Nitrogen Fertilisation and Methods of Predicting the N Requirements of Winter Wheat in the Federal Republic of Germany

Nitrogen Fertilisation and Methods of Predicting the Nitrogen Requirements of Winter Wheat in the Federal Republic of Germany.

Summary:

Various systems which have been proposed for the growing of high yields of winter wheat are briefly described, all of which involve prediction of the nitrogen (N) fertiliser requirement, whether from soil and/or plant analysis or by other means. The results of field trials comparing such methods are discussed and the conclusion is reached that any of the methods improve the chances of arriving at the correct N fertiliser treatment for any site. As might he expected from the shape of response curve there are only small differences in yield between the various systems. Mineralisation of soil nitrogen is limited during the tillering period so that the greatest importance attaches to prediction of the rate of N to be applied in the early spring dressing, and, for this, the N-min method is efficacious. Predictions are improved when preceding crop and soil fertility are taken into account.

F A Becker and W Aufhammer.

34 Pages, 5 Figures, 9 Tables, 22 References.