Studies of nitrogen losses from fertilized Bowdoin clay soil by Gilbert Schumaker A THESIS Submitted to the Graduate Faculty in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Science in Soils Montana State University © Copyright by Gilbert Schumaker (1959) Abstract: Nitrogen losses from Bowdoin clay were studied in the greenhouse. Nitrogen uptake in barley was used as an indicator of nitrogen loss in ammonium and nitrate forms by applying these sources to the clay soil and allowing the barley to mature. Two greenhouse experiments were conducted applying nitrogen sources to Bowdoin clay. Nitrogen materials were applied on the soil surface at four rates with two levels of moisture in the first experiment. More than 50% of the applied nitrogen was recovered from the nitrate source treatment. Nitrogen recovery from the ammonium-treated pots was much less—15 to 20%. Differences were noted in the application of nitrogen at different rates; no differences were noted between moisture treatments. The nitrogen materials were mixed with the soil in a second experiment to observe the effect of placement on nitrogen uptake, again assuming nitrogen uptake to be an indicator of nitrogen loss. Results showed a recovery of 80 to 90% of the applied nitrogen. Nitrogen loss in the ammoniacal form was measured from Bowdoin clay in the laboratory. The clay soil has the ammonium-fixing capacity of 8 meq. per 100 gm. of soil, much larger than in most soils. Some volatilization of ammonia was measured; however, the amounts measured were small, with the largest loss being 7% of the nitrogen applied. These determinations do not necessarily account for all the ammonium source loss measured in the greenhouse experiment with nitrogen application on the soil surface. It is possible that some of the ammonium nitrogen became positionally unavailable. It was shown in these studies that losses from the surface application of the ammonia source of nitrogen can be overcome by the surface application of the nitrate source or by deeper placement of any of the fertilizer materials studied. STUDIES OF NITROGEN LOSSES FROM FERTILIZED BOWDOIN CLAY SOIL by GILBERT SCHUMAKER 'Pl A THESIS Subm itted to the Graduate F acu lty in partial f u l f i l l m e n t of the requirem ents f o r th e degree of Master o f Science in S o ils at Montana S t a t e C o l l e g e Approved» Head, M ajo r D e p a r t m e n t Bozeman, Montana A u g u s t , 1959 2 ACKNOWLEDGEMENT The w r i t e r w i s h e s t o e x p r e s s h i s a p p r e c i a t i o n and t h a n k s t o D r . Mo Go K l a g e s ■f o r h i s h e l p f u l g u i d a n c e w h i l e c o n d u c t i n g t h e r e s e a r c h on t h e t h e s i s p r o b l e m and a l s o f o r t h e many s u g g e s t i o n s he g a v e d u r i n g the w ritin g of th is t h e s i s . An e x p r e s s i o n o f t h a n k s i s a l s o t o be e x t e n d e d t o D r . J . C. Hid e and D r . Hayden F e r g u s o n f o r t h e i r t i m e and e f f o r t spent in reviewing the m anuscript. The w r i t e r w i s h e s t o t h a n k Dr. P a u l Brown f o r t h e a s s i s t a n c e he r e n d e r e d and Mr. David D i c k e y , who a l s o ga v e a s s i s t a n c e on s e v e r a l p h a s e s of th e r e s e a r c h d u rin g th e absence of th e w r i t e r . The c o o p e r a t i o n and s u p p o r t from t h e U. S . D e p a r t m e n t o f A g r i c u l t u r e , A g r i c u l t u r a l R e s e a r c h S e r v i c e , W e st e rn S o i l and W ate r Management R e s e a r c h Branch, i s a ls o acknowledged. S p e c ia l thanks are a ls o extended to D r . F r a n k G. V i e t s , J r . , o f t h e A g r i c u l t u r a l R e s e a r c h S e r v i c e , f o r h i s v a l u a b l e s u g g e s t i o n s i n ,the p l a n n i n g o f t h e v a r i o u s p h a s e s o f t h e r e s e a r c h . The w r i t e r a l s o g r a t e f u l l y a c k n ow l ed g e s t h e c o o p e r a t i o n and e n c o u r a g e - , ment from many o t h e r s who were a s s o c i a t e d w i t h t h e t h e s i s p r o b l e m and t h e com pletion of the t h e s i s . / 3 TABLE OF CONTENTS Page ACKNOWLEDGEMENT . 2 TABLE OF CONTENTS 3 LIST OF TABLES. . 5 C ontext Tables 5 Appendi x T a b l e s '6 LIST OF FIGURES . . 0 9 0 0 0 ABSTRACT. . . . . . 0 0 0 0 0 8 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 9 0 0 0 INTRODUCTION. . . . 9 10 REVIEW OF LITERATURE o o o o o o e o o o o o e o o e e e o e o o o o 12 N i t r o g e n Loss by Ammonium F i x a t i o n 13 V o l a t i l i z a t i o n o f Ammonia.................... 15 L o s s e s by D e n i t r i f i c a t i o n .................... 18 L o s s e s from N i t r i t e N i t r o g e n . . . 19 22 MATERIALS AND METHODS . . . . . . . . . G r e e n h o u s e E x p e r i m e n t s ........................................................................................... 22 A g g r e g a t i o n M easure ments . . . . . 24 ............................................................... Ammonia V o l a t i l i z a t i o n . . . . . . . . . . . . F i x a t i o n o f Ammonium ........................ . . ........................ ........................ . . . . . . . . . 25 27 ................................................ 27 S t a t i s t i c a l P r o c e d u r e s ...................." .............................. .... ................................. 28 S o il Analyses. . . . . . . . . . . . . . EXPERIMENTAL RESULTS. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . S o il Analyses. ........................................................................................... 29 . . . . 29 .................................................................................. 35 A g g r e g a t i o n A n a l y s e s . ................................ ........................ ................................. 56 Greenhouse Experim ents . . EXPERIMENTAL RESULTS c o n t i n u e d Ammonium F i x a t i o n . .................................. Ammonia V o l a t i l i z a t i o n Measurement DISCUSSION. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . SUMMARY AND CONCLUSIONS . . . . . . . . LITERATURE CITED. . . . . . . . . . . . APPENDIX 5 LIST OF TABLES Page Context Tables Table I . Table I I . Table I I I . T a b l e IV. T a b l e V. T a b l e VI. N i t r o g e n r a t e s and s o u r c e s u s e d f o r g r e e n h o u s e e x p e r i m e n t on Bowdoin c l a y . ..................................................... 23 N i t r o g e n s a l t s a p p l i e d t o Bowdoin c l a y f o r t h e m ea s u r em e nt o f ammonia v o l a t i l i z a t i o n ( m i l l i ­ grams o f n i t r o g e n a p p l i e d t o 100 gm. o f s o i l ) . . . 26 P a r t i c l e s i z e d i s t r i b u t i o n o f Bowdoin c l a y s u r f a c e s o i l as d e t e r m i n e d by t h e p i p e t t e m et h o d . . . . . . . . . . . . ........................ . . . . . 30 S p e c i f i c s u r f a c e o f Bowdoin c l a y as m ea s u r ed by t h e e t h y l e n e g l y c o l r e t e n t i o n m et h o d. . . . i . . . 31 Me asu re men t o f v a r i o u s s o i l c h a r a c t e r i s t i c s o f Bowdoin c l a y . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32 P e r c e n t m o i s t u r e r e t a i n e d by Bowdoin c l a y u n d e r v a r i o u s t e n s i o n s . .......................................................... ... 33 Table V I I . . Average p l a n t h e i g h t o f m a t u r e b a r l e y t r e a t e d ' ' Y / w i t h s u r f a c e a p p l i c a t i o n s o f n i t r o g e n and m o i s t u r e ; ' , . m a i n t a i n e d a t two l e v e l s . ................................................ 37 Table V III. Av er ag e w e i g h t o f p l a n t m a t e r i a l h a r v e s t e d w i t h s u r f a c e a p p l i c a t i o n s of n i t r o g e n ............................................ 39 M u l t i p l e c o m p a r i s o n t e s t s f o r mean s e p a r a t i o n o f t o t a l b a r l e y p l a n t m a t e r i a l w e i g h t s ............................. 40 Av erage m i l l i g r a m s o f n i t r o g e n u p t a k e i n b a r l e y p l a n t m a t e r i a l w i t h s u r f a c e a p p l i c a t i o n s of nitrogen. . . . . . . . . ....................................... . . . . 48 T a b l e IX. T a b l e X. T a b l e XI. Table X II. M u l t i p l e c o m p a r i s o n t e s t s f o r mean s e p a r a t i o n o f n i t r o g e n c o n t e n t d a t a fro m g r e e n h o u s e e x p e r i m e n t . . 49 Aver age m i l l i g r a m s o f n i t r o g e n r e c o v e r e d above c h e c k t r e a t m e n t s and p e r c e n t n i t r o g e n r e c o v e r e d o f added n i t r o g e n ( s u r f a c e a p p l i c a t i o n s o f nitrogen) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .................... . . 51 6 Page Table X I I I . T a b l e XIV. T a b l e XV. T a b l e XVI. T a b l e XVII. Table XVIII. Average w e i g h t o f p l a n t m a t e r i a l when n i t r o g e n m a t e r i a l s were mixed w i t h t h e s o i l ....................................... 52 Av erage m i l l i g r a m s o f n i t r o g e n u p t a k e when n i t r o g e n m a t e r i a l s were mixed w i t h t h e s o i l 53 . . . . Average m i l l i g r a m s o f n i t r o g e n r e c o v e r e d above c h e c k t r e a t m e n t s and p e r c e n t r e c o v e r e d o f added n i t r o g e n ( n i t r o g e n mixed w i t h t h e s o i l ) . . . . . . 54 Measurement o f d i s p e r s i o n r a t i o o f u n t r e a t e d Bowdoin c l a y and s o i l t r e a t e d w i t h n i t r o g e n m a t e r i a l s (grams o f s i l t p l u s c l a y i n a l i t e r s u s p e n s i o n o f a 50-gm. s o i l s a m p l e ) ........................ 57 M easure ment o f ammonium f i x a t i o n i n Bowdoin c l a y u n d e r a i r - d r y c o n d i t i o n s . ........................................... 58 M i l l i e q u i v a l e n t s o f ammonia v o l a t i l i z e d from Bowdoin c l a y . .................................................................................. ■. 59 Appendix T a b l e s T a b l e XIX. T a b l e XX. T a b l e XXI. T a b l e XXII. Table XXIII. T a b l e XXIV. T a b l e XXV. T i l l e r i n g d a t a o f b a r l e y f e r t i l i z e d on t h e s o i l s u r f a c e ( p o t s t h i n n e d t o 10 p l a n t s ) . . . .................... 71 T i l l e r i n g d a t a o f b a r l e y when f e r t i l i z e r was mixed w i t h t h e s o i l ( p o t s t h i n n e d t o 10 p l a n t s ) . . 72 A nalysis of v a ria n ce of to ta l, b a rle y p la n t m a te ria l weight (n itro g e n a p p lic a tio n s a t s o i l s u r f a c e ). ............................................................................. 73 Aver age w e i g h t o f b a r l e y g r a i n h a r v e s t e d w i t h s u r f a c e a p p l i c a t i o n s o f n i t r o g e n . . .................................. 74 .Analysis of v a r i a n c e o f b a r l e y g r a i n w e ig h t w i t h s u r f a c e a p p l i c a t i o n s o f n i t r o g e n ............................. 75 M u l t i p l e c o m p a r i s o n t e s t s f o r mean s e p a r a t i o n of b a r l e y g r a i n t r e a t m e n t w e i g h t s ........................ .... 76 P e r c e n t n i t r o g e n i n b a r l e y g r a i n and s t r a w w i t h n i t r o g e n t r e a t m e n t s on t h e s o i l s u r f a c e ......................... 77 7 Page T a b l e XXVI. T a b l e XXVII. T a b l e XXVIII. T a b l e XXIX. T a b l e XXX. T a b l e XXXI. , T a b l e XXXII. Grams o f g r a i n and s t r a w p r o d u c e d when n i t r o g e n t r e a t m e n t s were a p p l i e d on t h e s o i l s u r f a c e . . . . 78 M i l l i g r a m s o f n i t r o g e n p r o d u c e d when n i t r o g e n was a p p l i e d on t h e s o i l s u r f a c e ............................................. 79 Analysis of varian ce of m illigram s of n itro g e n p r o d u c e d by b a r l e y p l a n t m a t e r i a l w i t h s u r f a c e a p p l i c a t i o n s o f n i t r o g e n ..................................................... .... 80 . • Average w e i g h t o f g r a i n p r o d u c e d when n i t r o g e n m a t e r i a l s w er e mixed w i t h t h e s o i l ....................................... 81 Percent nitrogen in t o t a l barley plant m aterial when n i t r o g e n t r e a t m e n t s were mixed w i t h t h e s o i l ............................................................... ■......................................... . 82 Grams o f b a r l e y g r a i n and t o t a l p l a n t m a t e r i a l p r o d u c e d when n i t r o g e n t r e a t m e n t s were mixed w i t h t h e s o i l . ..................................................... .... ........................ 83 M illigram s of n i tr o g e n produced i n t o t a l b a r l e y p l a n t m a t e r i a l when n i t r o g e n t r e a t m e n t s were mixed w i t h t h e s o i l ........................................................................ 84 8 LIST OF FIGURES Page Figure I . F ig u re 2. Figure 3. Figure 4. Figure 5. Figure 6 . M o i s t u r e r e t e n t i o n c u r v e f o r Bowdoin c l a y s u r f a c e s o i l . . ........................................... ............................................... .... 34 C o m p a ri s o n o f b a r l e y h e i g h t when n i t r o g e n s o u r c e s wer e a p p l i e d on t h e s o i l s u r f a c e . ................................................ 36 T o t a l b a r l e y p l a n t m a t e r i a l w e i g h t p r o d u c e d from f o u r r a t e s o f n i t r o g e n ( a p p l i c a t i o n on t h e s o i l s u rf a c e ). . . . . . .................... . . . . . . .............................. 41 The e f f e c t o f n i t r o g e n s o u r c e t r e a t m e n t s on b a r l e y g r a i n w e i g h t and t o t a l p l a n t m a t e r i a l w e i g h t ( a v e r a g e o f f o u r r a t e s w i t h n i t r o g e n a p p l i c a t i o n on t h e s o i l s u r f a c e ). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ....................................... 42 Co m pa ris o n o f b a r l e y t o t a l p l a n t m a t e r i a l w e i g h t s when t h r e e n i t r o g e n s o u r c e s w er e a p p l i e d a t f o u r r a t e s on t h e s o i l s u r f a c e .................................................................... 43 B a r l e y g r a i n p r o d u c e d fro m f o u r r a t e s - o f n i t r o g e n ' ( a p p l i c a t i o n on t h e s o i l s u r f a c e ) ........................................... 