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ARS Home » Midwest Area » Morris, Minnesota » Soil Management Research » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #112431
Title: USDA'S NITROGEN DECISION AID: WILL IT WORK WITH COTTON?

Author
item Olness, Alan

Submitted to: Cotton Grower Magazine
Publication Type: Popular Publication
Publication Acceptance Date: 5/23/2000
Publication Date: N/A
Citation: N/A

Interpretive Summary:

Technical Abstract: Accurate nitrogen (N) management is a goal of the agricultural crop production industry. A recently developed N fertilizer decision aid has been released on the Internet. It was designed for corn but may be useful for other crops. The decision aid relies on the fact that terrestrial plants prefer nitrate-N as their N source. Variance in N use efficiency results because soil microbial communities produce nitrate-N from soil organic matter. Soil microbial activity is affected by several factors. Among them are: soil aeration, soil bulk density, soil pH, soil water content and soil temperature. Special mathematical equations describe each factor and the equations are combined in a computer driven decision aid. The computer aid predicts the amounts of nitrate-N produced by soil microbes and subtracts this amount from a critical level. The difference is the amount of N that needs to be supplied as fertilizer by the producer. .By using the decision aid, it is expected that efficiency of fertilizer N use will be improved.