Abstract
Although maize production in southeastern USA depends heavily on fertilizers, concerns over NO3 - leaching have renewed interest in green manure legumes. Soil cores were extracted from a clayey, kaolinitic thermic Typic Kanhapludult in the North Carolina Piedmont in 1996 and fertilizer (K15NO3), 15N- enriched clover (Trifolium incarnatum L.) and no N (control) applied in 1997. Nitrogen movement in the soil/plant system was monitored 1997 and 1998. Clover residues mineralized rapidly (70% within 6 wk), treatments affected dry matter accumulation in maize in 1997 only, and total N content in vegetation (maize + weeds) was not affected any year. Treatments did not affect recovery of applied N in vegetation in 1997, but in 1998, more clover than fertilizer N was recovered (3.4% vs. 1.0%). More clover than fertilizer N was recovered in the organic (86.7% vs. 34.3%) and inorganic (3.6% vs. 1.8%) soil N pools in 1997 and in the organic soil N pool (91.3 vs. 21.3%) in 1998. Within the surface 0–25 cm, more clover than fertilizer N remained as organic N in 1997 (clover = 65% vs. fertilizer = 18%) and 1998 (clover = 70% vs. fertilizer = 14%), thereby underscoring the importance of green manure legumes in maintenance of long term soil fertility. Nitrate leaching (∼1 m depth) was negligible both years; therefore higher loading rates can be applied to this soil. More fertilizer N and more clover N was recovered in the initial year of this study than reported previously for southeastern USA
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Muriuki, A.W., King, L.D., Volk, R.J. (2007). Nitrogen-15 Recovery in Cropped Soil Cores Fertilized With Potassium Nitrate and Clover Residues. In: Bationo, A., Waswa, B., Kihara, J., Kimetu, J. (eds) Advances in Integrated Soil Fertility Management in sub-Saharan Africa: Challenges and Opportunities. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4020-5760-1_35
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