45 . F ig u re 7. Co m p a ri s o n o f b a r l e y g r a i n w e i g h t s when t h r e e n i t r o g e n s o u r c e s we re a p p l i e d a t f o u r r a t e s on t h e s o i l s u r f a c e . . ................................................................................................ - 46 Figure 8 . Co m pa ris o n o f m i l l i g r a m s o f n i t r o g e n r e c o v e r e d when t h r e e n i t r o g e n s o u r c e s wer e a p p l i e d a t t h r e e r a t e s on t h e s o i l s u r f a c e .................................................................................. 47 Co m p a ri s o n o f t o t a l p l a n t m a t e r i a l w e i g h t s when f o u r n i t r o g e n s o u r c e s were a p p l i e d a t t h r e e r a t e s by m i x i n g t h e f e r t i l i z e r w i t h t h e s o i l ....................................... 55 F ig u re 9. 9 ABSTRACT N i t r o g e n l o s s e s f ro m Bowdoin c l a y were s t u d i e d i n t h e g r e e n h o u s e . N i t r o g e n u p t a k e i n b a r l e y was u s e d as an i n d i c a t o r o f n i t r o g e n l o s s i n ammonium and n i t r a t e form s by a p p l y i n g t h e s e s o u r c e s t o t h e c l a y s o i l and a l l o w i n g t h e b a r l e y t o m a t u r e . Two g r e e n h o u s e e x p e r i m e n t s were c o n d u c t e d a p p l y i n g n i t r o g e n s o u r c e s t o Bowdoin c l a y . N i t r o g e n m a t e r i a l s wer e a p p l i e d on t h e s o i l s u r f a c e a t f o u r r a t e s w i t h two l e v e l s o f m o i s t u r e i n t h e f i r s t e x p e r i m e n t . More t h a n 50% o f t h e a p p l i e d n i t r o g e n was r e c o v e r e d from t h e n i t r a t e s o u r c e treatm ent. N i t r o g e n r e c o v e r y from t h e a m m o n iu m - tr e a t e d p o t s was much l e s s — 15 t o 20%. D i f f e r e n c e s wer e n o t e d i n t h e a p p l i c a t i o n o f n i t r o g e n a t d i f f e r e n t r a t e s ; no d i f f e r e n c e s were n o t e d b e tw e en m o i s t u r e t r e a t m e n t s . The iment to as su m i n g showed a n i t r o g e n m a t e r i a l s wer e mixed w i t h t h e s o i l i n a se c o n d e x p e r ­ o b s e r v e t h e e f f e c t o f p l a c e m e n t on n i t r o g e n u p t a k e , a g a i n n i t r o g e n u p t a k e t o be an i n d i c a t o r o f n i t r o g e n l o s s . R esults r e c o v e r y o f 80 t o 90% o f t h e a p p l i e d n i t r o g e n . N i t r o g e n l o s s i n t h e ammoniacal form was m ea s ur ed from Bowdoin c la y in the la b o ra to ry . The c l a y s o i l h a s t h e am m onium- fixing c a p a c i t y o f 8 meq. p e r 100 gm. o f s o i l , much l a r g e r t h a n i n m o st s o i l s . Some v o l a t i l i z a t i o n o f ammonia was m e a s u r e d ; h o w e ve r , t h e amounts measu red w er e s m a l l , w i t h t h e l a r g e s t l o s s b e i n g 7% o f t h e n i t r o g e n a p p l i e d . T he se d e t e r m i n a t i o n s do n o t n e c e s s a r i l y a c c o u n t f o r a l l t h e ammonium so u rce l o s s measured in t h e greenhouse e x p e rim e n t w ith n i t r o g e n a p p l i c a ­ t i o n on t h e s o i l s u r f a c e . I t i s p o s s i b l e t h a t some o f t h e ammonium n i t r o g e n became p o s i t i o n a l l y u n a v a i l a b l e . I t was shown i n t h e s e s t u d i e s t h a t l o s s e s from t h e s u r f a c e a p p l i c a ­ t i o n o f t h e ammonia s o u r c e o f n i t r o g e n c a n be overcome by t h e s u r f a c e a p p l i c a t i o n o f t h e n i t r a t e s o u r c e o r by d e e p e r p l a c e m e n t o f any o f t h e f e r t i l i z e r m aterials studied. ( 10 INTRODUCTION The p u r p o s e o f t h i s d i s s e r t a t i o n i s t o d i s c u s s t h e t y p e o f n i t r o g e n l o s s o r l o s s e s w h ic h o c c u r i n Bowdoin c l a y as i n v e s t i g a t e d i n t h e l a b o r a t o r y and g r e e n h o u s e . N i t r o g e n r e c o v e r y d a t a fro m n a t i v e hay e x p e r i m e n t s on Bowdoin clay'*" hav e i n d i c a t e d t h a t o n l y a s m a l l p o r t i o n o f t h e n i t r o g e n a p p l i e d i s r e c o v e r e d by t h e hay c r o p . While c r o p s r e s p o n d v e r y f a v o r a b l y t o n i t r o g e n a p p l i c a t i o n on t h e Bowdoin c l a y s o i l , n o t more t h a n 30% o f t h e n i t r o g e n applied is recovered the y ear of a p p lic a tio n . E x p e r i m e n t s hav e shown t h a t o nly a sm all p e rc e n ta g e of th e n i t r o g e n n o t u t i l i z e d th e y e a r of a p p l i c a ­ t i o n i s t a k e n up by t h e c r o p i n f o l l o w i n g y e a r s . Thus i t a p p e a r s t h a t t h e n i t r o g e n n o t r e c o v e r e d i n p l a n t m a t e r i a l i s l o s t o r becomes u n a v a i l a b l e f o r crop u s e . L o s s e s o f v o l a t i l e forms o f n i t r o g e n and t h e f i x a t i o n of ammonium a r e p o s s i b l e c a u s e s . With t h e i n c r e a s e d u s e o f n i t r o g e n f e r t i l i z e r s and w i t h a p p l i c a t i o n s a t h i g h e r r a t e s becoming more common, a t t e n t i o n must be g i v e n t o t h e f a c t o r s r e s p o n s i b l e f o r t h e s e l o s s e s w h ic h i m p a i r t h e e f f i c i e n c y o f nitrogen use. Since n i tr o g e n l o s s e s , b e lie v e d to occur h e r e , are e i t h e r in the f o rm o f ammoniaca l o r n i t r a t e n i t r o g e n , one a p p r o a c h u s e d i n t h i s i n v e s t i g a ­ t i o n was t o m ea s u r e t h e n i t r o g e n u p t a k e by p l a n t s t r e a t e d w i t h t h e s e s o u r c e s of n itro g e n under greenhouse c o n d itio n s. The form o f n i t r o g e n l o s s o c c u r ­ r i n g c o u l d t h e n be d e t e r m i n e d , ' s i n c e a r e d u c t i o n o f t h e n i t r o g e n s u p p l y IUo S . D e p a r t m e n t o f A g r i c u l t u r e , A g r i c u l t u r a l R e s e a r c h S e r v i c e , Weste rn S o i l and W ate r Management R e s e a r c h B r a n c h , Milk R i v e r Annual R e p o r t , 1957. 11 i n t h e s o i l due t o l o s s would be r e f l e c t e d i n a r e d u c t i o n o f n i t r o g e n u p ­ t a k e by t h e p l a n t . G r e e n h o u s e e x p e r i m e n t s w i t h b a r l e y were c o n d u c t e d i n two p h a s e s . N i t r o g e n a p p l i c a t i o n s were on t h e s u r f a c e iment. in the f i r s t greenhouse exper­ F o l l o w i n g t h i s e x p e r i m e n t , a c o m p a r i s o n o f n i t r o g e n u p t a k e by b a r l e y was made when v a r i o u s s o u r c e s o f n i t r o g e n were mixed w i t h t h e s o i l . I n o r d e r t o v e r i f y c o n c l u s i o n s drawn from g r e e n h o u s e e x p e r i m e n t s , q u a n t i t a t i v e m e a s u r e m e n ts o f n i t r o g e n l o s s by ammonia v o l a t i l i z a t i o n and ammonium f i x a t i o n were t h e n made i n t h e l a b o r a t o r y t o d e t e r m i n e t h e i m p o r t a n c e o f t h e s e forms o f n i t r o g e n l o s s e s . S t u d i e s o f t h e t y p e s o f n i t r o g e n l o s s e s w hi ch o c c u r from Bowdoin c l a y w i l l be h e l p f u l i n f i n d i n g a means o f r e d u c i n g n i t r o g e n l o s s , r e s u l t i n g i n g r e a t e r n i t r o g e n economy and i n c r e a s e d p r o d u c t i v i t y . 12 REVIEW OF LITERATURE From t h e r e s e r v o i r o f s o i l n i t r o g e n , tfyere i s a c o n t i n u a l removal and r e t u r n o f n i t r o g e n d u r i n g t h e c o u r s e o f t h e n i t r o g e n c y c l e . Black (195 7) h a s e x p l a i n e d t h e a d d i t i o n and r e m o v a l o f n i t r o g e n from t h i s re se rv o ir quite f ittin g ly ? "Over e a c h a n n u a l c y c l e , some n i t r o g e n i s m i n e r a l i z e d , and some i s i m m o b i l i z e d . Some i s removed by p l a n t s , some i s r e t u r n e d i n t h e fo rm o f p l a n t r e s i d u e s . a t m o s p h e r e , and some i s r e t u r n e d . some added by f e r t i l i z a t i o n . and Some i s l o s t t o t h e Some may be l o s t by l e a c h i n g and Some may be l o s t by e r o s i o n o r added by deposition." T h i s a d d i t i o n and r em o va l o f n i t r o g e n from t h e s o i l h a s b e e n d i s ­ c u s s e d by A l l i s o n ( 1 9 5 5 ) . He r e f e r s t o t h e n i t r o g e n b a l a n c e s h e e t s o f a number o f l o n g - t e r m e x p e r i m e n t s and shows t h e t o t a l n i t r o g e n a d d i t i o n s and l o s s e s d u r i n g t h e c o u r s e of t h e s e e x p e r i m e n t s . Even when an a c c o u n t was made o f n i t r o g e n l o s t by l e a c h i n g and e r o s i o n , a l l t h e n i t r o g e n added c o u l d n o t be a c c o u n t e d f o r . I t appears t h a t the only adequate explana­ t i o n o f t h e s e n e g a t i v e b a l a n c e s i s n i t r o g e n l o s s by t h e v o l a t i l i z a t i o n of v a r i o u s forms o f n i t r o g e n and by t h e f i x a t i o n o f t h e ammonium i o n , rendering i t un av ailab le in the s o i l . Early in v e s tig a tio n s the soil i n d i c a t e d t h a t some o f t h e n i t r o g e n a p p l i e d t o was l o s t i n some fo rm ; h o w e v e r , n i t r o g e n f e r t i l i z e r s were n o t applied in larg e q u a n ti ti e s . At t h a t t i m e , r e f i n e d met hods o f m e a s u r in g s m a l l l o s s e s o c c u r r i n g a t s lo w r a t e s had n o t b e e n d e v e l o p e d . Since these l o s s e s , w hi c h wer e b e l i e v e d t o o c c u r , c o u l d n o t be m e a s u r e d , i t was concluded t h a t th ey d id not reach s i g n i f i c a n t p r o p o r tio n s . 13 It i s , however, re c o g n iz e d today t h a t t h e s e p r e v i o u s l y unexplored l o s s e s c a n r e a c h s i g n i f i c a n t p r o p o r t i o n s , p a r t i c u l a r l y where n i t r o g e n i s applied in larg e q u a n t i t i e s . I t i s n o t l i k e l y t h a t n i t r o g e n i s l e a c h e d from Bowdoin c l a y s i n c e t h e d e p t h o f w a t e r p e n e t r a t i o n i n t h i s s o i l i s a b o u t 30 i n c h e s . Th is form o f l o s s w i l l n o t be r e v i e w e d . Forms o f n i t r o g e n l o s s wh ic h w i l l be r e v i e w e d a r e s t h e f i x a t i o n of ammonium, t h e v o l a t i l i z a t i o n o f ammonia, and t h e l o s s o f e l e m e n t a l n i t r o g e n through d e n i t r i f i c a t i o n . W hile t h e f i x a t i o n o f ammonium i s n o t a l o s s i n a s t r i c t s e n s e , i t i s d i f f i c u l t t o r e c l a i m and i s n o t i m m e d i a t e l y a v a i l ­ a b le f o r crop growth. N i t r o g e n Loss by Ammonium F i x a t i o n The p r o p e r t y o f c e r t a i n s o i l s t o ch an ge added ammonium i n t o a no nexchangeable s t a t e i s t e r m e d ammonium f i x a t i o n . Leggett p d escrib es fixed . ammonium as "ammonium w h i c h i s e n t r a p p e d b e t w e e n two a d j a c e n t m i n e r a l p l a t e s , p r e s u m a b l y i n t h e v o i d s formed by t h e h e x a g o n a l ox yg en r i n g s i n t h e oxy ge n l a y e r s o f some s i l i c a t e m i n e r a l s . The e n t r a p m e n t r e s u l t s from a d e c r e a s e in th e b a s a l s p a cin g of th e m in e ra l to th e e x t e n t t h a t the d i s t a n c e b e tw e e n t h e a d j a c e n t m i n e r a l p l a t e s i s n o t s u f f i c i e n t t o a l l o w exchange r e a c t i o n s t o o c c u r. I t i s assumed t h a t f i x e d NH4 i s p r e s e n t i n m in erals i n a p o s i t i o n s i m i l a r to t h a t of K in m icas." McBeth ( 1 9 1 7 ) was one o f t h e e a r l i e r w o r k e r s who n o t e d t h e o c c u r r e n c e o f ammonium f i x a t i o n . He o b s e r v e d t h a t ammonium s a l t s added t o s o i l s c o u l d ^ L e g g e t t , G l e n E, Ammonium f i x a t i o n i n s o i l s and m i n e r a l s . D o c t o r of P h ilosophy t h e s i s , S t a t e C ollege of W ashington, Pullman, p. 2 . 1958. 14 n o t a lw a ys be r e c l a i m e d f ro m t h e s o i l i n t h e same q u a n t i t y t h a t had been added. I n s t u d i e s r e p o r t e d i n 1917, he t r e a t e d s e v e r a l s o i l s w i t h ammonium s a l t s b u t was a b l e t o r e c l a i m no more t h a n 95% o f t h e amount added. He d e s c r i b e d t h i s A llison e t a l. l o s s as ammonium f i x a t i o n . ( 1953a and 1 9 5 3 b ) , i n t h e i r work on ammonium f i x a ­ tio n , reported values o f l e s s t h a n 1 .0 meq. p e r 100 gm. o f s o i l f o r n o n - kaolinitic s o i l s . K a o l i n i t i c s o i l s do ammonium. I t was a l s o shown t h a t , n o t ha v e t h e c a p a c i t y t o f i x on d r y i n g t h e ammonium t r e a t e d s o i l s , t h e amount o f ammonium f i x e d was a l m o s t . d o u b l e d . a m m on ium -fi xin g c a p a c i t i e s Leggett 3 determ ined the o f 30 s u r f a c e s o i l s and fo u n d t h a t e i g h t of t h e s e s o i l s had a m m on ium -fi xin g c a p a c i t i e s g r e a t e r t h a n 0 . 5 meq. p e r 100 gm. o f s o i l u n d e r m o i s t c o n d i t i o n s . Ammonium f i x a t i o n i n New York s o i l s was s t u d i e d by Sohn and P e e c h ( 1 9 5 8 ) . They fo u n d t h e c a p a c i t y of most of t h e s e s o i l s t o f i x ammonium t o be b elo w 1 . 0 meq. p e r 100 gm. v a lu e s as h ig h as 5 . 