Synergism of sulfur availability and agronomic nitrogen use efficiency

Agyin-Birikorang, S and Boubakry, C and Kadyampakeni, D M and Adu-Gyamfi, R and Chambers, R A and Tindjina, I and Fuseni, A A (2023) Synergism of sulfur availability and agronomic nitrogen use efficiency. Agronomy Journal. pp. 1-12. ISSN 1435-0645

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Abstract

Nutrient management strategies that exploit nutrient elements’ synergistic interaction to enhance nitrogen use efficiency (NUE) are needed for economic and environmental reasons. A field study was carried out during the 2020–2022 growing seasons at six locations in three countries: two each in the United States, Ghana, and Mali using three sulfur (S) sources with different bioavailability levels (micronized elemental S, untreated elemental S, and ammonium sulfate); applied at five S application rates: site-specific recommended S rate (SR), 25%, 50%, 75%, and 125% of SR; and a single nitrogen (N) application rate (site-specific recommended N rate) to comprehensively investigate the influence of S availability on NUE. Specific objectives were to evaluate the impact of S availability on corn (Zea mays L.) yield, N uptake, and NUE. Regardless of the S source and experimental site, the aboveground S and N uptake were strongly and positively correlated (r > 0.88). Increases in apparent N recovery efficiency and agronomic NUE occurred with corresponding increases in S application rate, irrespective of the site and S source. The combined data showed that the agronomic efficiency of applied N fertilizer sources could be enhanced significantly by increasing S availability in soils. With the rising N fertilizer costs in recent times, N losses from the applied fertilizer are a drain on farmers’ income and of environmental concern. Thus, increasing NUE is a needed strategy to safeguard against excessive N application, increase farm profits, and minimize N losses to the environment that could disrupt the ecosystem function.

Item Type: Article
Divisions: Research Program : West & Central Africa
CRP: UNSPECIFIED
Uncontrolled Keywords: nitrogen use efficiency (NUE), sulfur availability, Soil Fertility, Crop Nutrition
Subjects: Others > Soil Fertility
Depositing User: Mr Nagaraju T
Date Deposited: 23 Feb 2024 06:34
Last Modified: 23 Feb 2024 06:34
URI: http://oar.icrisat.org/id/eprint/12510
Official URL: https://acsess.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10...
Projects: UNSPECIFIED
Funders: UNSPECIFIED
Acknowledgement: Funding for this work was provided in part by the USDA-Agricultural Research Service National Program 216 (Sustainable Agricultural Systems Research) and the United States Agency for International Development's Feed the Future Soil Fertility Technology Adoption, Policy Reform, and Knowledge Management project. We thank Alhaji Rahman Issahaku, and Albert B. Angzenaa, formerly of the International Fertilizer Development Center (IFDC), for their technical support. We thank Judith Fagbegnon-Kodjo of IFDC for administrative and logistic support. We are grateful to Emmanuel K.M. Vorleto of Savanna Agricultural Research Institute and Sammy Afful of the Ghana Atomic Energy Commission's analytical lab for soil and plant tissues analyses. We also wish to express our deepest appreciation to Joaquin Sanabria for overseeing the statistical analysis, review, and constructive criticism.
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