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ARS Home » Midwest Area » Columbia, Missouri » Cropping Systems and Water Quality Research » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #356684
Title: Using USDA-NRCS soil hydrologic groups to enhance corn nitrogen fertilizer recommendations

Author
item BEAN, G - Lincoln University Of Missouri
item Kitchen, Newell
item CAMBERATO, J - Purdue University
item FERGUSON, R - University Of Nebraska
item FERNANDEZ, F - University Of Minnesota
item FRANZEN, D - North Dakota State University
item LABOSKI, C.A. - University Of Wisconsin
item NAFZIGER, E - University Of Illinois
item SAWYER, J - Iowa State University
item SHANAHAN, J - Fortigen
item Veum, Kristen

Submitted to: Meeting Abstract
Publication Type: Abstract Only
Publication Acceptance Date: 11/4/2018
Publication Date: 11/4/2018
Citation: Bean, G.M., Kitchen, N.R., Camberato, J.J., Ferguson, R.B., Fernandez, F.G., Franzen, D.W., Laboski, C.M., Nafziger, E.D., Sawyer, J.E., Shanahan, J., Veum, K.S. 2018. Using USDA-NRCS soil hydrologic groups to enhance corn nitrogen fertilizer recommendations [abstract]. ASA-CSSA Meeting, November 4-7, 2018, Baltimore, Maryland. Paper 112268.

Interpretive Summary:

Technical Abstract: Uncertainty exists with corn (Zea mays L.) N management partially due to site-specific variability in soil nitrogen (N) supply and N loss. The objective of this research was to determine if integrating soil respiration measurements taken from samples early in the growing season with USDA-NRCS defined soil hydrologic groups could improve the ability to estimate the economical optimal N fertilizer rate (EONR). A total of 49 corn N response trials were conducted across eight different US Midwest states over three growing seasons (2014 – 2016). Using the 4-day “Cornell Method”, soil respiration was linearly regressed against site-level EONR. Without classifying sites into defined soil hydrologic groups, soil respiration weakly correlated to EONR (R^2 = 0.18). After classifying sites by defined soil hydrologic groups, soil respiration highly correlated to EONR for one defined group (15 sites; R^2 = 0.70). This research suggests using early-season soil respiration testing to estimate EONR was useful under certain site hydrologic characteristics.