0 meq. p e r 100 gm. o f s o i l were m e a s u r e d i n some s o i l s c o n t a i n i n g a v e r a g e amounts o f o r g a n i c m a t t e r . However, I t was a l s o n o t e d t h a t a b o u t h a l f o f t h e ammonium f i x e d was due t o s o i l o r g a n i c m a t t e r . They i n v e s t i g a t e d t h e amm on ium -fi xin g c a p a c i t y o f s e v e r a l s o i l s h i g h i n o r g a n i c m a t t e r and fo u nd c o n s i d e r a b l y l a r g e r amm on ium- fixin g c a p a c i t i e s in these s o i l s . They s u g g e s t t h a t t h e ammonium combines c h e m i c a l l y w i t h c e r t a i n organic f ra c tio n s in the s o i l . A llison e t a l. ( 1 9 5 3 b ) , on t h e o t h e r h a n d , e s t i m a t e t h a t s u b s o i l s f i x a b o u t f o u r t i m e s as much ammonium a s do s u r f a c e s o i l s . ^ I b i d = , p. 52. T h i s would i n d i c a t e t h a t s u b s o i l s c o n t a i n a l a r g e r 15 q u a n t i t y o f amm on ium -fi xin g c l a y m i n e r a l s o r t h e am m onium- fixing c a p a c i t y o f t h e s o i l s u r f a c e h a s be e n n e u t r a l i z e d as a r e s u l t o f ammonium r e l e a s e by d e c o m p o s in g o r g a n i c m a t t e r . They a l s o compared ammonium f i x a t i o n o f s o i l s h i g h i n c e r t a i n c l a y m i n e r a l s u n d e r b o t h m o i s t and dry treatm ents. T h e i r d a t a shows t h a t b o t h i l l i t e and v e r m i c u l i t e c l a y m i n e r a l s f i x ammonium u n d e r m o i s t c o n d i t i o n s , w h i l e m o n t m o r i I I o n i t e f i x e s ammonium upon d r y i n g . T h i s e x p l a i n s t h e i n c r e a s e d ammonium f i x a ­ t i o n f o l l o w i n g t h e d r y i n g o f some a m m o n iu m - tr e a t e d s o i l s . The f i n d i n g s o f t h e s e w o r k e r s ca n be su m m a riz ed . i s f i x e d by c e r t a i n c l a y m i n e r a l s p r e s e n t i n s o i l s . The ammonium ion The amount of ammonium f i x e d d e p e n d s on t h e amount of c l a y m i n e r a l s p r e s e n t i n t h e s o i l t h a t h a v e t h e a b i l i t y t o f i x ammonium i o n s . The amount o f f i x a t i o n i s a l s o d e p e n d e n t on t h e m o i s t u r e c o n d i t i o n t o wh ic h t h e s o i l is s u b j e c t e d when m o n tm o r i l l o n i t i c c l a y m i n e r a l s a r e p r e s e n t . Some o f t h e ammonium added t o s o i l s combination a l s o becomes u n a v a i l a b l e due t o i t s with c e r t a i n organic substances in the s o i l . V o l a t i l i z a t i o n o f Ammonia Loss o f ammonia t h r o u g h t h e v o l a t i l i z a t i o n o f t h i s g a s i s a n o t h e r t y p e o f n i t r o g e n l o s s fro m t h e s o i l . Wahhab ( 1 9 5 7 ) p r o p o s e s t h a t t h e I p s s o c c u r s as a r e s u l t o f t h e e v a p o r a t i o n o f ammonia and w a t e r v a p o r t o g e t h e ^ . so il, I t i s known t h a t , i n an a l k a l i n e ammonia i s p r e s e n t i n t h e f o l l o w i n g form s whi ch a r e r e a d i l y changed t o f r e e ammonia w h ic h i s s u b j e c t t o l o s s as a g a s : 16 ( NH4 ) 2 CO3 + H2 O NH4HCOs + NH4 OH NH4 HCO3 + H2O — > NH4OH + H2CQs A NHdOH =SE— ^ iti NHs I + H2O He p r o p o s e s t h a t t h e above e q u i l i b r i u m e x i s t s i n t h e s o i l s o l u t i o n betw een t h e s e compounds as shown. Ammonium i o n s c o n t i n u e t o e x i s t i n t h e s o i l s o l u t i o n a s lo n g as t h e r e a r e ammonium i o n s on t h e e x c ha n g e c o m p l e x . Then t h e ammonium i o n s u p p l i e d t o t h e s o i l s o l u t i o n by t h e e x c ha n g e complex becomes a p a r t o f t h e s e e q u i l i b r i u m r e a c t i o n s . , and f r e e ammonia c a n be e v o l v e d as l o n g as t h e r e a r e ammonium i o n s on t h e e x c han ge c o m p l e x . Wahhab ( 1 9 5 7 ) e x p l a i n s t h a t ammonia and. w a t e r v a p o r e x e r t t h e i r own p a r t i a l p r e s s u r e s and e v a p o r a t e t o g e t h e r i n p r o p o r t i o n s w h ic h d e p e n d upon t h e i r m olar c o n c e n t r a t io n s . As the- c o n c e n t r a t i o n o f ammonia i s i n c r e a s e d , l a r g e r amounts o f ammonia w i l l be v o l a t i l i z e d . Work by J e w i t t ( 1 9 4 2 ) g i v e s e v i d e n c e t h a t t h e c a t i o n e x c ha n g e c a p a c i t y i s a l s o a f a c t o r i n f l u e n c i n g t h e l o s s o f ammonia i n t o t h e a i r . L oss o f ammonia o c c u r s more r a p i d l y i n s o i l s low i n e x c ha n g e c a p a c i t y . He e x p l a i n s t h e r e l a t i o n o f c a t i o n e x c h an g e t o ammonia l o s s : "The b a s e e xc h an g e t e n d s t o m a i n t a i n t h e c o n c e n t r a t i o n o f ammonia i n s o l u t i o n a t a constant le v e l". S o i l s h i g h i n c a t i o n e x c h an g e c a n b u i l d up a h i g h r e s e r v e of ammonium i o n s and m a i n t a i n a c o n s t a n t c o n c e n t r a t i o n i n t h e s o i l s o lu tio n f o r a c o n sid e rab le len g th of tim e. S o i l s low i n c a t i o n e xc h an g e c a p a c i t y c a n n o t h o l d a l a r g e r e s e r v e o f ammonium i o n s and t h e r a t e of lo ss is not m aintained a t a c o n s ta n t l e v e l . Such s o i l s would be c o m p a r a b l e t o a d i l u t e s o l u t i o n o f ammonium h y d r o x i d e , i n w h ic h t h e ammonium c o n t e n t d e c l i n e s p r o g r e s s i v e l y a s e v a p o r a t i o n o c c u r s . 17 J e w i t t ( 1 9 4 2 ) and Wahhab ( 1 9 5 7 ) have r e p o r t e d v o l a t i l e l o s s e s of ammonia from ammonium s u l f a t e a p p l i c a t i o n s . w i t h t h e s o i l pH. L o s s e s were fo u n d t o v a r y Both o b s e r v e d c o n s i d e r a b l e l o s s e s f ro m a l k a l i n e s o i l s . Wahhab ( 1 9 5 7 ) showed t h a t a r e d u c t i o n o f t h e s o i l pH from 8 . 4 t o 7 . 3 g r e a t l y r e d u c e d t h e ammonia v o l a t i l i z e d , w h i l e a f u r t h e r l o w e r i n g o f t h e s o i l pH t o 5 . 4 r e s u l t e d i n no l o s s o f ammonia. M a r t i n and Chapman ( 1 9 5 1 ) a l s o m e a s u r e d s u b s t a n t i a l l o s s e s o f ammonia from a l k a l i n e s o i l s . I n t h i s c o n n e c t i o n , t h e y fou nd t h a t n i t r o g e n a p p l i c a t i o n s w h ic h r a i s e d t h e s o i l pH p e r m i t t e d v o l a t i l e l o s s e s o f ammonia to occur. They c o n c l u d e d t h a t l o s s e s fro m a l k a l i n e s o i l s c o u l d be r e d u c e d by t h e u s e o f n e u t r a l o r a c i d ammonium f e r t i l i z e r s . s u l f a t e h a s an a c i d pH. A s o l u t i o n o f ammonium The a l k a l i n e forms o f ammonia a r e a n h y d ro u s ammonia, a qu e ou s ammonia, and ammonium c a r b o n a t e , a p r o d u c t o f t h e hydrolysis of urea. T h i s o c c u r s by t h e r e a c t i o n o f u r e a and w a t e r i n t h e p r e s e n c e o f u r e a s e , an enzyme p r o d u c e d by s o i l b a c t e r i a . This is d i s ­ c u s s e d by Con ra d ( 1 9 4 0 ) . G i b s o n (1 9 30 ) i n v e s t i g a t e d t h e d e c o m p o s i t i o n o f u r e a in- s o i l s o f a wide r a n g e o f c h a r a c t e r i s t i c s . S i n c e none o f t h e s o i l s was slo w t o t r a n s ­ form u r e a i n t o ammonium, i t was c o n c l u d e d t h a t t h e h y d r o l y s i s was due t o t h e enzyme a c t i v i t y o f u r e a s e . J e w i t t ( 1 94 2) and Wahhab ( 1 95 7) b o t h showed t h a t n i t r o g e n l o s s , as ammonia, i n c r e a s e s w i t h an i n c r e a s e i n t h e c o n c e n t r a t i o n o f ammonium salts. Wahhaby ( l 9 5 7 ) fo u nd t h a t 6 . 8% o f a 25-mgm. a p p l i c a t i o n t o a san dy loam s o i l was l o s t as ammonia, w h i l e 13.4% o f a 100-mgm. a p p l i c a t i o n was lost 18 M eas ur em en ts o f ammonia l o s s by v o l a t i l i z a t i o n on Putman s i l t loam w er e c o n d u c t e d by Wagner and S m it h ( 1 9 5 8 ) . They found t h a t t h e l o s s o f ammonia f ro m u r e a a p p l i c a t i o n s was m o st r a p i d a t t h e t i m e when t h e ammonium i o n was a t i t s maximum c o n c e n t r a t i o n . The r a t e o f l o s s i n c r e a s e d as more u r e a was t r a n s f o r m e d i n t o ammoniacal n i t r o g e n , t h e n d e c r e a s e d as more o f t h e ammonium was n i t r i f i e d into n i t r a t e nitrogen. Wahhab ( 1 9 5 7 ) d e m o n s t r a t e d t h a t l a r g e r l o s s e s o f ammonia o c c u r r e d fro m a sa nd y s o i l t h a n fro m a san dy loam . T h i s e m p h a s i z e s t h e e f f e c t of t e x t u r e on l o s s e s by v o l a t i l i z a t i o n o f ammonia. Wahhab ( 1 9 5 7 ) and J a c k s o n and Chang ( 1 9 4 7 ) b o t h r e p o r t t h a t ammonia l o s s e s c a n be r e d u c e d o r e l i m i n a t e d by t h e p l a c e m e n t o f t h e ammonium s a l t below t h e s o i l s u r f a c e . The r e l a t i o n s h i p o f ammonia l o s s t o m o i s t u r e l o s s was i n v e s t i g a t e d by J e w i t t ( 1 9 4 2 ) . He fo un d t h a t ammonia c o n t i n u e d t o be v o l a t i l i z e d as lo n g as e v a p o r a t i o n o c c u r r e d . L o s s e s by D e n i t r i f i c a t i o n The l o s s o f n i t r o g e n i n t h e e l e m e n t a l fo rm from t h e s o i l t h r o u g h t h e r e d u c t i o n of n i t r a t e n i t r o g e n i s termed d e n i t r i f i c a t i o n . Bremner and Shaw ( 1 9 5 8 ) d e f i n e d e n i t r i f i c a t i o n as " t h e m i c r o b i a l p r o c e s s whereby n i t r a t e i s r e d u c e d t o g a s e o u s compounds s u c h as n i t r o u s o x i d e and n i t r o g e n " . D e n i t r i f i c a t i o n has n o t been c o n s id e r e d a s e r i o u s l o s s o r tho u g h t to be r e s p o n s i b l e f o r t h e l o s s o f s i g n i f i c a n t amounts o f n i t r o g e n i n w e l l drained s o i l s , s i n c e d e n i t r i f i c a t i o n i s u s u a l l y th o u g h t t o o c c u r only under anaerobic c o n d itio n s . However, B r o a d b e n t ( 19 51 ) p u b l i s h e d r e s u l t s w hi c h showed s e r i o u s n i t r o g e n l o s s e s u n d e r a e r o b i c c o n d i t i o n s . He found 19 t h a t a s a n d y loam s o i l c o n t a i n i n g 1 ,2 9 0 p . p . m . o f t o t a l n i t r o g e n and 64 p.p<»m'!, o f n i t r a t e n i t r o g e n l o s t 250 p.p .m * o f n i t r o g e n i n 7 d a ys u n d e r incubation. The work o f L o w e n s t e i n e t a l . ( 19 57 ) showed t h a t d e n i t r i f i c a t i o n t a k e s p l a c e i n s o i l s u n d e r c o n d i t i o n s s i m i l a r t o t h o s e fo u n d i n t h e f i e l d . T h e i r g r e e n h o u s e s t u d i e s w i t h c r o p p e d and u n c r o p p e d s o i l s r e s u l t e d i n la r g e lo ss e s under d i f f e r e n t n itro g e n source tre a tm e n ts . The p o s s i b i l i t y o f d e n i t r i f i c a t i o n o c c u r r i n g u n d e r a n a e r o b i c c o n d i t i o n s was n o t r u l e d o u t , however. I t was p o i n t e d o u t t h a t , d e s p i t e t h e f a c t t h a t t h e s e e x p e r i m e n t s were c a r r i e d o u t u n d e r good a e r a t i o n , a s o i l may p o s s e s s o x y g e n - p o o r a r e a s whic h c o u l d r e s u l t i n d e n i t r i f i c a t i o n . I n a s t u d y o f t h e d e n i t r i f i c a t i o n i n e i g h t M i s s o u r i s o i l s , Wagner and Sm it h ( 19 5 8) fou nd t h a t t h e l a r g e s t l o s s e s o c c u r r e d i n t h e Weldon s i l t loam, w h i l e t h e S h a r k e y c l a y showed l o s s e s m o st c o n s i s t e n t l y fro m t h e d i f f e r e n t n itro g e n sources ap p lied . They a t t r i b u t e d t h e s e l o s s e s t o d e n i t r i f i c a t i o n . R e g a r d i n g t h e e f f e c t o f s o i l pH on d e n i t r i f i c a t i o n , t h e work of Bremner and Shaw ( 1 958 ) showed t h a t pH d o e s hav e an e f f e c t . lo sse s of n itro g e n occurred in s o i l s above pH 5 . 0 . Significant They a l s o showed t h a t s o i l t e m p e r a t u r e was a f a c t o r a f f e c t i n g d e n i t r i f i c a t i o n . The r e s u l t s showed t h a t d e n i t r i f i c a t i o n i n c r e a s e d r a p i d l y w i t h a r i s e i n t e m p e r a t u r e up t o 25° C. I t was fo u nd t h a t n i t r o g e n l o s s o c c u r r e d m os t r a p i d l y a t 6 0 ° C. b u t t h a t d e n i t r i f i c a t i o n was i n h i b i t e d ' a t a t e m p e r a t u r e o f 70° C. L o s s e s from N i t r i t e N i t r o g e n In a d d i t i o n t o t h e l o s s o f n i t r o g e n g a s by means o f d e n i t r i f i c a t i o n , Wahhab and Uddin ( 1 95 4) s t u d i e d t h e p o s s i b l e o c c u r r e n c e o f n i t r o g e n l o s s 20 a s a . r e s u l t o f t h e i n t e r a c t i o n o f t h e ammonium (NH4 + ) i o n w i t h t h e n i t r i t e (N02°") i o n . An i n t e r a c t i o n was fou nd a t h i g h e r c o n c e n t r a t i o n s o f t h e s e two i o n s u n d e r d e s i c c a t i o n w i t h t h e r e s u l t i n g l o s s o f n i t r o g e n g a s . out high c o n c e n tra tio n s , With­ lo ss occurred through the v o l a t i l i z a t i o n of the i n d i v i d u a l compounds o f t h e s e two i o n s . Loss t h r o u g h t h e i n t e r a c t i o n o f t h e s e two i o n s was s i g n i f i c a n t i n h i g h l y a l k a l i n e s o i l s o f pH 10; h o w e v e r , t h e d i r e c t l o s s o f ammonia g a s and t h e l o s s fro m s p o n t a n e o u s d e c o m p o s i t i o n o f t h e n i t r o u s i o n wer e o f g r e a t e r s i g n i f i c a n c e i n t h e l o w e r a l k a l i n e r a n g e t h a n was t h e i n t e r a c t i o n o f t h e two compounds, N i t r o g e n l o s s m e a s u r e d fro m t h e d e c o m p o s i t i o n o f t h e n i t r i t e on d e s i c c a t i o n i s o f i n t e r e s t , ho we v e r, re p o r t t h is type of lo s s . C aster e t a l, ion Madhok and Uddin ( 1 9 4 6 ) a l s o I t may be o f s i g n i f i c a n c e i n some s o i l s . ( 1 942 ) r e p o r t t h a t ammoniaca l n i t r o g e n a p p l i e d .to c e r t a i n a l k a l i n e d e s e r t s o i l s was o x i d i z e d o n l y t o t h e n i t r i t e s t a g e , (1952), in h is d is c u s s io n o f ^ n i t r i f i c a t i o n , ammonium t o n i t r i t e lists Waksman th e o x i d a t i o n of as t h e f i r s t l i n k i n t h e f o r m a t i o n o f n i t r a t e by c e r ta in autotrophic b a c te ria . c o u l d o c c u r from t h e n i t r i t e With i n c o m p l e t e n i t r i f i c a t i o n , losses formed i f c o n d i t i o n s wer e i d e a l f o r t h e spontaneous decom position of n i t r i t e , Wahhab and Uddin ( 1 9 5 4 ) f e l t t h a t l o s s t h r o u g h t h i s mechanism m i g h t be i m p o r t a n t i n some s o i l s , M orrill and Dawson^ s t u d i e d t h e n i t r i f i c a t i o n p a t t e r n when s o i l s we re p e r f u s e d w i t h ammonium s u l f a t e . Above pH 7 , 2 , i t was fo u n d t h a t N i t r o b a c t e r , t h e 4 M o r r i l l , L, G , , and Dawson, J , E, An e x p l a n a t i o n o f t h e n i t r i f i c a t i o n . p a t t e r n s o b s e r v e d when s o i l s a r e p e r f u s e d w i t h ammonium s u l f a t e . Agronomy A b s t r a c t s , 19 58, p , 15, 21 o r g a n i s m wh ic h c o m p l e t e s t h e n i t r i f i c a t i o n o f ammonia t o n i t r a t e , go es through a lag phase, w hile Nitrosom onas. th e n i t r i t e - p r o d u c i n g b a c t e r i a , p ro life ra te rapidly. The l a g was a t t r i b u t e d t o s o i l pH. The d i s c u s s i o n o f t h e work o f o t h e r s p r e s e n t e d i n t h e f o r e g o i n g r e v i e w g i v e s e v i d e n c e t h a t n i t r o g e n l o s s e s can o c c u r i n s o i l s in a s i g n i f i c a n t p r o p o r t i o n t o w a r r a n t s t e p s w h ic h w i l l r e d u c e l o s s e s . 