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ARS Home » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #103468
Title: NITRATE LOSSES BY DRAINAGE FROM COTTON GROWN UNDER CONTRASTING TILLAGE AND NUTRIENT TREATMENTS ON A CECIL SOIL

Author
item CABRERA, M
item Endale, Dinku
item RADCLIFFE, D
item Steiner, Jean
item VENCILL, W
item LOHT, L
item Schomberg, Harry

Submitted to: Agronomy Abstracts
Publication Type: Abstract Only
Publication Acceptance Date: 6/24/1999
Publication Date: N/A
Citation: N/A

Interpretive Summary:

Technical Abstract: Contamination of water resources by nitrate from agricultural sources is a major environmental quality issue. We conducted a study near Watkinsville, GA, on twelve 10 m X 30 m plots, in a 2X2 factorial arrangement of poultry litter (PL) and conventional fertilizer (CF) with no-tillage (NT) and conventional-tillage (CT) to quantify nitrate losses by drainage from cotton. In 1997 mean nitrate loss from CT and NT was 8.9 and 8.2 kg/ha (P>0.73), respectively, and 10.3 and 6.5 kg/ha from PL and CF (P=0.007) , respectively. We consider the latter difference biologically unimportant which may have been due, in part, to a larger than expected N mineralization from PL. There was no drainage in 1998 cotton season due to limited rainfall. These are encouraging results for producers engaged in cotton production under no-tillage with poultry litter.