Soil Science Commons^™

Nitrogen Fertilizer Needs Of First-Year Small Grains Following Alfalfa, Collin Pound

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Wheat, barley, triticale, and oats, are small grains commonly grown as hay and grain following alfalfa in Utah and the Intermountain West, especially during drought years as they require less irrigation than corn. Several studies in many parts of the world have shown that first-year corn following alfalfa rarely needs nitrogen (N) fertilizer, yet relatively few have evaluated the N needs of small grains, especially small grains grown for hay. Objectives of this research were to determine whether N fertilizer is needed to economically optimize the yield and quality of first-year small grains following alfalfa, develop N guidelines, and whether …

Effect Of Plant Derived Tannins On Nitrogen And Carbon Cycling In Pasture Soils, Kathryn A. Slebodnik

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Pasture-finished beef has become increasingly popular, but nitrogen losses from these pastures are of concern. Legumes containing condensed tannins such as birdsfoot trefoil (Lotus corniculatus) and sainfoin (Onobrychis viciifolia) may serve as environmentally and economically viable alternative forages in pasture finishing systems while reducing soil nitrogen loss. The goal of this project was to understand how tannin type and concentration affects soil nitrogen cycling both in the lab and the field. This thesis: 1) compared the physical, chemical, and biological characteristics of soil samples obtained from grazed grass and tannin and non-tannin containing legume pastures, 2) …

A Slow-Release Nitrogen Fertilizer: Ammonium-Loaded Clinoptilolite, T. Scott Perrin

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Crops grown in sandy soils require frequent irrigation. As a result, nitrogen (N) fertilizers. such as ammonium sulfate((NH₄)₂SO₄), are leached from the rooting zone of crops. This loss of N increases N fertilizer use and the potential for nitrate (NO₃^-) contamination of water. Ammonium-loaded clinoptilolite (NH₄⁺-Cp) may reduce this N leaching, increase N fertilizer use-efficiency, and prevent NO₃- contamination of water while sustaining normal crop growth.

The potential of NH₄⁺-Cp as a N fertilizer was assessed in three leaching experiments without plants and …

An Examination Of The Inorganic Nitrogen Status Of A Soil Of The Alaskan Coastal Tundra Plain, Norton R. Munn

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

This experiment was designed to measure in situ concentrations of NH₄⁺ and NO₃^--N in a soil of the arctic coastal tundra plain, to determine if nitrification was taking place in this soil and to determine if the vascular plants growing in this soil could assimilate NH₄⁺-N.

The extractable NH₄⁺-N concentration was approximately 40 μg/g in the 0₁ horizon and 10 μg/g in the 0₂ horizon. The NO₃^--N concentration was approximately 5 μg/g in the 0¹ horizon and 4 μg/g in the 0_{2 …}

The Effect Of Alternate Wetting And Drying On The Ammonium And Nitrite Nitrogen Transformation In Soils, Virupax C. Baligar

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Investigations were carried out to study the effect of alternate wetting and drying cycles on the mineralization, nitrification, and denitrification of soil nitrogen in two soils, in the presence or absence of added ammonium and nitrite. Soils were analyzed at the end of each drying cycle for total inorganic nitrogen, ammonium, and nitrite nitrogen. Gaseous products, i.e., ammonia, and the oxides of nitrogen (NO and NO₂) were collected in the course of drying for determination.

The drying cycles accelerated the rate of nitrogen mineralization in both soils and further increased the oxidation of applied and available ammonium. The …

The Influence Of Organic Matter And Ph On Transformations Of Nitrites To Elemental Nitrogen, Mohammad A. Rashid

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Nitrogen occupies an important and prominent place in plant and animal nutrition. Large quantities are required by plants and must be available in the soil. Recently the use of nitrogenous fertilizers has increased manyfold. In view of the importance of this element in crop production, even greater use is anticipated in the coming years. In order to make full use of the applied nitrogen, continued investigations of soil-nitrogen relationship are imperative; however, this element presents many complex and challenging problems to investigators.

Nitrite Reactions In Soil, John Otto Reuss

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Losses of soil nitrogen that cannot be attributed to leaching or crop removal have been observed in many field experiments. Several mechanisms have been proposed to account for these losses.

Moisture And Temperature Effects On The Transformations Of Nitrogen From Applied Ammonium Sulfate In A Calcareous Soil, John Keith Justice

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Nitrogen has commonly been a deficient element in the cultivated soils of the world since the beginning of agriculture. The general acceptance of the practice of using manures as a means of increasing plant growth, as shown by the records of ancient civilizations, attest to this fact. Since the time of von Liebig there has been an increasing awareness of the importance of this deficiency in soils. As a result of a better understanding of the problem and the increasing availability of commercial forms of nitrogen, a rapid increase in the use of nitrogen fertilizers has taken place in the …

Development And Evaluation Of Laboratory Methods For Determining The Nitrogen Supplying Power Of The Irrigated Soils Of Northern Utah, Jerald Ross Wight

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Nitrogen is the most widely needed and the most widely used of the fertilizer elements. Yet, in spite of the voluminous research work of evaluating the nitrogen status of soils, laboratory tests for the purpose of predicting need of nitrogen fertilizer are not very widely used. In general, laboratory tests for nitrogen supplying power have not given satisfactory results. Methods currently employed by a few laboratories can be classified either as biological or chemical. In the former method, the soil is incubated under optimum conditions and the amount of nitrate released over a given period of time is measured and …