22 MATERIALS AND METHODS Greenhouse Experim ents A b u l k samp le o f Bowdoin c l a y was t a k e n from t h e s u r f a c e a t a s e l e c t e d s i t e and b r o u g h t i n t o t h e g r e e n h o u s e , where i t was c r u s h e d f i n e l y enough t o p a s s t h r o u g h a 4-mm, s i e v e . the sieved s o i l , A f t e r t h o r o u g h l y mix in g p o t s m e a s u r i n g 6 g- i n c h e s i n d i a m e t e r and 9§- i n c h e s i n h e i g h t w er e f i l l e d w i t h 4 kgm. o f a i r - d r y s o i l . A t r e a t m e n t o f 570 mgm. o f t r e b l e s u p e r p h o s p h a t e was mixed w i t h the s o i l . T h i s was e q u i v a l e n t t o 100 pounds o f PgO^ p e r a c r e b a s e d on th e su rface area of the p o t. Each p o t was s e e d e d w i t h 20 k e r n e l s o f b a r l e y , t h e p o t s b e i n g t h i n n e d t o 10 p l a n t s p e r p o t on emergence o f t h e s e e d l i n g s . The p o t s were s e e d e d p r e v i o u s t o t h e a p p l i c a t i o n o f t h e n i t r o g e n and w a t e r i n g o f t h e p o t s s i n c e t h e c l a y s o i l i s v e r y d i f f i c u l t t o h a n d l e when i t i s w e t . O n e - h a l f o f t h e w a t e r r e q u i r e d t o b r i n g t h e s o i l t o f i e l d c a p a c i t y was th en added. The v a r i o u s c o n c e n t r a t i o n s o f n i t r o g e n s o u r c e s w e r e added a t t h e s o i l s u r f a c e i n s o l u t i o n form as m e a s u r e d by a 2 5 - c c . v o l u m e t r i c p ipette. Th e se t r e a t m e n t s a r e l i s t e d in ta b le I . Following the n itro g e n tr e a tm e n t, th e rem aining w a te r r e q u ir e d to b rin g the s o i l to f i e l d c a p a c i t y was a dd e d . Urea was u s e d as t h e ammonium s o u r c e s i n c e ammonia would n o t be l o s t i n t o t h e a i r d u r i n g a p p l i c a t i o n . Two m o i s t u r e l e v e l s w er e m a i n t a i n e d - — t h e minimum m o i s t u r e c o n t e n t s b e i n g 50 and 75% o f t h e t o t a l a v a i l a b l e m o i s t u r e . Each p o t was we ighed i n d i v i d u a l l y d u r i n g t h e p e r i o d o f g r o w t h , and when t h e minimum m o i s t u r e l e v e l was r e a c h e d , s u f f i c i e n t w a t e r was added t o b r i n g t h e s o i l back t o Table I . N i t r o g e n r a t e s and s o u r c e s u s e d f o r g r e e n h o u s e e x p e r i m e n t on Bowdoih c l a y . N itrogen source - Cm. o f f e r t i l i z e r added f o r e a ch r a t e 300 l b s . / A 100 l b s I / A -200 I b f e . / A 0 0 5.94 265 530 795 1.44 2.15 241 481 722 1.04 1.56 234 469 703 O 1.98 3.96 NHgNOg .72 Ure a (NH4 ) .52 - CaNOg ( h y d r a t e ) 0 0 O Check E q u i v a l e n t mgm. of n i t r o g e n added 100 l b s . / A 200 l b s . / A 300 I b s . / A 24 fie ld capacity. The p o t s were a r r a n g e d i n a c o m p l e t e l y ra n d o m i z e d b l o c k d e s i g n . A s y s t e m o f p o t r o t a t i o n w i t h i n e a c h r e p l i c a t i o n was e s t a b l i s h e d so t h a t none o f t h e p o t s was on t h e o u t e r e d g e s o f t h e bench d u r i n g t h e f u l l c o u r s e of t h e e x p e r i m e n t . P l a n t h e i g h t m e a s u r e m e n ts were made a t m a t u r i t y . The h e a d s were t h e n r em o ve d , and t h e r e m a i n i n g p l a n t m a t e r i a l was c l i p p e d . The h e a d s ■ and s t r a w w er e d r i e d a t 70° C. and we ig he d t o d e t e r m i n e t h e t o t a l p l a n t m a te ria l w eight. The h e a d s wer e t h e n t h r e s h e d an d , a f t e r c l e a n i n g , t h e ( w e i g h t o f t h e g r a i n was d e t e r m i n e d . The b a r l e y g r a i n was g r o u n d i n a l a b o r a t o r y m i l l f o r t h e d e t e r m i n a t i o n o f n i t r o g e n c o n t e n t , as was t h e s t r a w t o w h i c h t h e c h a f f had b e e n a d d e d . N i t r o g e n was d e t e r m i n e d by t h e K j e l d a h l me th o d . The s e c o n d g r e e n h o u s e e x p e r i m e n t was c o n d u c t e d i n t h e same manner as t h e p r e v i o u s e x p e r i m e n t e x c e p t t h a t p o t a s s i u m n i t r a t e was i n c l u d e d as a n i t r a t e source. A p p l i c a t i o n s a t t h e r a t e o f 300 pounds o f n i t r o g e n p e r a c r e were o m i t t e d , as was t h e 75% m o i s t u r e t r e a t m e n t . The minimum m o i s t u r e was m a i n t a i n e d a t 50% o f t h e t o t a l a v a i l a b l e m o i s t u r e . This e x p e r i m e n t was c a r e d f o r and h a r v e s t e d a s d i s c u s s e d p r e v i o u s l y . A fter t h r e s h i n g and w e i g h i n g t h e g r a i n , i t was combined w i t h t h e s t r a w and c h a f f , then ground. N i t r o g e n c o n t e n t was t h e n d e t e r m i n e d on t h e t o t a l plant. A g g r e g a t i o n Measurements S in c e th e a d d i t i o n o f c a lc iu m n i t r a t e t o th e Bowdoin c l a y caused an a p p a r e n t change i n s o i l s t r u c t u r e , a m easurem ent o f th e d i s p e r s i o n 25 r a t i o o f t h e s o i l t a k e n from t h e s u r f a c e i n c h o f t h e 300 pounds N p e r a c r e c a l c i u m n i t r a t e p o t s , 300 pounds N p e r a c r e u r e a p o t s , c o r r e s p o n d i n g c h e c k p o t s was made. and t h e D i s p e r s i o n r a t i o was m e a s u r e d by d e t e r m i n i n g t h e amount o f s i l t p l u s c l a y i n t h e n o n d i s p e r s e d sample co mpared t o t h e t o t a l s i l t p l u s c l a y i n t h e samp le when d i s p e r s e d . The grams o f s i l t p l u s c l a y i n t h e d i s p e r s e d and n o n d i s p e r s e d s a m p l e s were m e a s u r e d by t h e p i p e t t e method as d e s c r i b e d by M i d d l e t o n ( 1 9 3 0 ) . Ammonia V o l a t i l i z a t i o n Measurement o f t h e ammonia v o l a t i l i z e d fro m Bowdoin c l a y was d e t e r m i n e d by p l a c i n g 100 gm. o f t h e s o i l i n 5 0 0 - c c . e r l e n m e y e r s u c t i o n flask s. A f t e r b r i n g i n g t h e s am pl e t o a m o i s t u r e c o n t e n t a p p r o x i m a t i n g fie ld capacity, a u r e a o r ammonium n i t r a t e the su rface of the s o i l . s o l u t i o n was d i s t r i b u t e d o v e r Ammonia-free a i r , d r i e d w i t h c a l c i u m c h l o r i d e , was t h e n drawn by means o f a vacuum o v e r t h e s o i l s u r f a c e t h r o u g h gas d i s p e r s i o n t u b e s , and any v o l a t i l e su lp h u ric acid s o lu t i o n . ammonia was c o l l e c t e d i n a . 0 2 N At t h e end o f I week o f i n c u b a t i o n , t h e s u l p h u r i c a c i d was t i t r a t e d w i t h s t a n d a r d sodium h y d r o x i d e . The amount o f ammonia v o l a t i l i z e d was d e t e r m i n e d by t h e d i f f e r e n c e i n m i l l i e q u i v a l e n t s o f a c i d r e m a i n i n g a f t e r ammonia c o l l e c t i o n and t h a t p r e s e n t a t t h e s t a r t o f t h e experim ent. The s u c t i o n f l a s k s c o n t a i n i n g , t h e s o i l and t h e a c i d t r a p s were connected in a t r a i n ; t r e a t m e n t s were r u n i n d u p l i c a t e and i n c l u d e d a blank s o i l tre a tm e n t. The amount and s o u r c e s o f n i t r o g e n a p p l i e d t o Bowdoin c l a y a r e l i s t e d in table I I. 26 Table I I 0 N i t r o g e n s a l t s a p p l i e d t o Bowdoin c l a y f o r t h e m ea s u r em e n t o f ammonia v o l a t i l i z a t i o n ( m i l l i g r a m s a p p l i e d t o 100 gm. o f s o i l ) . Source Urea Nitrogen eq u iv a len t in m illigram s M illigram s of m a te ria l Ammonium nitrate* 88 176 196 526 * T h e s e r a t e s s h o u l d p r o v i d e t h e same amount o f ammonium as t h e u r e a application. 27 F i x a t i o n o f Ammonium The p r o c e d u r e f o l l o w e d f o r t h e d e t e r m i n a t i o n o f ammonium f i x a t i o n was t h a t o u t l i n e d by L e g g e t t ^ w i t h a d a p t a t i o n s f o r t h e m ea s u r em e n t o f ammonium f i x e d u n d e r a i r - d r y c o n d i t i o n s . Both a m m o n i u m - c h l o r i d e - t r e a t e d s o i l s a m p l e s and b l a n k s o i l s a m p l e s t r e a t e d w i t h a volume o f w a t e r e q u i v a l e n t t o t h e ammonium c h l o r i d e s o l u t i o n wer e a e r a t e d u n t i l t h e s o i l was a i r d r y . Ammonia e v o l v e d d u r i n g t h e a e r a t i o n and d r y i n g was c o ll e c t e d in acid t r a p s . The p r o c e d u r e o f L e g g e t t ^ was t h e n f o l l o w e d w i t h t h e a d d i t i o n o f p o t a s s i u m c a r b o n a t e and c o l l e c t i o n o f ammonia i n t h e a c i d t r a p s ' f o r 16 h o u r s by t h e a e r a t i o n r e c o v e r y method he d e s c r i b e s . Sam ples were r u n i n d u p l i c a t e . S o il Analyses The p r o c e d u r e o f J a c k s o n (1 9 5 8 ) was f o l l o w e d i n t h e d e t e r m i n a t i o n " o f t h e c a t i o n e xc h an g e c a p a c i t y of Bowdoin c l a y , u s i n g a c e n t r i f u g e w a s h i n g p r o c e d u r e w i t h c a l c i u m as t h e r e p l a c i n g i o n . t h e n r e p l a c e d by t h e ammonium i o n . The c a l c i u m was C a l c i u m was d e t e r m i n e d by t h e versene t i t r a t i o n . The p a r t i c l e s i z e d i s t r i b u t i o n o f t h e c l a y s o i l was d e t e r m i n e d by t h e p i p e t t e p r o c e d u r e o u t l i n e d i n USDA Handbook No. 60 (1954). a f t e r d i s p e r s i n g t h e s o i l i n 2% c a l c i u m m e t a - p h o s p h a t e s o l u t i o n . I n t e r n a l and e x t e r n a l s u r f a c e a r e a o f Bowdoin c l a y was d e t e r m i n e d by t h e t o t a l and e x t e r n a l e t h y l e n e g l y c o l r e t e n t i o n method d e s c r i b e d i n USDA Handbook No. 60 ( 1 9 5 4 ) . ^ L e g g e t t , o p . G i t . . p» 2 3 . 6 Ibid. 28 E x t r a c t a b l e so d iu m , p o t a s s i u m , and c a l c i u m p l u s magnesium as w e l l as c o n d u c t i v i t y wer e d e t e r m i n e d from t h e s a t u r a t i o n e x t r a c t . These p r o c e d u r e s and t h e d e t e r m i n a t i o n o f s o i l pH from t h e s a t u r a t i o n p a s t e w er e f o l l o w e d as d e s c r i b e d i n t h e s e c t i o n , "Methods f o r S o i l C h a r a c t e r i z a ­ t i o n " * o f USDA Handbook No. 60 ( 1 9 5 4 ) . The d e t e r m i n a t i o n o f s o i l o r g a n i c m a t t e r was by t h e W a l k l e y - B l a c k method ( J a c k s o n , "1 9 58 ). N i t r i f i a b l e n i t r o g e n was d e t e r m i n e d a f t e r i n c u b a t i o n o f t h e s o i l - v e r m i c u l i t e m i x t u r e f o r 2 weeks as d e s c r i b e d by S t a n f o r d and Hanway ( 1 9 5 5 ) . P r o c e d u r e s o f R i c h a r d s (USDA Handbook No. 6 0 , 195 4) were f o l l o w e d i n o b ta in in g the l / l O - to 15-atmospheres m oisture e x t r a c t i o n d a t a . p r e s s u r e p l a t e was u s e d a t t e n s i o n s o f l / l O t o I a t m o s p h e r e . The The p r e s s u r e membrane was u s e d f o r t e n s i o n s o f 5 and 15 a t m o s p h e r e s . S t a t i s t i c a l Procedures The a n a l y s i s o f t h e d a t a c o l l e c t e d f ro m t h e g r e e n h o u s e e x p e r i m e n t s was by t h e method o u t l i n e d by Kempthorne ( 1 9 5 2 ) f o r p a r t i a l l y f a c t o r i a l experim ents. The m u l t i p l e r a n g e t e s t o f Duncan was u s e d f o r mean s e p a r a ­ t i o n as d e s c r i b e d by L e C l e r g ( 1 95 7 ) wher e more t h a n t h r e e means were involved. The L . S . D . was u s e d wher e t h r e e means were b e i n g com pa red . 29 EXPERIMENTAL RESULTS S o il Analyses The r e s u l t s o f t h e m ea s u r em e n t o f p a r t i c l e s i z e d i s t r i b u t i o n show t h a t the te x tu re is a c la y .( ta b l e III). A m ea s u r em e n t o f s p e c i f i c s u r f a c e d i f f e r e n t i a t e s b e tw e e n e x p a n d in g and n o n e x p a n d in g t y p e s o f c l a y m i n e r a l s . show a l a r g e i n t e r n a l s u r f a c e a r e a , The r e s u l t s r e p o r t e d i n t a b l e IV in d ic a tin g the presence of a large p r o p o rtio n of expanding-type c la y m in e ra ls . ' L V a r i o u s s a l i n e and a l k a l i c h a r a c t e r i s t i c s s o il ch aracteristics o f Bowdoin c l a y and o t h e r a r e shown i n t a b l e V. The m e a s u r e m e n t o f pH shows t h a t t h i s s u r f a c e s o i l i s s l i g h t l y alkaline. The p e r c e n t e x c h a n g e a b l e so d iu m i s above 15%, commonly g i v e n as t h e l o w e r l i m i t o f t h e a l k a l i c l a s s i f i c a t i o n . The c o n d u c t i v i t y i s n o t h i g h enough t o p r o d u c e s a l i n e e f f e c t s d e t r i m e n t a l t o m o s t p l a n t s . While t h e c o n d u c t i v i t y and. pH o f t h i s s o i l a r e low , i t m i g h t be c l a s s e d a s a d e g r a d e d a l k a l i s o i l due t o i t s h i g h p e r c e n t e x c h a n g e a b l e so dium. T he s e r e s u l t s a r e i n a g r e e m e n t w i t h Frahm ( 1 9 4 8 ) . The c a t i o n e xc h an g e c a p a c i t y i s h i g h . T h i s i s t o be e x p e c t e d i n v i e w o f t h e h i g h c l a y c o n t e n t and t h e p r e s e n c e o f a l a r g e i n t e r n a l s u r f a c e area. This giv es evidence t h a t t h i s s o i l i s high in m o n tm o rillo n itic c la y . The o r g a n i c m a t t e r i s q u i t e low f o r a s u r f a c e s o i l . The n i t r i f i a b l e n i t r o g e n i s c o r r e s p o n d i n g l y low. M o i s t u r e r e t e n t i o n d a t a a t v a r i o u s t e n s i o n s a r e shown i n t a b l e V I, w h i l e f i g u r e I g i v e s t h e m o i s t u r e , r e t e n t i o n c u r v e f o r t h e Bowdoin c l a y . The a b i l i t y o f t h i s s o i l t o r e t a i n a l a r g e amount o f m o i s t u r e a t IoW , 30 Table I I I . Sample P a r t i c l e s i z e d i s t r i b u t i o n o f Bowdoin c l a y s u r f a c e s o i l as d e t e r m i n e d by t h e p i p e t t e me th o d . % Sand • % S ilt % Clay I 3.9 21.-5 74.5 2 0 .6 24.3 75.0 Average 2 .2 22.9 74.7 31 T a b l e IV. Sample . No. . S p e c i f i c s u r f a c e o f Bowdoin c l a y as m ea s u r ed by t h e e t h y l e n e g l y c o l r e t e n t i o n met ho d. S u r f a c e a r e a - r - s q u a r e m e t e r s o e r qm. o f s o i l Total external + in tern al External •In te rn a l I 368 155 213 2 363 138 224 3 375 139 236 Average 369 144 224 32 T a b l e V. Measurement o f v a r i o u s s o i l c h a r a c t e r i s t i c s o f Bowdoin c l a y . C h aracteristic pH Value d e te r m i n e d , 7.7 C a t i o n e xc h an g e c a p a c i t y 48.25 meq./lOO gm. o f s o i l E le c tric a l conductivity 3.0 mmhos/cm. Organic m a t t e r 1.75 percent N itr if ia b le nitrogen 33.2 parts per m illion Soluble c a tio n s Sodium 2.9 meq./lOO gm. o f s o i l Potassium 0.03 meq./lOO gm. o f s o i l C a l c iu m + magnesium 0.43 meq./lOO gm. o f s o i l Exchangeable c a tio n s Sodium P o t a s s ium E x c h a n g e a b l e so diu m p e r c e n t a g e 12.5 meq./lOO gm. o f s o i l 2.3 meq./lOO gm. o f s o i l 2 0 .0 percent 33 T a b l e VI. Tension— atmospheres P e r c e n t m o i s t u r e r e t a i n e d by Bowdoin c l a y u n d e r v a r i o u s tensions. Percent _____________________________________________________________m o i s t u r e l/io 89.2 1/3 62.2 I 53.6 5 38.2 15 32.4 A t m osp he re s t e n s i o n 34 60 Percent m oisture Figure I . M o i s t u r e r e t e n t i o n c u r v e f o r Bowdoin c l a y s u r f a c e s o i l . 