| HOME | HELP | FEEDBACK | SUBSCRIPTIONS | ARCHIVE | SEARCH | TABLE OF CONTENTS |
|
|
|
|||||||
|
|||||||||
Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada Research Station, P.O. Box 1030, Swift Current, SK, Canada S9H 3X2
Agriculture Canada Research Station, Saskatoon, SK, Canada S7N 0X2
*Corresponding author.
ABSTRACT
Acidity generated by N fertilizers depends on factors such as the composition of the fertilizer, climatic and soil conditions, and the crops grown. Our objective was to quantify the acidifying effects of urea and anhydrous NH3 when used as fertilizers for cereal production in Saskatchewan, Canada. The fertilizers were injected annually (at 10-cm depth) into a medium-textured, moderately acid (pH 
5.5) Typic Haploboroll, at rates of 0, 45, 90, and 180 kg N ha–1 for 9 yr. Soil acidity increased as N application rate increased, with anhydrous NH3 causing greater acidification than urea. Although pH values as low as 4.3 were recorded in soil treated with anhydrous NH3, KCl-exchangeable acidity remained low. The major effect of acidification was a depletion of exchangeable Ca and Mg. The solubility of Mn (but not Al) increased substantially as pH decreased, with solution concentrations of almost 30 mg Mn L–1 being recorded 6 d after injection of NH3. Acidity generated by anhydrous NH3 compared well with values predicted assuming that all of the applied NH3 was oxidized to NO3– (with the production of 1 mol H+ mol–1 of N) and that these protons were partly neutralized by OH– released when NO3– was taken up and assimilated by plants. Acidification due to export of bases in grain was insignificant because wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) and barley (Hordeum vulgare L.) remove only a slight excess of cations over anions. Urea failed to realize its full acidification potential because of an apparent loss of urea-N from the soil by NH3 volatilization.
Received for publication September 21, 1993.
This article has been cited by other articles:
|
|
 |
|
  A. Adeli, K.R. Sistani, D.E. Rowe, and H. Tewolde Effects of Broiler Litter Applied to No-Till and Tillage Cotton on Selected Soil Properties Soil Sci. Soc. Am. J., May 16, 2007; 71(3): 974 - 983. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
|
|
A. E. Russell, D. A. Laird, and A. P. Mallarino Nitrogen Fertilization and Cropping System Impacts on Soil Quality in Midwestern Mollisols Soil Sci. Soc. Am. J., January 6, 2006; 70(1): 249 - 255. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
 |
|
 D. D. Tarkalson, G. W. Hergert, and K. G. Cassman Long-Term Effects of Tillage on Soil Chemical Properties and Grain Yields of a Dryland Winter Wheat-Sorghum/Corn-Fallow Rotation in the Great Plains Agron. J., January 3, 2006; 98(1): 26 - 33. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
|
|
A. R. Weaver, D. E. Kissel, F. Chen, L. T. West, W. Adkins, D. Rickman, and J. C. Luvall Mapping Soil pH Buffering Capacity of Selected Fields in the Coastal Plain Soil Sci. Soc. Am. J., March 1, 2004; 68(2): 662 - 668. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
|
|
M. A. Liebig and G. E. Varvel Effects of Western Corn Belt Cropping Systems on Agroecosystem Functions Agron. J., March 1, 2003; 95(2): 316 - 322. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
 |
|
 D. Ginting, A. Kessavalou, B. Eghball, and J. W. Doran Greenhouse Gas Emissions and Soil Indicators Four Years after Manure and Compost Applications J. Environ. Qual., January 1, 2003; 32(1): 23 - 32. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
|
|
M. A. Liebig, G. E. Varvel, J. W. Doran, and B. J. Wienhold Crop Sequence and Nitrogen Fertilization Effects on Soil Properties in the Western Corn Belt Soil Sci. Soc. Am. J., March 1, 2002; 66(2): 596 - 601. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
| HOME | HELP | FEEDBACK | SUBSCRIPTIONS | ARCHIVE | SEARCH | TABLE OF CONTENTS |
| The SCI Journals | Agronomy Journal | Crop Science | |||
| Journal of Natural Resources and Life Sciences Education |
Vadose Zone Journal | ||||
| Journal of Plant Registrations | Journal of Environmental Quality |
The Plant Genome | |||
