15nitrogen-labeled gel-based controlled-release fertilizer on dry-matter accumulation and the nutrient-uptake efficiency of corn. Commun Soil Sci Plant Anal 42:1594–1605
Fehr WR, Caviness CE, Burmood DT, Pennington JS (1971) Stage of development descriptions for soybeans, Glycine max (L.) Merrill. Crop Sci 11:929–931
Fujita Y, van Bodegom PM, Olde Venterink H, Runhaar H, Witte JPM (2013) Towards a proper integration of hydrology in predicting soil nitrogen mineralization rates along natural moisture gradients. Soil Biol Biochem 58:302–312
Gabriel JL, Quemada M (2011) Replacing bare fallow with cover crops in a maize cropping system: yield, N uptake and fertiliser fate. Eur J Agron 34:133–143
Hartl W, Erhart E (2005) Crop nitrogen recovery and soil nitrogen dynamics in a 10‐year field experiment with biowaste compost. J Plant Nutr Soil Sci 168:781–788
Ju XT, Liu XJ, Pan JR, Zhang FS (2007) Fate of 15N-labeled urea under a winter wheat-summer maize rotation on the North China plain. Pedosphere 17:52–61
Jyothi CN, Ravichandra K, Babu KS (2013) Effect of foliar supplementation of nitrogen and zinc on soybean (Glycine max. L.) yield, quality and nutrient uptake. Indian J Dryland Agric Res Dev 28:46–48
Karam F, Masaad R, Sfeir T, Mounzer O, Rouphael Y (2005) Evapotranspiration and seed yield of field grown soybean under deficit irrigation conditions. Agric Water Manag 75:226–244
Liang BC, Mackenzie AF (1994) Corn yield, nitrogen uptake and nitrogen use efficiency as influenced by nitrogen fertilization. Can J Soil Sci 74:235–240
Liang B, Zhao W, Yang X, Zhou J (2013) Fate of nitrogen-15 as influenced by soil and nutrient management history in a 19-year wheat–maize experiment. Field Crop Res 144:126–134
Marschner H (2012) Marschner’s mineral nutrition of higher plants. Academic Press, London
Mbagwu JSC, Osuigwe JO (1985) Effects of varying levels and frequencies of irrigation on growth, yield, nutrient uptake and water use efficiency of maize and cowpeas on a sandy loam ultisol. Plant Soil 84:181–192
Mendes IC, Reis Junior FB, Hungria M, Sousa DMG, Campo RJ (2008) Adubação nitrogenada suplementar tardia em soja cultivada em Latossolos do Cerrado. Pesq Agrop Brasileira 43:1053–1060
Mengel K, Kosegarten H, Kirkby EA, Appel T (2001) Principles of plant nutrition. Springer, Berlin
Noquet C, Avice JC, Rossato L, Beauclair P, Henry MP, Ourry A (2004) Effects of altered source–sink relationships on N allocation and vegetative storage protein accumulation in Brassica napus L. Plant Sci 166:1007–1018
Oko BFD, Eneji AE, Binang W, Irshad M, Yamamoto S, Honna T, Endo T (2003) Effect of foliar application of urea on reproductive abscission and grain yield of soybean. J Plant Nutr 26:1223–1234
Parker MB, Boswell FC (1980) Foliage injury, nutrient intake, and yield of soybeans as influenced by foliar fertilization. Agron J 72:110–113
Ray JD, Heatherly LG, Fritschi FB (2006) Influence of large amounts of nitrogen applied at planting on non-irrigated and irrigated soybean. Crop Sci 46:52–60
Rennie RJ, Kemp GA (1984) 15N-determined time course for N2 fixation in two cultivars of field bean. Agron J 76:146–154
Rimski-Korsakov H, Rubio G, Lavado RS (2009) Effect of water stress in maize crop production and nitrogen fertilizer fate. J Plant Nutr 32:565–578
Salvagiotti F, Cassman K, Specht JE, Walters DT, Weiss A, Dobermann A (2008) Nitrogen uptake, fixation and response to fertilizer N in soybeans: a review. Field Crop Res 108:1–13
Samarah N, Mullen R, Cianzio S (2004) Size distribution and mineral nutrients of soybean seeds in response to drought stress. J Plant Nutr 27:815–835
Sas Institute. The SAS system for windows: v. 9.2. Cary, 2009
Sen S, Chalk PM (1996) Stimulation of root growth and soil nitrogen uptake by foliar application of urea to wheat and sunflower. J Agric Sci 126:127–135