35 tensions is i l l u s t r a t e d in t h i s curve. Greenhouse E xperim ents Emergence o f t h e b a r l e y from t h e e x p e r i m e n t where t h e n i t r o g e n m a t e r i a l s were a p p l i e d on t h e s o i l s u r f a c e was u n i f o r m , and good s t a n d s resu lted . A l l t r e a t m e n t s showed good c o l o r and made good g r o w t h d u r i n g th e e a r ly sta g e s of the experim ent. Yellowing of t h e l e a v e s , a s ig n o f n i t r o g e n d e f i c i e n c y , became a p p a r e n t i n t h e c h e c k t r e a t m e n t s 4 t o 5 weeks f o l l o w i n g e m e r g e n c e . also ap p aren t. C o l o r d i f f e r e n c e s due t o n i t r o g e n r a t e were H e i g h t d i f f e r e n c e s due t o n i t r o g e n s o u r c e wer e n o t marked u n t i l th e p l a n t s began t o head . rep o rted in ta b le VII. ta lle r plants. T h e s e p l a n t h e i g h t m e a s u r e m e n ts a r e The h i g h e r r a t e s o f n i t r o g e n a p p l i c a t i o n p r o d u c e d P l a n t h e i g h t w he re u r e a was a p p l i e d was d e f i n i t e l y sh o rte r than o th er treatm ents receiving nitrogen. m e a s u r e d were wh er e t h e n i t r a t e s o u r c e was a p p l i e d . i n ,f i g u r e 2. The t a l l e s t p l a n t s This i s i l l u s t r a t e d During th e co u rse of t h i s ex p erim en t, b e t t e r a g g re g a tio n and an i n c r e a s e d i n f i l t r a t i o n r a t e wer e o b s e r v e d where c a l c i u m n i t r a t e f e r t i l i z e r was a p p l i e d . T h i s e f f e c t was i n v e s t i g a t e d f u r t h e r and i s r e p o r t e d i n t h e s e c t i o n on s o i l a g g r e g a t i o n . Good emergen ce was a l s o o b s e r v e d on t h e se c o n d g r e e n h o u s e e x p e r i m e n t where t h e n i t r o g e n m a t e r i a l s were mixed w i t h t h e s o i l . D iffe re n c e s in the c h e c k a n d ‘ t h e o t h e r t r e a t m e n t s became a p p a r e n t i n a b o u t 5 weeks f o l l o w i n g em er ge nc e when y e l l o w i n g o f t h e l e a v e s on t h e c h e c k t r e a t m e n t s was n o t e d . At t h i s t i m e , a s l i g h t d i f f e r e n c e i n p l a n t h e i g h t was n o t e d b e tw e e n t h e 100 and 200 pounds o f n i t r o g e n p e r a c r e p o t s . w er e o b s e r v e d b e tw e e n t h e f o u r s o u r c e s a p p l i e d . No d i f f e r e n c e s in h e ig h t F igure 2. Com parison o f b a r l e y h e i g h t when n i t r o g e n s o u r c e s were a p p l i e d on t h e s o i l s u r f a c e ; ( l e f t ) 100 pounds n i t r o g e n p e r a c r e , ( r i g h t ) 300 pounds n i t r o g e n p e r a c r e . f 37 Table V II. Av erage p l a n t h e i g h t o f m a t u r e b a r l e y t r e a t e d w i t h s u r f a c e a p p l i c a t i o n s o f n i t r o g e n and m o i s t u r e m a i n t a i n e d a t two levels. Treatment Rate ( l b s . N/A) Nitrogen source Minimum""’ m oisture-50% cm. Minimum ” m oisture— 75% cm. 0 0 0 CaNO3 NH4 NO3 Urea (NH4 ) 69.3 59.7 65.3 64.3 62.3 66.3 100 100 100 CaNO3 NH4N03 Urea (NH4 ) 93.3 82.3 79.3 90.7 87.7 73.0 200 200 200 CaNOs NH4 NO3 Urea (NH4 ) 96.7 88.3 78.7 95.0 93.7 84.3 300 300 300 CaNO3 NH4 NO3 Urea (NH4 ) 97.0 94.0 90.7 98.0 94.0 89.7 82.9 83.3 64.8 95.7 8 8 .2 82.9 64.3 94.6 91.8 82.3 M o i s t u r e t r e a t m e n t mean N i t r o g e n s o u r c e means $ Check CaNO3 NH4 NO3 Urea (NH4 ) 38 Increases I n t h e number o f t i l l e r s due t o c a l c i u m n i t r a t e were n o t e d i n t h e e x p e r i m e n t wh er e n i t r o g e n was a p p l i e d on t h e s o i l s u r f a c e . Th e se r e s u l t s a r e shown i n a p p e n d i x t a b l e XIX. An i n c r e a s e i n t h e number o f t i l l e r s was n o t e d a t t h e h i g h e r r a t e s o f a p p l i c a t i o n o f b o t h c a l c i u m n i t r a t e and ammonium n i t r a t e . Appendix t a b l e XX shows t h e t i l l e r i n g d a t a fro m t h e g r e e n h o u s e e x p e r i m e n t where t h e n i t r o g e n m a t e r i a l s were mixed w i t h t h e s o i l . T h e r e was no a p p a r e n t d i f f e r e n c e i n t i l l e r i n g b e tw e e n t h e n i t r o g e n s o u r c e s a p p l i e d ; h o w e v e r , d i f f e r e n c e s in n itro g en r a t e are e v id e n t. The w e i g h t o f p l a n t m a t e r i a l p r o d u c e d where t h e n i t r o g e n was a p p l i e d to the s o il su rface is rep o rted in ta b le V III. A highly s ig n if ic a n t d i f f e r e n c e b e tw e e n n i t r o g e n s o u r c e means and a h i g h l y s i g n i f i c a n t d i f f e r e n c e i n r a t e means w er e fo un d i n t h e a n a l y s i s o f v a r i a n c e ( a p p e n d i x t a b l e XXI) . T h e r e was no s i g n i f i c a n t d i f f e r e n c e b e tw e en t h e two m o i s t u r e treatm ents. An i n t e r a c t i o n b e tw e e n n i t r o g e n s o u r c e and n i t r o g e n r a t e was a l s o h i g h l y s i g n i f i c a n t . T a b l e IX, m u l t i p l e c o m p a r i s o n t e s t s , shows t h a t e a c h n i t r o g e n s o u r c e i s s i g n i f i c a n t l y d i f f e r e n t fro m t h e o t h e r source. The d i f f e r e n c e s due t o n i t r o g e n r a t e a r e i l l u s t r a t e d in f i g u r e 3 , w h ic h shows t h e p l a n t m a t e r i a l i n c r e a s e d w i t h i n c r e a s i n g amounts o f n i t r o g e n . A l i n e a r r e l a t i o n s h i p was found on t h i s d a t a . A c o m p a r i s o n o f t h e w e i g h t o f p l a p t m a t e r i a l p r o d u c e d by t h e t h r e e n i t r o g e n s o u r c e s where t h e n i t r o g e n was a p p l i e d on t h e s u r f a c e i s shown i n f i g u r e 4 . F i g u r e 5 shows t h e r e l a t i v e y i e l d o f t h e t h r e e n i t r o g e n s o u r c e s a t the four r a te s of n itro g en ap p lied . The c a l c i u m n i t r a t e t r e a t m e n t p r o ­ du ce d t h e m o st p l a n t m a t e r i a l a t a l l r a t e s . 39 Table V I I I . Av er ag e w e i g h t o f p l a n t m a t e r i a l h a r v e s t e d w i t h s u r f a c e a p p lic atio n s of nitro g en . Nitrogen rate ( l b s . N/A) . CaNOg gm. N itro q en source NH4 NO3 - Urea (NH4 ) gm. gm. . Mean nitrogen rate gm. 0 1 2 .2 10.9 1 2 .3 1 1 .8 100 28.7. 2 2 .6 17 .1 2 2 .6 200 36.6 30.1 2 0 .8 29.2 300 49.3 31.4 26.9 35.9 N i t r o g e n s o u r c e mean 31.7 23.6 19.3 24.9 M oisture tre a tm e n t average Minimum m o i s t u r e , 50% Minimum m o i s t u r e , 75% 24.3 25.4 40 T a b l e IX. M u l t i p l e c o m p a r i s o n t e s t s f o r mean s e p a r a t i o n o f t o t a l b a r l e y p la n t m a te ria l w eights. N i t r o g e n s o u r c e x r a t e i n t e r a c t i o n — SSR mean s e p a r a t i o n , 5% l e v e l Rate Nitrogen Mean w e i g h t Rank ( l b s . N/A) source p lan t m aterial* gm. 0 0 0 100 200 100 300 100 200 300 200 300 A B C D E F G H I J K L • ' NH4 NO3 NO3 NH4 NH4 NH4 NH4 NOS NH4 N% NH4 NO3 NH4 NO3 NO3 ' . NO3 10.9 1 2 .2 12.3 1 7 .1 2 0 .8 2 2 .6 I 26.9 28.7 30.1 31.4 I 36.6 I 49.3 ^ T r e a t m e n t c o m p a r i s o n s above e a ch b r a c k e t v e r s u s t h o s e below t h e b r a c k e t a r e s i g n i f i c a n t a t t h e 5% l e v e l . X N i t r o g e n s o u r c e means: __________________N i t r o g e n s o u r c e ___________________ CaNOs________________ NH4 NO3_____________ Urea (NH4 ) 31.7 Mean w e i g h t L.S.D. .01 = 3 . 7 4 .05 = 2.80 23.6 1 9 .3 P l a n t m a t e r i a l (g ra m s) 41 10 _______________________________________________ I------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1------------------------------------------------------------------------- L 0 Figure 3. 100 N itrogen ( l b s . 200 per acre) 300 T o t a l b a r l e y p l a n t m a t e r i a l w e i g h t p r o d u c e d from f o u r r a t e s o f n i t r o g e n ( a p p l i c a t i o n on t h e s o i l s u r f a c e ) . 42 Grain F ig u re 4. Total p la n t m ate ria l The e f f e c t o f n i t r o g e n s o u r c e t r e a t m e n t s on b a r l e y g r a i n w e i g h t and t o t a l p l a n t m a t e r i a l w e i g h t ( a v e r a g e of f o u r r a t e s w i t h n i t r o g e n a p p l i c a t i o n on t h e s o i l s u r f a c e ) . Total p lan t m aterial (g ra m s) 43 CaNO. N itrogen ( l b s . Figure 5. per acre) Comparison of b a r l e y t o t a l p l a n t m a t e r i a l w e i g h t s when t h r e e n i t r o g e n s o u r c e s were a p p l i e d a t f o u r r a t e s on t h e s o i l s u r f a c e . '44 The w e i g h t o f g r a i n h a r v e s t e d i n t h e g r e e n h o u s e e x p e r i m e n t i s r e p o r t e d i n a p p e n d i x t a b l e XXII. The a n a l y s i s o f v a r i a n c e ( a p p e n d i x t a b l e X X I I I ) o f t h e g r a i n d a t a shows t h a t t h e n i t r o g e n s o u r c e and n i t r o g e n r a t e e f f e c ts are highly s i g n i f i c a n t . a c t i o n was a l s o h i g h l y s i g n i f i c a n t . The n i t r o g e n s o u r c e by r a t e F i g u r e 6 shows how g r a i n w e i g h t i n c r e a s e d when n i t r o g e n r a t e was i n c r e a s e d . Tren d r e g r e s s i o n a n a l y s i s on t h i s d a t a shows b o t h a l i n e a r and a q u a d r a t i c r e l a t i o n s h i p t a b l e XXII I ) . inter­ (appendix F ig u re 7 g iv e s a comparison of th e t h r e e n i tr o g e n sources a t the f o u r r a t e s o f n i t r o g e n . , A comparison of the g r a i n w eight pro­ du ced from t h e t h r e e n i t r o g e n s o u r c e s i s shown i n f i g u r e 4 . The n i t r o g e n u p t a k e was d e t e r m i n e d f ro m t h e n i t r o g e n a n a l y s i s o f t h e g r a i n and s t r a w . The n i t r o g e n a n a l y s i s d a t a i s r e p o r t e d i n a p p e n d i x t a b l e XXV, w h i l e t h e n i t r o g e n u p t a k e d a t a i s r e p o r t e d i n t a b l e X. f e r e n c e s i n n i t r o g e n u p t a k e were s i m i l a r t o d i f f e r e n c e s p la n t m a te ria l w eights. That i s , the e f f e c t s Dif­ i n t h e g r a i n and of n i t r o g e n r a t e and n i t r o g e n s o u r c e were h i g h l y s i g n i f i c a n t ( a p p e n d i x t a b l e XX V I I I) . The i n t e r a c t i o n o f n i t r o g e n s o u r c e by r a t e was a l s o h i g h l y s i g n i f i c a n t . The c o m p a r i s o n o f n i t r o g e n s o u r c e s , . u s i n g t h e L . S . D . , shows t h a t t h e amount o f n i t r o g e n u p t a k e f ro m one n i t r o g e n m a t e r i a l i s d i s t i n c t l y d i f f e r e n t from t h a t t a k e n up by e a c h o f t h e o t h e r m a t e r i a l s . F i g u r e 8 shows -how n i t r o g e n u p t a k e fro m t h e t h r e e n i t r o g e n s o u r c e s c om p a r es when a p p l i e d a t t h e f o u r r a t e s . n itrate The n i t r o g e n u p t a k e fro m c a l c i u m a t t h e 300 poun ds o f n i t r o g e n p e r a c r e r a t e i s d i s t i n c t l y d i f f e r e n t fro m t h e o t h e r s o u r c e s qnd r a t e s o f a p p l i c a t i o n . t a b l e XI. This i s a ls o e v id e n t i n Grain (grams) 45 OO 200 Nitrogen ( lb s . per acre) Figure 6 . B a r l e y g r a i n p r o d u c e d from f o u r r a t e s o f n i t r o g e n ( a p p l i c a t i o n on t h e s o i l s u r f a c e ) . Barley g r a i n (grams) 46 2 O Figure 7. 100 Nitrogen ( lb s . 200 per a c re ) 300 Comparison of b a r l e y g r a i n w e i g h t s when t h r e e n i t r o g e n s o u r c e s were a p p l i e d a t f o u r r a t e s on t h e s o i l s u r f a c e . N i t r o g e n (mgm.) 47 A CaNO3 .© NH4 NO3 Q Urea (NH4 ) Nitrogen ( lb s . Figure 8. per acre) Comparison o f m i l l i g r a m s o f n i t r o g e n r e c o v e r e d when t h r e e n i t r o g e n s o u r c e s were a p p l i e d a t t h r e e r a t e s on th e s o i l surface. 48 T a b l e X. Ave ra ge m i l l i g r a m s o f n i t r o g e n u p t a k e i n b a r l e y p l a n t m a t e r i a l with surface a p p lic a tio n s of n itro g e n . Treatment Rate ' I N itrogen ( l b s . N/A) source Minimum m oisture, 50% mgm. Minimum m oisture, 75% mgm. Means Nitrogen M oisture level rate mgm. mgm. 0 0 0 CaNOs NH4 NO3 Urea (NH4 ) 103 104 103 106 94 106 105 99 105 103 100 100 100 CaNO3 NH4 NO3 Urea (NH4 ) 246 189 138 243 178 151 245 183 144 191 200 200 200 CaNOs - NH4 NO3 Urea (NH4 ) 394 276 186 356 291 181 375 283 184 281 300 300 300 CaNO3 NH4 NO3 Urea (NH4 ) 580 326 241 703 328 235 642 327 238 402 241 248 M o i s t u r e t r e a t m e n t means 49 Table XI. M u l t i p l e c o m p a r i s o n t e s t s f o r mean s e p a r a t i o n o f n i t r o g e n c o n t e n t d a t a fro m g r e e n h o u s e e x p e r i m e n t . N itrogen source x r a t e Rank A B C D E F G H I J K L i n t e r a c t i o n — SSR mean s e p a r a t i o n , 5% l e v e l Rate ( l b s . N/A) Nitrogen source 0 0 0 100 100 200 300 100 200 300 200 300 NH4 NO3 Urea (NH4 ) CaNOg Urea (NH4 ) NH4 NO3 Urea (NH4 ) Urea (NH4 ) CaNQ3 NH4 NO3 NIt^NO3 CaNO3 CaNO3 ■ ■ Mean weight. p lan t m aterial* mgm. 99 105 105 144 183 184 238 245 283 327 375 642 I I I I N i t r o g e n s o u r c e means: CaNO3 341 M illigram s L.S.D. .01 .05 31 24 N itroqen source NH4 NQ3 223 Urea (NH4 ) 168 50 The a v e r a g e m i l l i g r a m s o f n i t r o g e n r e c o v e r e d above t h e c h e c k t r e a t ­ m ent s and t h e p e r c e n t n i t r o g e n r e c o v e r e d fro m t h e d i f f e r e n t t r e a t m e n t s are r e p o r t e d i n t a b l e X I I . The a p p l i c a t i o n o f t h e n i t r a t e s o u r c e on t h e s o i l s u r f a c e as c a l c i u m n i t r a t e r e s u l t e d i n t h e h i g h e s t amount o f n i t r o g e n , r e c o v e r e d , w h i l e u r e a ga ve t h e l o w e s t n i t r o g e n u p t a k e . . The w e i g h t o f b a r l e y p l a n t m a t e r i a l p r o d u c e d i n t h e s e c o n d g r e e n ­ h o u s e e x p e r i m e n t i s shown i n t a b l e X I I I . F e r t i l i z e r m a t e r i a l s were t h o r o u g h l y mixed i n t h e s o i l i n t h i s e x p e r i m e n t . The a n a l y s i s o f v a r i a n c e shows a s i g n i f i c a n t d i f f e r e n c e due t o n i t r o g e n r a t e . t h e o t h e r t r e a t m e n t s showed a s i g n i f i c a n t d i f f e r e n c e . However, none o f The w e i g h t o f g r a i n p r o d u c e d i n t h i s e x p e r i m e n t i s g i v e n i n a p p e n d ix t a b l e XXIX, sh owing a s i g n i f i c a n t i n c r e a s e i n g r a i n y i e l d due t o t h e i n c r e a s e d r a t e s of n itro g e n . The p e r c e n t n i t r o g e n c o n t a i n e d i n t h e t o t a l p l a n t m a t e r i a l a p p e a r s i n a p p e n d i x t a b l e XXX. The a v e r a g e m i l l i g r a m s o f n i t r o g e n up­ t a k e a s d e t e r m i n e d from t h e p l a n t m a t e r i a l w e i g h t and n i t r o g e n p e r c e n t a g e d a t a a r e g i v e n i n t a b l e XIV. The a n a l y s i s o f v a r i a n c e o f t h i s d a t a shows s i g n i f i c a n t d i f f e r e n c e s in the m illigram s of n itro g e n uptake a t the d i f f e r e n t r a te s of n itro g en a p p lic a tio n . difference F i g u r e 9 shows v e r y l i t t l e i n p l a n t m a t e r i a l w e i g h t among t h e f o u r n i t r o g e n s o u r c e s a t t h e two n i t r o g e n - r a t e s e x c l u d i n g t h e c h e c k . The a v e r a g e m i l l i g r a m s o f n i t r o g e n r e c o v e r e d above t h e c he ck t r e a t m e n t s and t h e p e r c e n t n i t r o g e n r e c o v e r e d a r e g i v e n i n t a b l e XV. N i t r o g e n s o u r c e d i f f e r e n c e s were n o t ' e v i d e n t i n t h i s e x p e r i m e n t , w h i l e t h e amount o f n i t r o g e n r e c o v e r e d was good from a l l t h e s o u r c e s a t t h e two r a t e s o f a p p l i c a t i o n . 51 Table X II. Aver age m i l l i g r a m s o f n i t r o g e n r e c o v e r e d above c h e c k t r e a t ­ ments and p e r c e n t n i t r o g e n r e c o v e r e d o f added n i t r o g e n (su rface a p p lic a tio n s of n itro g e n ). Treatment Mgm. o f ■ Nitrogen nitrogen source ao o lied ' I CaNQs NH4 NO3 Urea (NH4 ) CaNOs NH4 NO3 Urea (NH4 ) CaNOs NH4 NO3 Urea (NH4 ) ' 265 241 234 530 481 469 795 722 703 M oisture tre a tm e n t average Minimum m o i s t u r e , 50% Mgm. % Nitrogen recovered recovered 143 85 35 290 172 73 476 54.0 35.3 15.0 54.7 35.6 15.6 59.9 121 138 170 Minimum m o i s t u r e , 75% Mgm. % N itrogen recovered recovered 19.6 137 84 45 249 197 75 597 234 129 51.7 34.9 19.2 47.0 41.0 16.0 75.1 32.4 18.3 34.1 194 37.3 1 6 .8 52 Table X I I I . Av erage w e i g h t o f p l a n t m a t e r i a l when n i t r o g e n m a t e r i a l s were mixed w i t h t h e s o i l . Nitrogen source Nitroqen r a t e (lb s . 0. 100 CaNGs KNOg NH4 NOo Urea (NH4 ) N i t r o g e n r a t e mean 200 Mean nitrogen source gm. n/ a ) gm. gm. gm. 18.7 1 8. 3 18.8 18.8 34.2 35.9 34.8 33.5 45.2 45.6 45.6 41.5 18.6 34.6 44.5 . 32.7 33.3 33.0 31.3 . 32.6 A nalysis of v a ria n c e of b a rle y p l a n t m a te ria l weight Variance df SS R eplication Rate Source Source x r a t e Error 2 2 3 6 22 25.7 4,074.6 Total 35 4,213.7 S i g n i f i c a n t a t t h e 5% l e v e l . * * S i g n i f i c a n t a t t h e 1% l e v e l . 2 2 .1 22.3 69.0 MS 12.9 2,037.3 7.4 3.7 3.1 F 4.16* 657.2** 2.4 1 .2 53 T a b l e XIVo Aver age m i l l i g r a m s o f n i t r o g e n u p t a k e when n i t r o g e n m a t e r i a l s w er e mixed w i t h t h e s o i l . N itrogen source N itrogen r a t e ( lb s . O 100 CaNQg KNO3 , NH4 NO3 Urea (NH4 ) N i t r o g e n r a t e mean n/ a ) 200 • Mean. nitrogen source mgm. mgm. mgm. 182 172 188 172 377 400 375 557 557 571 552 372 374 387 179 386 559 375 392 366 A n a ly s is of v a r i a n c e o f n i t r o g e n up tak e in b a r l e y p l a n t m a t e r i a l Variance df SS R eplication Nitrogen r a te Source Source x r a t e Error 2 2 3 . 6 22 0 .87,2 .0 0 2 0 .008 Total 35 .882 ^ S i g n i f i c a n t a t t h e 5% l e v e l . MS 0 .436 .00 0 7 0 .0036 F 121.1 * 1.94 54 T a b l e XV. Aver age m i l l i g r a m s o f n i t r o g e n r e c o v e r e d above c h e c k t r e a t ­ m en ts and p e r c e n t r e c o v e r e d o f added n i t r o g e n ( n i t r o g e n mixed with the s o i l ) . Nitrogen r a te Treatment 100 Mgm. ^ Mgm. N adde d r e c o v e r e d ( l b s . N/A) 200 . Yo N recovered Mgm. N added Mgm. N - % N recovered recovered CaNO3 209 195 81.6 417 375 78.5 KNO3 195 220 91.7 389 385 80.2 NH4 NO3 197 209 86.7 393 383 79.5 Urea (NH4 ) 198 202 86.3 395 380 81.2 t T otal p lant m aterial ( g ra m s ) 55 100 Nitrogen ( lb s . per a c r e ) F ig u re 9. Co m p a ri s o n o f t o t a l p l a n t m a t e r i a l w e i g h t s when f o u r n i t r o g e n s o u r c e s wer e a p p l i e d a t t h r e e r a t e s by mix in g t h e f e r t i l i z e r with the s o i l . 56 A ggregation Analyses D i s p e r s i o n r a t i o was m e a s u r e d on t h e s u r f a c e i n c h o f t h e p o t s from t h e e x p e r i m e n t where n i t r o g e n a p p l i c a t i o n was on t h e s u r f a c e . Treatments V a n a l y z e d w er e u r e a and c a l c i u m n i t r a t e a t t h e r a t e o f 300 po unds o f n i t r o g e n p e r a c r e and t h e c h e c k p o t s o f t h r e e , r e p l i c a t i o n s . . a r e g i v e n i n t a b l e XVI. R esults The c h e c k and u r e a - t r e a t e d s o i l s c o n t a i n e d s i g n i f i c a n t l y l a r g e r amounts o f s i l t p l u s c l a y i n s u s p e n s i o n i n t h e n o n d is p e r s e d sample. T r e a t m e n t w i t h c a l c i u m n i t r a t e p r o d u c e d a more s t a b l e aggregate. Ammonium 'F i x a t i o n T a b l e XVII shows t h e m i l l i e q u i v a l e n t s o f ammonium f i x e d by t h e Bowdoin clay s o il . The v a l u e r e p o r t e d i s a b o u t e i g h t t i m e s t h e v a l u e o f 1 . 0 meg. p e r 100 gm. o f s o i l , f r e q u e n t l y r e p o r t e d t o be a maximum f o r m o st s o i l s . Ammonia V o l a t i l i z a t i o n Measurement M i l l i e q u i v a l e n t s o f ammonia v o l a t i l i z e d from t h e c l a y s o i l f o l l o w i n g t r e a t m e n t and t h e e q u i v a l e n t m i l l i g r a m s o f ammonia a r e r e p o r t e d i n t a b l e XVIII. These r e s u l t s show t h a t o n l y a s m a l l p e r c e n t o f t h e n i t r o g e n a p p l i e d t o t h e s o i l was v o l a t i l i z e d i n t h e form o f ammonia. Although th e two m a t e r i a l s p r o d u c e d t h e same amount o f ammonia, l e s s was v o l a t i l i z e d f ro m ammonium n i t r a t e . T a b l e XVI. Me asurement o f d i s p e r s i o n r a t i o o f u n t r e a t e d Bowdoin c l a y and s o i l t r e a t e d w i t h n i t r o g e n m a t e r i a l s (grams o f s i l t p l u s c l a y i n a l i t e r s u s p e n s i o n o f a 50-gm. s o i l sample). Treatment Rate Nitrogen ( l b s . N/A) source 0 Check Cm. p e r l i t e r s i l t + c la y in suspension Undispersed D ispersed Rep. 300 CaNOg U r e a (NH4 ) Dispersion ratio .68 .61 .61 .63 Average dispersion ratio 31.6 28.5 4 6 .4 4 6 .9 28.9 47.3 14.8 18.4 18.4 I 2 3 27.6 17.6 19.4 47.9 47.0 47.5 20.3 29.4 28.1 .58 .37 .41 .4 5 I 2 3 31.2 36.6 29.4 47 .0 15.8 48.4 48.4 1 1 .8 19.0 .66 .75 .61 .67 "I 2 3 300 Cm. s i l t + clay aggregated . A n a l y s i s o f v a r i a n c e o f a g g r e g a t e d s i l t p l u s c l a y (g ra m s) if Source SS C R eplication Treatment Error 2 2 4 35.9 187.2 47.2 Total ■ 8 '■ 270.3 MS 1 7 .9 5 93.6 F 1.52 7 . 93* 1 1 .8 T r e a t m e n t means— grams o f s i l t p l u s c l a y a g g r e g a t e d Check .17.2 CaNOg 25.9 L.S.D. „05 = 6 . 4 7 Urea (NH4 ) 15.5 58 T a b l e XVII. Measurement o f ammonium f i x a t i o n i n Bowdoin c l a y u n d e r a i r dry c o n d itio n s . Sample I M i l l i e q u i v a l e n t s o f ammonium f i x e d p e r 100 gm. o f s o i l 7.20 . 2 Average 10.40 8.80 59 Table XVIII. M i l l i e q u i v a l e n t s o f ammonia v o l a t i l i z e d fro m Bowdoin c l a y . Urea (NH4 ) NH4 NO3 Treatment % Meq. v olatilized Mgm. o f nitrogen .v o l a t i l i z e d V olatilized o f added m aterial 8 8 .2 .4 9 6.77 7.7 8 8 .1 8 Mgm. o f nitrogen a p p l i e d as ammonia 2.82 3.2 60 DISCUSSION The r e s u l t s p r e s e n t e d fro m t h e g r e e n h o u s e s t u d i e s s u g g e s t t h a t n i t r o g e n l o s s c o u l d be t h r o u g h any o f t h r e e m e a n s . The p r e s e n c e o f a l a r g e i n t e r n a l s u r f a c e a r e a o f t h e c l a y m i n e r a l s i n t h e s o i l would i n d i c a t e t h e p o s s i b i l i t y o f ammonium f i x a t i o n . Since th e s o i l is s l i g h t l y a l k a l i n e , t h e v o l a t i l i z a t i o n o f ammonia c o u l d be e x p e c t e d t o occur during the drying of the m oist c la y . A lso, s u r f a c e a p p l i c a t i o n of t h e f e r t i l i z e r m a t e r i a l c o u l d r e s u l t i n i n c r e a s e d v o l a t i l i z a t i o n by t h e a d d i t i o n of a m a t e r i a l w i t h an a l k a l i n e r e a c t i o n s i n c e t h e s o i l c o u l d become h i g h l y a l k a l i n e i n t h e zone o f a p p l i c a t i o n . The h i g h c l a y c o n t e n t o f t h e s o i l and t h e h i g h m o i s t u r e - h o l d i n g c a p a c i t y g i v e an i n d i c a t i o n t h a t e l e m e n t a l n i t r o g e n c o u l d be l o s t t h r o u g h d e n i t r i f i c a t i o n . In the c la y s o i l , th e pore space i s l a r g e l y f i l l e d w ith w a te r a t the lower t e n s i o n s , g iv in g r i s e to l o c a l anaerobic c o n d itio n s . Some s i g n i f i c a n c e c a n be a t t a c h e d t o t h e d i f f e r e n c e i n r e s p o n s e from t h e two g r e e n h o u s e e x p e r i m e n t s wher e t h e n i t r o g e n m a t e r i a l s were a p p l i e d on t h e s u r f a c e i n one e x p e r i m e n t w h i l e t h e m a t e r i a l s were mixed w i t h t h e s o i l in the o th e r experiment. The r e s u l t s o f t h e f i r s t g r e e n h o u s e e x p e r i m e n t i n d i c a t e d a low n i t r o g e n r e c o v e r y from t h e ammonium s o u r c e . T a b l e X I I shows t h a t 15 t o 20% o f t h e a p p l i e d n i t r o g e n was r e c o v e r e d fro m t h e u r e a t r e a t m e n t a t t h e different rates. When o n l y h a l f t h e n i t r o g e n a p p l i e d was i n t h e ammonium f o r m , 30 t o 35% o f t h e a p p l i e d n i t r o g e n was r e c o v e r e d u n d e r d i f f e r e n t ra te s of ap p licatio n . The p e r c e n t n i t r o g e n r e c o v e r e d was s t i l l when t h e n i t r o g e n s o u r c e was i n t h e n i t r a t e form. greater Thes e d i f f e r e n c e s 61 c o u l d be due e i t h e r t o t h e l o s s o f ammonia by v o l a t i l i z a t i o n o r t h r o u g h t h e f i x a t i o n o f t h e ammonium i o n . I t was b e l i e v e d t h a t d e n i t r i f i c a t i o n p l a y e d o n l y a s m a l l p a r t i n the n itr o g e n lo s s measured. T a b l e X I I shows t h a t 30 t o 50% o f t h e n i t r a t e n i t r o g e n a p p l i e d was n o t r e c o v e r e d i n t h e p l a n t m a t e r i a l ; how­ e v e r , i t was s p e c u l a t e d t h a t some o f t h e n i t r o g e n was u t i l i z e d i n r o o t g r o w t h and some s t i l l remained in th e s o i l , The amount o f t h e added n i t r o g e n r e m a i n i n g i n t h e s o i l was n o t d e t e r m i n e d s i n c e i t was f e l t t h a t t h e e r r o r i n t h e m e a s u r e m e n t o f t o t a l n i t r o g e n would be g r e a t e r t h a n t h e amount o f a p p l i e d n i t r o g e n a c t u a l l y r e m a i n i n g . F u r t h e r c o n c l u s i o n s o f t h e t y p e o f n i t r o g e n l o s s e s o c c u r r i n g and t h e c o n d i t i o n s u n d e r w h i c h t h e y o c c u r were made from t h e n i t r o g e n u p t a k e o f t h e g r e e n h o u s e e x p e r i m e n t where t h e n i t r o g e n a p p l i c a t i o n s wer e mixed w i t h t h e s o i l . Wahhab (1 95 7 ) and o t h e r w o r k e r s ha v e shown t h a t p l a c e m e n t i s a f a c t o r i n ammonia v o l a t i l i z a t i o n . The r e s u l t s o f t h e s e c o n d e x p e r i m e n t ( t a b l e XV) showed good n itro g e n recovery with a l l s o u r c e s from a l l l e v e l s o f a p p l i c a t i o n . The p o s s i b i l i t y o f any a p p r e c i a b l e l o s s o c c u r r i n g t h r o u g h d e n i t r i f i c a ­ t i o n i n Bowdoin c l a y was r u l e d o u t . The n i t r o g e n r e c o v e r e d i n t h e p l a n t m a t e r i a l fro m t h e c a l c i u m n i t r a t e s o u r c e i n t h i s g r e e n h o u s e e x p e r i m e n t was a l s o h i g h , a l t h o u g h n i t r o g e n p l a c e m e n t was i n a zone o f p o o r e r aeration. D e e p e r p l a c e m e n t o r m ix in g t h e m a t e r i a l w i t h t h e s o i l d i d r e d u c e t h e l o s s e s fro m t h e ammonium s o u r c e . The s o u r c e s o f n i t r o g e n a p p l i e d a t two r a t e s showed t h a t 80 t o 90% o f t h e n i t r o g e n a p p l i e d was r e c o v e r e d ( t a b l e XV) . T h i s was an impr ov eme nt o v e r t h e p e r c e n t 62 " r e c o v e r e d fro m t h e ammonium s o u r c e ( t a b l e X I I ). The d i f f e r e n c e s i n n i t r o g e n r e c o v e r y n o t e d i n t h e two g r e e n h o u s e e x p e r i m e n t s were due m a i n l y t o n i t r o g e n p l a c e m e n t . While t h e ammonium s o u r c e p l a c e d n e a r t h e s u r f a c e c o u l d hav e b e e n l o s t by means o f v o l a t i l i z a tion, a s e x p l a i n e d by Wahhab ( 1 9 5 7 ) , t h e r e i s a p o s s i b i l i t y o f p o s i t i o n a l unavailability. I n a c l a y h i g h i n c a t i o n e x c h an g e c a p a c i t y , s u c h as Bowdoin c l a y , much o f t h e ammonium s o u r c e a p p l i e d on t h e s o i l s u r f a c e would be a b s o r b e d by t h e c l a y . The ammoniacal n i t r o g e n h e l d a t t h e s u r f a c e i s n o t s u b j e c t t o l e a c h i n g , and p l a n t r o o t s c o u l d n o t r e a c h i t , p a r t i c u l a r l y a f t e r t h e s o i l s u r f a c e became d r y p r e v i o u s t o w a t e r i n g . While t h i s is not a n itro g e n lo ss , i t may hav e bee n r e s p o n s i b l e f o r t h e a p p a r e n t l o s s ; h o w e v e r , u r e a would n o t be a b s o r b e d as r e a d i l y as o t h e r ammonium m a t e r i a l s . S i n c e t h e g r e e n h o u s e e x p e r i m e n t where n i t r o g e n was a p p l i e d on t h e s o i l s u r f a c e showed p o o r r e c o v e r y f ro m t h e a p p l i c a t i o n o f t h e ammonium s o u r c e , a m ea s u r em e n t o f ammonia v o l a t i l i z a t i o n and ammonium f i x a t i o n was made on t h i s s o i l i n t h e l a b o r a t o r y . The ammonium f i x a t i o n m ea s u r ed on Bowdoin c l a y o f 8 .8 meq. p e r 100 gm. o f s o i l was s u b s t a n t i a l ( t a b l e X V I I ) . F i x a t i o n was m e a s u r e d on a s am pl e w h i c h was t r e a t e d w i t h t h e ammonium i o n , t h e n a i r d r i e d . Moody^ fo un d t h e w e t a m m on ium -fi xin g c a p a c i t y o f t h e Bowdoin c l a y t o be 0 . 