Soil Taxonomy: A Basic System of Soil Classifications for Making and Interpreting Soil Surveys (1999) USDA, United States Government Printing Office, Washington DC
Stevens WB, Hoeft RG, Mulvaney RL (2005) Fate of nitrogen-15 in a long-term nitrogen rate study: II. Nitrogen uptake efficiency. Agron J 97:1046–1053
Streeter J (1988) Inhibition of legume nodule formation and N2 fixation by nitrate. Crit Rev Plant Sci 7:1–23
Taylor RS, Weaver DB, Wood CW, Van Santen E (2005) Nitrogen application increases yield and early dry matter accumulation in late-planted soybean. Crop Sci 45:854–858
Tewari K, Onda M, Ito S, Yamazaki A, Fujikake H, Ohtake N, Sueyoshi K, Takahashi Y, Ohyama T (2005) 15N analysis of the promotive effect of deep placement of slow-release N fertilizers on growth and seed yield of soybean. Soil Sci Plant Nutr 51:501–512
Tewari K, Onda M, Ito S, Yamazaki A, Fujikake H, Ohtake N, Sueyoshi K, Takahashi Y, Nagumo Y, Tsuchida T, Ohyama T (2006) Comparison of the depth of placement of lime nitrogen on growth, N2 fixation activity, seed yield and quality of soybean (Glycine max (L.) Merr.) plants. Soil Sci Plant Nutr 52:453–463
Tewari K, Sato T, Abiko M, Ohtake N, Sueyoshi K, Takahashi Y, Nagumo Y, Tsuchida T, And Ohyama T (2007) Analysis of the nitrogen nutrition of soybean plants with deep placement of coated urea and lime nitrogen. Soil Sci Plant Nutr 53:772–781
Thomsen IK, Christensen BT (2007) Fertilizer 15N recovery in cereal crops and soil under shallow tillage. Soil Tillage Res 97:117–121
Thornthwaite CW, Mather JR (1955) The water balance. Publications in climatology. Drexel Institute of Technology, Centerton, 104p
Tolessa D, Du Preez CC, Ceronio GM (2007) Fate of nitrogen applied to maize on conventional and minimum tilled Nitisols in Western Ethiopia. S Afr J Plant Soil 24:77–83
Tran TS, Giroux M (1998) Fate of 15N-labelled fertilizer applied to corn grown on different soil types. Can J Soil Sci 78:597–605
Troedson RJ, Lawn RJ, Byth DE, Wilson GL (1989) Response of field-grown soybean to saturated soil culture 1. Patterns of biomass and nitrogen accumulation. Field Crop Res 21:171–187
Vasilas BL, Legg JO, Wolf DC (1980) Foliar fertilization of soybeans: absorption and translocation of 15N-labeled urea. Agron J 72:271–275
Watanabe I, Tabuchi K, Nakano H (1986) Response of soybean to supplemented nitrogen after flowering. In: Shanmugasundaram S, Sulzberger EW, Mclean BT (eds) Soybean in tropical and subtropical cropping system. Avrdc, Taiwan, pp 301–308
Wesley TL, Lamond RE, Martin VL, Duncan SR (1998) Effects of late-season nitrogen fertilizer on irrigated soybean yield and composition. J Prod Agric 11:331–336
Xia MZ (1997) Effects of soil drought during the generative development phase on seed yield and nutrient uptake of faba bean (Vicia faba). Aust J Agric Res 48:447–452
Zhang Q, Yang Z, Zhang H, Yi J (2012) Recovery efficiency and loss of 15N-labelled urea in a rice–soil system in the upper reaches of the Yellow River basin. Agric Ecosyst Environ 158:118–126
Zhou X, Madramootoo CA, Mackenzie AF, Kaluli JW, Smith DL (2000) Corn yield and fertilizer N recovery in water-table-controlled corn–rye-grass systems. Eur J Agron 12:83–92
Acknowledgments
The authors thank Prof Joseph Polacco for his kind support and for the helpful discussions on and English grammar assistance with the manuscript.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Additional information
Responsible Editor: Ad C. Borstlap.
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Pierozan, C., Favarin, J.L., de Almeida, R.E.M. et al. Uptake and allocation of nitrogen applied at low rates to soybean leaves. Plant Soil 393, 83–94 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11104-015-2468-7
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11104-015-2468-7