4 3 meq. p e r 100 gm. o f s o i l . Thes e d a t a i n d i c a t e t h a t m a j o r amounts o f t h e ammonium i o n a r e f i x e d on d r y i n g . TMoody, C. Dawson. C o n d i t i o n s f o r f i x a t i o n on d r y i n g P e r s o n a l communication. 63 would e x i s t on t h e s o i l s u r f a c e e i t h e r i n t h e f i e l d o r i n g r e e n h o u s e pots. On t h e b a s i s o f an a c r e f u r r o w s l i c e , t o f i x 1 , 7 0 0 pounds o f n i t r o g e n p e r a c r e . t h i s s o i l showed t h e c a p a c i t y W hil e t h i s maximum f i x a t i o n o f ammonium d o e s n o t t a k e p l a c e i n one f e r t i l i z e r a p p l i c a t i o n s i n c e a l l t h e ammonium a p p l i e d would n o t be s i t u a t e d b e tw e en t h e c r y s t a l lattice, a s u b s t a n t i a l l o s s due t o f i x a t i o n c o u l d o c c u r . The s o i l m o is­ t u r e c o n t e n t u n d e r t h e s o i l s u r f a c e would n o t d r y c o m p l e t e l y , p r e v e n t i n g maximum f i x a t i o n . The amount o f ammonia v o l a t i l i z e d was v e r y s l i g h t . Only 3 t o 1% o f t h e n i t r o g e n a p p l i e d on t h e s u r f a c e was l o s t and c o l l e c t e d as a gas. ( ta b l e XV III). While a p p r e c i a b l e l o s s e s would be e x p e c t e d t o o c c u r from a s o i l w i t h an a l k a l i n e pH, t h e h i g h c a t i o n e x c h an g e c a p a c i t y o f t h e s o i l a p p a r e n t l y m a i n t a i n e d t h e c o n c e n t r a t i o n o f ammonium i o n s i n t h e s o i l s o l u t i o n a t a low l e v e l , r e s u l t i n g i n o n l y a s m a l l amount o f ammonia being v o l a t i l i z e d . V o l a t i l i z a t i o n was m e a s u r e d as t h e s o i l d r i e d ; t h i s c o n d i t i o n i s t y p i c a l i n t h e f i e l d and g r e e n h o u s e . The l o s s o f t w i c e as much ammonia from t h e u r e a - t r e a t e d s o i l as from t h e a m m o n i u m - n i t r a t e - t r e a t e d s o i l was p e r h a p s due t o an i n c r e a s e i n a l k a l i n i t y when t h e ammonium c a r b o n a t e was formed from u r e a . If this s o i l i s low i n c a r b o n a t e s , v o l a t i l i z a t i o n l o s s e s would be l e s s from ammonium n i t r a t e t h a n f ro m u r e a b e c a u s e u r e a i s t h e o n l y m a t e r i a l t h a t would f o rm ammonium c a r b o n a t e i n any a p p r e c i a b l e amount. Appreciable amounts o f ammonium c a r b o n a t e would hav e t o be form ed t o g e t . s u b s t a n t i a l l o s s e s a t t h e pH ( 7 . 7 ) o f t h e s o i l . While s i g n i f i c a n t amounts o f ammonia w e r e n o t r e l e a s e d fro m t h e s o i l f 64 as a g a s d u r i n g t h e i n c u b a t i o n p e r i o d i n t h e l a b o r a t o r y , t h e o c c u r r e n c e o f v o l a t i l i z a t i o n s h o u l d n o t be r u l e d o u t . I t is possible th a t ideal c o n d i t i o n s f o r e x t e n s i v e ammonia l o s s were n o t p r e s e n t d u r i n g i n c u b a t i o n in the la b o ra to ry . While i n c u b a t i o n was f o r a p e r i o d o f 7 d a y s , i t i s d o u b t f u l w h e t h e r c o n t i n u e d i n c u b a t i o n would ha ve shown any g r e a t e r l o s s , s i n c e t h e s o i l s u r f a c e was d r y a t t h e end o f t h e i n c u b a t i o n p e r i o d . As r e p o r t e d by Wagner and S m it h ( 1 9 5 8 ) , t h e l a r g e s t amount o f ammonia was fo u n d t o be p r e s e n t d u r i n g t h e f i r s t week o f i n c u b a t i o n w i t h u r e a a p p l i c a t i o n s . F o l l o w i n g t h i s p e r i o d , t h e amount o f ammonium n i t r i f i e d increased. It i s d o u b t f u l w h e t h e r r e w e t t i n g o f t h e s o i l would hav e shown any g r e a t e r v o l a t i l i z a t i o n o f ammonia. While C a s t e r ( 1 9 4 2 ) and M o r r i l l and Dawson^ r e p o r t a . l a g i n t h e f o r m a t i o n o f n i t r a t e i n some a l k a l i n e s o i l s w i t h an a c c u m u l a t i o n of n itrite and Wahhab and Uddin ( 1 9 5 4 ) g i v e e v i d e n c e o f t h e s p o n t a n e o u s decom position of n i t r i t e , a l k a l i n e Bowdoin c l a y . i t is d o u b tfu l i f t h i s lo ss occurs in the S i n c e no a p p r e c i a b l e l o s s o c c u r r e d fro m the, a p p l i c a t i o n o f ammoniacal n i t r o g e n when t h e m a t e r i a l s were mixed w i t h the s o i l , i t is u n l ik e ly t h a t t h i s loss occurs in the c la y s o i l . While t h e f e r t i l i z e r m a t e r i a l s were s e l e c t e d i n o r d e r t o a v o i d any s i d e e f f e c t s , an im pr ov em en t i n s o i l s t r u c t u r e was n o t e d where, c a l c i u m n i t r a t e was a p p l i e d on t h e s o i l s u r f a c e . calcium n i t r a t e I t was a l s o shown t h a t t h e a t t h e 300 pounds N p e r a c r e a p p l i c a t i o n im pr ov ed 8 M o r r i l l and Dawson, l o c . c i t . 65 a g g r e g a t i o n ( t a b l e XVI) . th e c a lc iu m io n . T h i s would be a s s o c i a t e d w i t h t h e a d d i t i o n o f The im p ro v e d s t r u c t u r e may h a v e r e s u l t e d i n im proved s o i l a e r a t i o n and i n c r e a s e d r o o t d e v e lo p m e n t, r e s u l t i n g i n more e f f i c i e n t use of th e n itro g e n . Mean s e p a r a t i o n o f m i l l i g r a m s o f n i t r o g e n r e c o v e r e d i n t h i s e x p e r i m e n t shows t h a t t h e r e c o v e r y o f c a l c i u m n i t r a t e a t 300 po u n d s N p e r a c r e was s i g n i f i c a n t l y g r e a t e r t h a n t h e r e c o v e r y fro m any o f t h e o t h e r s o u r c e s and r a t e s . T h is i n c r e a s e d r e c o v e r y c o u l d h a v e b e e n i n f l u e n c e d by t h e im p ro v e m e n t o f s o i l s t r u c t u r e . The im p ro v e m e n t o f s o i l s t r u c t u r e a l s o may have r e s u l t e d i n more n i t r o g e n b e i n g r e l e a s e d from t h e s o i l o rg an ic m a tte r , in c re a s in g n itro g e n u p ta k e . W h ile t h i s e f f e c t i s n o t d i r e c t l y c o n c e r n e d w i t h n i t r o g e n l o s s , i t i s m e n t io n e d s i n c e i t c o u l d h a v e b e e n a f a c t o r i n t h i s s t u d y . ) 66 SUMMARY AND CONCLUSIONS The t r e a t m e n t o f g r e e n h o u s e p o t s w i t h ammonium and n i t r a t e s o u r c e s o f n i t r o g e n and t h e m e a s u r e m e n t o f t h e r e s u l t i n g n i t r o g e n u p t a k e by b a r l e y p l a n t s was s e l e c t e d a s a means o f e x p l o r i n g t h e t y p e o f n i t r o g e n l o s s o r l o s s e s w h ic h o c c u r from Bowdoin c l a y . N i t r o g e n l o s s from t h e n i t r o g e n s o u r c e s a p p l i e d w o u ld be r e f l e c t e d i n t h e amount o f n i t r o g e n u p t a k e o f t h e p l a n t grown u n d e r v a r i o u s n i t r o g e n s o u r c e t r e a t m e n t s , s i n c e n i t r o g e n l o s s w o u ld mean a r e d u c t i o n i n t h e n i t r o g e n a v a i l a b l e t o t h e p l a n t . P o t s t r e a t e d w i t h t h e ammonium s o u r c e d i d n o t show a s l a r g e a n i t r o g e n u p t a k e a s p o t s t r e a t e d w i t h t h e n i t r a t e s o u r c e when t h e n i t r o g e n m a t e r i a l s w ere a p p l i e d on t h e s u r f a c e . S i m i l a r t r e a t m e n t s showed no d i f f e r e n c e s in n i t r o g e n u p t a k e b e tw e e n t h e s o u r c e s when t h e n i t r o g e n was m ixed w i t h t h e so il. F u r t h e r m o r e , 80 t o 90% o f t h e a p p l i e d n i t r o g e n was r e c o v e r e d . From t h e r e s u l t s o f t h e s e e x p e r i m e n t s , i t c a n be c o n c l u d e d t h a t n i t r o g e n l o s s c o u l d be due t o e i t h e r ammonium f i x a t i o n o r ammonia v o l a ­ tiliz a tio n . T h e re was no e v i d e n c e i n s u p p o r t o f a p p r e c i a b l e l o s s by d e n itrific a tio n . D i r e c t m e a s u re m e n t o f ammonia v o l a t i l i z a t i o n and ammonium f i x a t i o n was made on Bowdpin c l a y . The r e s u l t s o f t h e s e d e t e r m i n a t i o n s showed t h a t n i t r o g e n l o s s was due l a r g e l y t o ammonium f i x a t i o n upon d r y i n g o f th e c la y s o i l . L o s s e s du e t o v o l a t i l i z a t i o n w ere v e r y s m a l l . N i t r o g e n p l a c e m e n t was a d e c i d i n g f a c t o r a f f e c t i n g n i t r o g e n u p t a k e . A l s o , t h e r e w ere i n d i c a t i o n s t h a t p o s i t i o n a l u n a v a i l a b i l i t y may have r e s u l t e d i n t h e d e c r e a s e i n n i t r o g e n u p t a k e fro m t h e ammonium s o u r c e w here t h e m a t e r i a l s w ere a p p l i e d on t h e s o i l s u r f a c e . 67 The r e s u l t s o f t h e g r e e n h o u s e and l a b o r a t o r y e x p e r i m e n t s i n d i c a t e t h a t n i t r o g e n l o s s fro m Bowdoin c l a y c a n be r e d u c e d . P la c e m e n t o f n i t r o g e n m a t e r i a l s b e lo w t h e s o i l s u r f a c e r e s u l t e d i n good n i t r o g e n u p t a k e from a l l so u rces. S u r f a c e a p p l i c a t i o n o f a n i t r a t e s o u r c e w ould a l s o r e s u l t i n good n itro g e n reco v ery . 68 LITERATURE CITED A l l i s o n , F . E. 1 9 5 5 . The enigm a o f s o i l n i t r o g e n b a l a n c e s h e e t s . i n Agron.. 7 82 1 3 - 2 5 0 . Adv. A l l i s o n , F . E . , D o e t s c h , J . H ., and R o l l e r , E. M. 1 9 5 3 a . A v a i l a b i l i t y o f f i x e d ammonium i n s o i l s c o n t a i n i n g d i f f e r e n t c l a y m i n e r a l s . S o il S c i. 75s373-381. A l l i s o n , F . E . , K e f a u v e r , M a r g a r e t , and R o l l e r , E. M. 1 953b. Ammonium f ix a tio n in s o i l s . S o i l S c i . S o c . Amer. P r o c . 1 7 : 1 0 7 - 1 1 0 . B l a c k , C. A. 1 9 5 7 . S o i l P l a n t R e l a t i o n s h i p s . New Y o rk . p. 204. Jo h n W iley ^and S o n s , I n c . , Bremner , J . M ., and Shaw, R. 1 958. D e n i t r i f i c a t i o n i n s o i l s of in v e s tig a tio n . J o u r . A gr. S c i . 5 1 : 2 2 - 3 9 . B r o a d b e n t , F . E . 1 951. S c i . 7 2 s l 2 9 r 13 7 . I. M ethods D e n i t r i f i c a t i o n i n some C a l i f o r n i a s o i l s . S o il C a s t e r , A. B . , M a r t i n , W. P . , and Bueh e r , T. F . 1942. The m i c r o b i o l o g i c a l o x i d a t i o n o f ammonia i n d e s e r t s o i l s : I. A r iz o n a A g r . E xp. S t a . T ech. B u i. 96. C onrad, J 0 P. 1 9 4 0 . H y d r o l y s i s o f u r e a i n s o i l s by t h e r m o l a b i l e c a t a l y s i s . S o il S c i. 4 9 :253-263. Frahm , E . E. 1 9 4 8 . C h e m ic a l and p h y s i c a l c h a r a c t e r i s t i c s o f Bowdoin c l a y fro m t h e M ilk R i v e r V a l l e y o f M ontana. S o i l S c i . S o c . Amer. P r o c . (1947) 13:4 5 5 -4 6 0 . G i b s o n , T. 1 930. 1 6 :549-558. The d e c o m p o s i t i o n o f u r e a i n s o i l s . J a c k s o n , M. L. 1 9 5 8 . S o i l C h e m ic a l A n a l y s i s . E nglew ood C l i f f s , New J e r s e y . J o u r . A g r. S c i . P re n tic e -H a ll, In c ., J a c k s o n , M. L . , and C hang, S . C. 1 947. A nhydrous ammonia r e t e n t i o n by s o i l s a s i n f l u e n c e d by d e p t h o f a p p l i c a t i o n , s o i l t e x t u r e , m o i s t u r e c o n t e n t , pH v a l u e and t i l t h . J o u r . Amer. S o c . A gron . 3 9 : 6 2 3 - 6 3 3 . J e w i t t , T. N. 1 942. L oss o f ammonia fro m ammonium s u l f a t e when a p p l i e d to a lk a lin e s o i l s . S o il S c i . 5 4 :4 0 1 . K e m p th o rn e , 0 . 1 9 5 2 . The D e s ig n and A n a l y s i s o f E x p e r i m e n t s . and S o n s , I n c . , New Y o rk . p p . 3 6 4 - 3 6 9 . Jo h n W iley 69 L e C l e r g , E. L. 1 9 5 7 . Mean s e p a r a t i o n by t h e f u n c t i o n a l a n a l y s i s o f v a r i a n c e and m u l t i p l e c o m p a r i s o n s . USDA A R S-20-3. L o w e n s t e i n 9 H . , E n g l e b e r t 9 L. E . , A t t o e 9 0 . J . , and A l i e n , 0 . N. 1957. N i t r o g e n l o s s i n g a s e o u s fo rm fro m s o i l s as i n f l u e n c e d by f e r t i l i z e r s and m an a g e m e n t. S o i l S c i . S o c . Amer. P r o c . 2 1 83 9 7 - 4 0 0 . M cBeth 9 I . G. 191 7 . 9 :1 4 1 -1 5 4 . F i x a t i o n o f ammonia i n s o i l s . J o u r . A g r. R e s. Madhok 9 M. R . , and U d d in 9 F . 1 946. L o s s e s o f n i t r o u s n i t r o g e n from s o i l s on d e s i c c a t i o n . S o il S c i. 61:2 7 5 -2 8 0 . M a r t i n 9 J . P . , and Chapman 9 H. D. 1 951. V o l a t i l i z a t i o n o f ammonia from surface f e r t il iz e d s o ils . S o il S c i. 7 1 :2 5 -3 4 . M i d d l e t o n , H. E . 1 9 3 0 . P r o p e r t i e s o f s o i l w h ic h i n f l u e n c e s o i l e r o s i o n . USDA T e c h . B u i. 178. S o h n 9 Jerom e B . , and P e e c h 9 M. 1 958. by s o i l s . S o il S c i. 8 5 :1 -9 . R e t e n t i o n and f i x a t i o n o f ammonia , S t a n f o r d 9 G e o r g e 9 and Hanway 9 J o h n . 1955. P r e d i c t i n g n i t r o g e n f e r t i l i z e r n e e d s f o r Iowa s o i l s : II. A s im p l if ie d te c h n iq u e f o r d e te rm in in g r e l a t i v e n i t r a t e p ro d u ctio n in s o i l s . S o i l S c i . S o c . Amer. P r o c . 1 9 :7 4 -7 7 . U n ited S t a t e s S a l i n i t y L a b o r a to ry S t a f f . 1 9 5 4 . D i a g n o s i s and im provem ent o f s a l i n e and a l k a l i s o i l s . A g r i c u l t u r a l Handbook No. 6 0 , USDA. W agner 9 G. H . , and S m i t h 9 G. E. 1 9 5 8 . N i t r o g e n l o s s e s fro m s o i l s f e r t i l i z e d w ith d i f f e r e n t n itro g e n c a r r i e r s . S o il S c i . 8 5 :1 2 5 -1 2 9 . Wahhab 9 A. 1 9 5 7 . L o ss o f ammonia fro m ammonium s u l f a t e u n d e r d i f f e r e n t c o n d i t i o n s when a p p l i e d t o s o i l s . S o il S c i. 8 4 :249-255. Wahhab 9 A . , and U d d in 9 F . 1 9 5 4 . Loss o f n i t r o g e n t h r o u g h r e a c t i o n o f ammonium and n i t r i t e i o n s . S o i l S c i . 7 8 : 1 1 9 - 1 2 6 . Waksman 9 S . A. New Y o rk . 1952. S o i l M i c r o b i o l o g y . pp. 172-183. J o h n W iley and S o n s , I n c . 9 70 APPENDIX T a b le XIX. T i l l e r i n g d a t a o f b a r l e y ■f e r t i l i z e d on t h e s o i l s u r f a c e , ( p o t s t h i n n e d t o 10 p l a n t s ) . R e p lic a tio n . . T reatm ents R a te N itro g en ( l b s . N/A) source No. t i l l e r s o v e r 10 - - 0 0 0 100 100 100 200 200 200 300 300 300 CaNGQ NH4 NQ3 U re a (NH4 ) CaNOQ NH4N03 U re a (NH4 ) CaNCQ NH4 NO3 U re a (NH4 ) CaNQs_ NH4 NO3 U rea (NH4 ) 6 0 0 100 100 . 100 200 200 200 300 300 300 CaNCQ NH4 NO3 U re a (NH4 ) CaNCQ NH4 NO3 U rea (NH4 ) CaNCQ NH4 NO3 Ure a ( NH4 ) CaNCQ NH4 NO3 U re a (NH4 ) 2 I . No. g rain heads 3 No. No. g rain tille rs o v e r 101 h e a d s Minimum m o i s t u r e . 50& I 5 10 10 10 10 9* 10 11 10 8** 15 10 10 No. g rain heads No. t i l l e r s o v e r 10 ' 9* I 3 11 10 10 9* - 9* ■ 8 ** 13 10 9* 19** 8* * 10 9* 10 8** 9* 10 10 8** 10 10 19 9* 10 I (n o t headed) 9 Minimum m o i s t u r e . I (n o t headed) 10 10 10 ■ 10 10 10 8** 9* 10 11* 10 10 3 11 10 10 9* 9* 9 10 13 10 10 20 * 8** 10 I . 3 I (n o t headed) 8 9* 10 10 10* 10 10 11** 9* 10 18 10 8 ** 72 T a b l e XX, T i l l e r i n g d a t a o f b a r l e y when f e r t i l i z e r was m ixed w i t h t h e s o i l ( p o t s t h i n n e d t o 10 p l a n t s ) . T reatm en t R ate N itro g e n ( l b s . N/A) s o u r c e R e p l i c a t i o n Is 0 CaN03 0 KNO3 0 NH4 NO3 0 Urea (NH4 ) 100 CaNOg 100 KNO3 100 NH4 NO3 1 100 Urea (NH4 ) 200 CaNQ3 200 KNO3 200 NH4 NO3 200 Urea (NH4 ) R e p l i c a t i o n 2s 0 CaNO3 0 KNO3 0 Nl^NO3 0 Urea (NH4 ) 100 CaNO3 100 KNO3 100 NH4 NQ3 100 Urea ( NH4 ) 200 CaNO3 . 200 KNO3 200 NH4 NO3 ' 200 Ure a ( NH4 ) R e p l i c a t i o n 3s 0 CaNO3 0 KNO3 0 NH4 NO3 0 Urea (NH4 ) CaNO3 100 100 KNO3 100 NH4 NO3 100 Ure a ( NH4 ) 200 CaNO3 200 KNO3 200 200 NH4 NO3 Urea (NH4 ) No. tille rs o v e r 10 Heads h arv ested 0 0 0 0 3 4 5 I 7 12 10 12 9 10 ' 10 10 10 10 14 15 17 22 20 21 19 0 0 0 0 6 5 8 2 12 12 10 10 10 10 14 15 18 12 20 21 15 23, 12 Comments 2 p la n ts w ith 3 t i l l e r s I p la n t w ith 2 t i l l e r s 2 p la n ts w ith 2 t i l l e r s I p l a n t w i t h 2 t i l l e r s — n o t headec I I I I I p lan t p lan t p lan t p lan t p lan t w ith w ith w ith w ith w ith 2 2 3 2 3 t i l l e r s — h e a d ed t i l l e r s —-h e a d e d t i l l e r s — 2 hea d ed t i l l e r s — h e a d ed t i l l e r s — h e a d ed 21 ' 0 0 0 0 2 6 6 6 8 9 10 10 10 10 10 15 15 13 18 18 10 10 20 19 3 p la n ts w ith 2 t i l l e r s I p l a n t w ith 2 t i l l e r s I p l a n t w i t h I t i l l e r —-not h ead ed 2 p l a n ts w ith 2 t i l l e r s T a b le XXI. A n a ly sis o f v a ria n c e of t o t a l b a r le y p l a n t m a te r ia l w e ig h t ( n itr o g e n a p p lic a tio n s at s o il su rfa c e ). - V a r ia n c e SS df MS F R e p lic a tio n 2 8 .4 1 4 .2 1 N itro g e n source 2 1 ,9 0 4 .1 0 952.05 4 1 .0 9 * * N itro g en r a t e 3 5 ,6 7 8 .8 7 1 ,8 9 2 .9 6 - 8 1 .7 0 * * L in e ar I 5 ,5 8 7 .7 5 ,5 8 7 .7 Q u a d ra tic I 7 4 .2 7 4 .2 3 .1 2 C ubic I 16.9 1 6 .9 KD==a 2 3 4 .8 ** M o istu re le v e l I 19.95 1 9 .9 5 N source x N r a t e 6 940.62 156.77 N source x m o istu re le v e l 2 113.8.0 5 6.90 2.46 N r a t e x m o istu re le v e l 3 121.35 4 0 .4 5 1 .7 5 N source x N r a t e x m o istu re le v e l 6 1 8 0 .7 9 3 .0 1 •==— E rro r 46 1,066.01 2 3 .1 7 T o tal 71 1 0 ,033.90 6 .7 7 * * 74 T a b l e X X II. , A ve ra g e w e i g h t o f b a r l e y g r a i n h a r v e s t e d w i t h s u r f a c e a p p lic a tio n s of n itro g e n . N itro g en rate ( l b s . N/A) CaN03 0 3 .8 6 3 .5 6 3 .9 9 3 .8 0 100 1 0 .6 7 8 .3 9 6 .5 4 8 .5 3 200 1 3 .8 5 1 1 .9 4 8 .6 1 1 1 .4 7 300 1 3 .7 7 1 2 .5 7 1 1 .1 6 1 2 .5 0 1 0 .5 4 9 .1 2 7 .5 8 9 .0 8 - N itro g e n so u rce mean N itro q en so u rce NH4 NO3 Mean Minimum m o i s t u r e 9 50% Minimum m o i s t u r e , 75% 9 .0 3 9 .1 3 Urea (NH4 ) Mean n itro g e n rate T able X X III. A n a ly sis of v a r ia n c e of b a rle y g r a i n w e ig h t w ith s u r f a c e a p p li c a t i o n s of n i tr o g e n . V a ria n c e 1 df SS MS F R e p lic a tio n 2 0 .4 6 0 .2 3 N itro g e n source 2 1 0 5 .1 4 52.57 23.26** N itro g en r a t e 3 8 2 0 .0 0 2 7 3 .3 3 1 2 0 .9 4 * * L in ear I 7 5 8 .4 4 7 5 8 .4 4 3 3 5 .5 9 * * Q u a d ra tic I 6 1 .5 5 6 1 .5 5 2 7 .2 3 * * C ubic I 0 .2 7 0 .2 7 — M o istu re l e v e l I 0 .1 9 0 .1 9 —— N source x N r a t e 6 5 1 .5 1 8 .5 9 3 .8 0 * * N so u rce x m o istu re le v e l 2 0 .8 8 0 .4 4 — N r a t e x m o istu re le v e l 3 0 .1 9 0 .0 6 —— N source x N r a t e x m o istu re le v e l 6 9 .1 8 1 .5 3 —™ E rro r 46 1 0 3 .8 4 2 .2 6 T o ta l 71 1 ,0 9 1 .3 9 i 76 T a b l e XXIV. M u ltip le co m p ariso n t e s t s g r a in tre a tm e n t w e ig h ts. f o r mean s e p a r a t i o n o f b a r l e y N i t r o g e n s o u r c e x r a t e i n t e r a c t i o n — SSR'mean s e p a r a t i o n , 5% l e v e l Rank R a te ( l b s . N/A) 0 0 0 100 100 200 100 ■ 300 200 300 300 200 A B C D E F G H I J K L N itro g en so u rce ' Mean w e i g h t p la n t m ate ria l* gm. NH4 NO3 N03 Urea (NH4 ) Urea (NH4 ) NH4 NO3 • Urea (NH4 ) NO3 U rea ( NH4 ) NH4 NO3 NH4 NO3 3 .5 6 3 .8 6 3 .9 9 6 .5 4 8 .3 9 8 .6 1 1 0 .6 7 1 1 .1 6 1 1 .9 4 1 2 .5 7 1 3 .7 7 1 3 .8 5 NO3 NO3 ^ T r e a t m e n t c o m p a r is o n s above e a c h b r a c k e t v e r s b s t h o s e b e lo w t h e b r a c k e t a r e s i g n i f i c a n t a t t h e 5% l e v e l . N i t r o g e n s o u r c e m eans: N itro g e n so u rce NH4NO3 CaNO3 Mean w e i g h t — grams L .S .D . 9 .1 2 1 0 .5 4 ^ o i - 1 .1 7 . 0 5 = "87 i Urea (NH4 ) 7 .5 8 77 T a b l e XXV, P e r c e n t n i t r o g e n i n b a r l e y g r a i n and. s t r a w - w i t h n i t r o g e n t r e a t m e n t s on t h e s o i l s u r f a c e . T r e a t m e n t ______ N itro g e n R a te ( l b s . NZA) s o u r c e ________________________R e p l i c a t i o n 2 I G ra in G ra in S tra w S tra w % % % % 0 0 0 100 100 100 200 200 200 300 300 300 CaNQg NH4NOg Urea (NH4 ) CaNQg NH4 NOg Urea (NH4 ) CaNO3 NH4 NQg U rea (NH4 ) CaNOg NH4NOg Urea (NH4 ) Minimum m o i s t u r e , 50% 1 .4 1 1 .3 1 .61 . 1 .4 4 1 .3 1 .66 1.38 1 .3 1 .66 1 .4 4 1 .3 4 .4 3 1 .3 8 ,5 3 1 .2 2 .5 0 1 .3 1 1 .2 6 1 .6 8 1 .6 5 .58 1 . 42 1 .4 1 .5 3 1 . 42 1 .3 0 .5 3 1 .1 7 2 .1 1 2 .1 4 1 .6 5 1 .7 3 .6 1 1 .4 1 .4 8 1 .4 4 0 0 0 100 100 100 200 200 200 300 300 300 CaNOg NH4NOg Urea (NH4 ) CaNO3 NH4NOg U rea (NH4 ) CaNOg NH4NOg Urea (NH4 ) CaNO3 NH4 NOg Urea (NH4 ) Minimum m o i s t u r e , 75% 1 .3 3 .67 1 .3 3 1 .3 0 1 .3 0 .69 1 .4 1 .6 7 . 1 .3 3 1 .3 1 1 .3 1 .5 3 1 .2 6 1 .4 1 .5 6 1 .2 6 .5 6 1 .3 8 1 .2 6 1 .5 8 .62 1 .4 1 1 .4 4 .96 1 .3 8 .53 1 .4 4 2 .0 3 1 .9 7 1 .0 9 1 .5 8 .5 4 1 .6 0 1 .4 1 1 .3 1 .5 4 3 G ra in % .7 2 .7 5 .5 0 .6 2 .5 8 .5 4 1 .3 4 1 .4 4 1 .4 4 1 .4 2 1 .3 8 1 .3 0 .75 1 .6 8 1 .4 4 1 .3 8 1 .9 7 1.58 1 .4 4 .5 3 .5 8 1 .0 9 .6 7 .5 6 .6 1 .6 2 .61 .67 .4 8 .53 .6 7 .53 .5 0 .88 .93 .51 1 .4 4 1 .3 8 1 .3 8 1 .4 2 1 .3 1 1 .4 4 1 .6 6 1 .3 8 1 .3 9 2 .1 3 1 .6 0 1 .2 8 S tra w % .5 3 .70 .5 8 .5 3 .53 .5 0 .7 5 .66 .5 6 1 .0 4 .61 .5 4 .59 .5 4 .5 4 .4 8 .5 0 .6 2 .67 .43 .5 3 .9 4 .5 9 .5 6 T a b le XXVI. Grams o f g r a i n and s t r a w p r o d u c e d when n i t r o g e n t r e a t m e n t s w e re a p p l i e d on t h e s o i l su rface. T r e a t m e n t ______ N itro g en R a te f i b s . N /a) s o u rc e __ ;________________________________ R e p l i c a t i o n 2 I G ra in G ra in S tra w T o tal S tra w 0 0 0 100 100 100 200 200 200 300 300 300 CaNOg NH4 NO3 Urea (NH4 ) CaNOs NH4 NO3 Urea (NH4 ) CaNOS NH4 NO3 U re a (NH4 ) CaNOs NH4 NO3 U rea (NH4 ) 7 .8 9 7 .6 7 8 .2 3 1 7 .0 3 1 1 .9 6 0 0 0 100 100 100 200 200 200 300 300 300 CaNOs NH4 NO3 Urea (NH4 ) CaNQs NH4 NO3 Urea (NH4 ) CaNQs NH4N03 Urea (NH4 ) . CaNOs NH4N03 Urea (NH4 ) 1 0 .4 7 9 .1 3 7 .4 4 1 8 .4 8 1 4 .3 2 1 3 .3 3 3 0 .7 7 2 2 .1 3 1 0 .8 7 2 8 .7 7 1 9 .9 4 1 6 .7 9 8 .0 2 1 0 . io 1 2 .0 9 1 4 .5 5 2 2 .1 9 2 5 .7 9 1 7 .3 0 3 .7 3 3 .5 7 4 .2 6 1 1 .6 2 7 .6 8 5 .9 7 9 .3 3 1 0 .0 7 8 .3 5 1 2 .8 3 1 4 .6 6 12.11 M nim um m o i s t u r e , 50% 7 .7 7 3 .9 3 2 .7 7 8.03 6 .2 7 12.1 4.73 1 4 .4 2 9.98 29 .9 7 .5 7 2 0 .5 15.93 5 .7 1 15.5 ' 1 2 .9 9 2 8 .2 1 2 6 .5 14.59 1 2.61 2 4 .3 1 9 .9 9 2 2 .0 1 6 .1 4 7 .9 6 3 3 .4 6 3 3 .8 1 3 .1 4 8 .8 0 1 1 .0 5 3 9 .1 1 0 .3 7 1 8 .2 3 29.9 1 2 .7 1 1 .9 • 4 .8 1 4 .2 3 3 .8 7 1 2 .8 7 8 .5 4 7 .4 8 1 6 .4 0 12 .2 1 7 .4 5 1 1 .6 1 1 3 .3 1 1 2 .6 0 T o tal ' Minimum m o i s t u r e , 75% 9 .6 4 . 3 .3 6 5 .6 6 3 .9 4 3 .6 7 1 1 .2 3 1 9 .2 5 8 .85 2 2 .0 1 0 .8 1 9 .1 9 7 .2 0 1 9 .3 8 .6 0 1 5 .3 8 4 0 .1 24.22 1 3 .1 7 3 2 .2 18.33 7 .8 6 1 9 .5 10.34 4 1 .6 4 9 .1 1 1 5 .0 9 8 .5 6 3 4 .6 1 8 .7 4 1 4 .3 8 1 2 .1 2 2 8 .9 1 4 .2 1 2 .7 1 1 .7 3 0 .1 1 1 .7 1 0 .8 1 1 .0 2 4 .4 2 3 .5 1 8 .7 4 2 .8 3 2 .6 2 4 .1 4 6 .6 2 0 .3 28.6 1 3 .0 9 .6 1 4 .9 2 8 .1 2 0 .0 15.8 3 9 .6 3 1 .5 1 8 .2 6 4 .2 27.3 2 6 .5 S tra w 3 G r a in 6 .7 7 7 .6 8 1 1 .1 8 2 3 .3 1 1 7 .6 8 3 .8 3 3 .0 2 3 .0 2 8 .3 7 7 .1 3 1 2 .2 4 1 1 .0 7 8 .0 4 14.71 1 4 .0 7 1 0 .5 3 2 5 .2 6 2 2 .2 3 14.46 2 8 .5 9 2 0 .6 3 1 1 .2 7 7 .6 2 6 .0 6 5 .3 0 1 5 .4 0 1 0 .8 5 1 2 .1 5 1 7 .8 2 14.08 9 .3 6 5 1 .0 8 1 8 .7 1 1 6 .5 5 9.49 8 .0 2 3 .4 8 3 .8 4 4 .4 0 11.20 9.35 5 .7 5 1 5 .1 8 12.52 9 .2 4 15.22 1 3 .7 9 9 .2 5 T o tal 10.6 1 0 .7 1 4 .2 3 2 .8 2 5 .7 1 5 .5 3 7 .5 3 3 .3 22.5 4 3 .3 3 4 .7 2 1 .8 11.1 9 .9 9 .7 2 6 .6 2 0 .2 1 7 .9 3 3 .0 26.6 1 8 .6 6 6 .3 32 .5 2 5 .8 T a b l e XXVIIo M i l l i g r a m s o f n i t r o g e n p r o d u c e d when n i t r o g e n was a p p l i e d on t h e s o i l s u r f a c e T reatm ent 'R a te N itro g en l b s . N/A) so u rce CO CO CO —=J Cl 0 0 0 100 100 100 200 200 200 300 300 300 Urea (NH4 ) CaNOs NH4 NO3 Urea (NH4 ) CaNOs NH4 NQ3 ' Urea (NH4 ) CaNO3 NH4 NO3 Urea (NH4 ) O O ' O 100 100 100 200 200 200 300 300 300 CaNOs NH4N03 Urea (NH4 ) CaNOg NH4 NO3 U rea (.NH4 ) CaNOs NH4N03 Urea (NH4 ) CaNOs NH4 NO3 U rea (NH4 ) GaNQs NH4 NO3 G ra in 63 56 51 173 104 95 270 172 96 249 230 177 46 . 57 153 108 82 _148 1 145 5 125 253 235 159 I ________ ,__ S traw T o tal 48 51 54 73 63 40 59 64 77 260 157 R e p lic a tio n ___________ 2 ■ G ra in S tra w T o tal Minimum m o i s t u r e . 50% 56 55 111 60 107 48 65 31 105 246 144 89 167 104 92 75 135 70 329 245 236 173 180 113 278 182 149 509 212 106 81 365 59 102 83 387 260 63 50 98 80 75 191 212 58 314 108 91 Minimum m o i s t u r e , 75% 45 59 51 35 109 107 52 69 116 251 129 116 188 52 ’ 46 157 91 194 339 162 185 97 357 183 39 142 307 432 567 136 174 343 171 250 73 111 108 96 233 196 145 457 286 194 643 241 251 G r a in 52 44 44 , 135 HO 92 206 159 111 290 223 152 104 50 86 121 245 168 137 356 282 181 739 310 244 53 61 160 123 83 253 172 129 324 221 118 _____ _ _ _ 3 S traw T o ta l 36 54 65 124 94 42 189 147 81 297 126 61 88 98 109 259 204 134 395 306 192 587 349 213 45 33 95 86 90 234 177 158 372 233 179 804 331 211 29 74 54 75 119 61 50 480 HO 93 • 'j xO T a b l e X X V III„ A n a l y s i s o f v a r i a n c e o f m i l l i g r a m s o f n i t r o g e n p r o d u c e d by b a r l e y p l a n t m a t e r i a l w ith s u rfa c e a p p lic a tio n s o f n itr o g e n . V a ria n c e df SS MS F R e p lic a tio n 2 749 375 N itro g en so u rce 2 377,908 188,954 1 1 5 .3 6 * * N itro g en r a t e 3 884,044 294,681 1 7 9 .9 0 * * M o istu re le v e l I 896 896 N source x N r a t e 6 301,546 5 0 ,2 5 8 N source x m o istu re le v e l 2 1,892 946 —w N r a t e x m o istu re le v e l 3 7,037 2 ,3 4 6 1 .4 3 N source x N r a t e x m o istu re le v e l 6 16,353 2 ,7 2 6 1 .6 6 E rro r 46 75,336 1,638 T o tal 71 1,665,761 3 0 .6 8 * * 81 T a b l e XXIX. N itro g e n source A ve ra g e w e i g h t o f g r a i n p r o d u c e d when n i t r o g e n m a t e r i a l s w ere m ixed w i t h t h e s o i l . 0 100 200 Mean n itro g e n source gm. gm. gm. gm. 2 1 .5 2 2 1 .7 2 20.77 1 5 .3 3 1 5 .7 9 1 5 .1 3 1 8 .7 3 14.33 2 0 .6 9 1 5 .1 5 N itro g e n r a t e CaNOs 8 .1 9 KNQs NH4 NO3 U rea (NH4 ) 8 .3 6 8 .3 4 8 .4 2 1 6 .3 0 1 7 .3 0 1 6 .2 8 1 5 .8 3 N itro g en r a t e mean 8 .3 3 1 6 .4 3 (lb s. ' n/ a ) A n a ly sis o f v a ria n c e of b a r le y g r a i n w eig h t V arian ce df R e p lic a tio n R a te Source Source x r a t e E rro r 2 2 I 6 22 T o tal 35 SS • MS 3 .6 6 ' 9 4 6 .1 6 1 .8 3 4 7 3 .0 8 1 0 .1 2 1 0 .2 4 3 7 .8 0 3 .3 7 1 ,0 0 4 .3 2 1.7 1 1 .7 2 F 2 7 5 .0 5 * * 1 .9 6 — —- 82 T a b l e XXX. P e r c e n t n i t r o g e n i n t o t a l b a r l e y p l a n t m a t e r i a l when n i t r o g e n t r e a t m e n t s w e re m ixed w i t h t h e s o i l . T reatm en t R a te N itro g en ( l b s . N/A) source R e p lic a tio n I 2 3 % % % .9 4 .9 4 .9 4 .93 1.01 .94 1 .0 9 .91 1 .0 7 1 .1 4 1 .1 7 1 .1 7 1 .0 9 0 0 0 0 CaNOg KNO3 NH4 NO3 Urea (NH4 ) .9 8 100 100 100 100 CaNOg KNOg . NH4 N0 g Urea (NH4 ) 1 .0 7 1 .0 6 200 200 200 200 CaNOS KNO4 NH4 NQg U re a ( NH4 ) 1 .2 6 1 .2 3 1 .2 2 1 .2 2 1 .2 3 1 .3 1 1 .2 5 1 .2 3 .93 .98 .91 1.0 9 1 .1 0 1 .1 0 1 .2 0 1 .1 5 1 .2 0 1 .2 3 1 .2 8 1 .4 7 83 T a b l e XXXI. Grams o f b a r l e y g r a i n and t o t a l p l a n t m a t e r i a l p r o d u c e d when n i t r o g e n t r e a t m e n t s w ere m ixed w i t h t h e s o i l . I T reatm en t R a te ( l b s . N/A T o tal p la n t m aterial 0 0 0 0 CaNOg KNQg NH4 N0 g U rea (NH4 ) 1 8 .8 1 7 .6 1 8 .4 1 9 .7 8 .0 9 100 100 100 100 CaNOg KNO3 NH4 NOg Urea (NH4 ) 200 200 200 200 CaNOg KNOg NH4 NO3 Urea (NH4 ) G ra in ’ T o ta l p lan t m ate ria l 1 9 .1 1 9 .9 8 .3 5 8 .1 5 8 .7 2 2 0 .2 8 .9 0 1 7 .2 7.79 3 4 .8 3 6 .7 3 5 .3 3 5 .7 1 6 .5 8 1 7 .8 5 1 6 .9 6 1 6 .4 3 3 5 .1 3 4 .9 3 4 .2 3 1 .9 1 6 .3 0 3 2 .7 16.75 1 5 .2 8 3 6 .0 3 4 .8 15.49 3 2 .8 ,16.03 1 7 .2 9 1 6 .5 9 1 5 .5 8 4 7 .5 4 5 .4 4 6 .5 4 3 .8 2 1 .9 2 2 0 .9 9 2 2 .1 5 4 5 .7 2 2 .5 6 4 6 .9 22.61 42 .3 4 4 .5 2 0 .0 9 2 1 .5 7 4 5 .1 4 5 .1 4 5 .1 3 5 .7 21.64 20.93 7.7 9 20.11 9.47 1 8 .5 1 1 8 .1 ■ 1 7 .5 1 7 .8 1 9 .4 G r a in 8 .1 3 7.81 7.96 8 .7 5 1 5 .1 5 84 T a b l e XXXII, M illig ra m s of n itr o g e n produced in t o t a l b a r l e y p l a n t m a t e r i a l when n i t r o g e n t r e a t m e n t s w ere m ixed w i t h t h e s o il. T reatm en t R a te N itro g e n ( l b s . N/A) source ' R e p lic a tio n 2 I mgm. 3 mgm. A veraqe mgm. 0 0 0 0 CaNOg KNOg NH4 NQg Urea (NH4 ) 183 163 180 180 180 188 191 160 182 165 194 177 182 172 188 172 100 100 100 100 CaNO3 KNO3 NH4 N0 g Urea (NH4 ) 373 388 384 394 376 396 377 392 400 352 382 392 418 378 200 200 200 200 CaNQg KNOg NH4 N0 g Urea (NH4 ) .600 552 573 563 570 563 556 508 548 577 526 575 399 . 375 557 557 571 552 MONTANA STATE UNIVERSITY LIBRARIES Ililltllili 762 100 5451 5 |N378 Sch 86 s cop. 2 136875 Schum aker7 G i l b e r t S tu d ie s o f n i t r o g e n l o s s e s frofi f p r t i ' I •{gpd RfiwrfnTn r l a v anil WAMK A N O A O P W K > « ~fL*Jfii j S Pf f i -1! Qfr -r I /2 - 9 -6 ? iAx/jbh**~/.e/L J i w //0 -d Ar - J ir t (U 2 H o fit1 iJ © ____ bb-Z^MA-Af ,Ilj Y N 3 'f' M3 Z We e k s h c A J M m m iB P C e9 r - ^ 136875