Environmental and economic evaluation of N fertilizer rates in a maize crop in Italy: A spatial and temporal analysis using crop models

Crop simulation models have the potential to assess the risk associated with the selection of a specific N fertilizer rate, by integrating the effects of soil-crop interactions on crop growth under different pedo-climatic and management conditions. The objective of this study was to simulate the environmental and economic impact (nitrate leaching and N2O emissions) of a spatially variable N fertilizer application in an irrigated maize field in Italy. The validated SALUS model was run with 5 nitrogen rates scenarios, 50, 100, 150, 200, and 250 kg N ha−1, with the latter being the N fertilization adopted by the farmer. The long-term (25 years) simulations were performed on two previously identified spatially and temporally stable zones, a high yielding and low yielding zone. The simulation results showed that N fertilizer rate can be reduced without affecting yield and net return. The marginal net return was on average higher for the high yield zone, with values ranging from 1550 to 2650 € ha−1 for the 200 N and 1485 to 2875 € ha−1 for the 250 N. N leaching varied between 16.4 and 19.3 kg N ha−1 for the 200 N and the 250 N in the high yield zone. In the low yield zone, the 250 N had a significantly higher N leaching. N2O emissions varied between 0.28 kg N2O ha−1 for the 50 kg N ha−1 rate to a maximum of 1.41 kg N2O ha−1 for the 250 kg N ha−1 rate.

[1]  David S. Bullock,et al.  Site-specific production functions for variable rate corn nitrogen fertilization , 2006, Precision Agriculture.

[2]  Sofia Delin,et al.  Yield and protein response to fertilizer nitrogen in different parts of a cereal field: potential of site-specific fertilization , 2005 .

[3]  G. Robertson,et al.  Nonlinear response of N2O flux to incremental fertilizer addition in a continuous maize (Zea mays L.) cropping system , 2005 .

[4]  J. Ritchie,et al.  A strategic and tactical management approach to select optimal N fertilizer rates for wheat in a spatially variable field , 2011 .

[5]  J. Ritchie,et al.  Long-term wheat response to nitrogen in a rainfed Mediterranean environment: field data and simulation analysis. , 2010 .

[6]  S. Hamilton,et al.  Long-term nitrate loss along an agricultural intensity gradient in the Upper Midwest USA , 2012 .

[7]  S. Blackmore.  The interpretation of trends from multiple yield maps , 2000 .

[8]  Peter M. Kyveryga,et al.  Categorical Analysis of Spatial Variability in Economic Yield Response of Corn to Nitrogen Fertilization , 2011 .

[9]  J. Neeteson,et al.  Limits to nitrogen use on grassland. , 2002, Environmental pollution.

[10]  J. Munch,et al.  Nitrous oxide fluxes from maize fields: relationship to yield, site-specific fertilization, and soil conditions , 2003 .

[11]  J. Spiertz,et al.  Nitrogen, sustainable agriculture and food security. A review , 2011, Agronomy for Sustainable Development.

[12]  D. Cammarano,et al.  Economic and environmental evaluation of site-specific tillage in a maize crop in NE Italy , 2011 .

[13]  W. Raun,et al.  Effect of nitrogen rate on plant nitrogen loss in winter wheat varieties 1 , 1997 .

[14]  Senthold Asseng,et al.  Use of the APSIM wheat model to predict yield, drainage, and NO3- leaching for a deep sand , 1998 .

[15]  G. Robertson,et al.  Nitrogen in Agriculture: Balancing the Cost of an Essential Resource , 2009 .

[16]  J. Paz,et al.  Examples of strategies to analyze spatial and temporal yield variability using crop models , 2002 .

[17]  Dionysis Bochtis,et al.  A user-centric approach for information modelling in arable farming , 2010 .

[18]  D. Slack,et al.  Effects of fresh and composted dairy manure applications on alfalfa yield and the environment in Arizona , 2006 .

[19]  F. J. Pierce,et al.  Simulation of within field variability of corn yield with Ceres-Maize model , 1999 .

[20]  Peter Grace,et al.  Nonlinear nitrous oxide (N2O) response to nitrogen fertilizer in on‐farm corn crops of the US Midwest , 2011 .

[21]  James W. Jones,et al.  Estimating potential economic return for variable soybean variety management , 2003 .

[22]  Michael Robertson,et al.  Labour scarcity restricts the potential scale of grazed perennial plants in the Western Australian wheatbelt , 2009 .

[23]  J. Stafford,et al.  Evaluation of variable depth tillage: economic aspects and simulation of long term effects on soil organic matter and soil physical properties , 2003 .

[24]  Bruno Basso,et al.  Analyzing the effects of climate variability on spatial pattern of yield in a maize-wheat-soybean rotation , 2007 .

[25]  J. C. Taylor,et al.  Developing Strategies for Spatially Variable Nitrogen Application in Cereals, Part II: Wheat , 2003 .

[26]  David J. Mulla.  Using geostatistics and GIS to manage spatial patterns in soil fertility , 1991 .

[27]  manuele roitero.  ACHIEVING THE NITRATE DIRECTIVE: FIELD MEASUREMENTS AND SIMULATION APPROACH , 2010 .

[28]  Emmanuel Ledoux,et al.  The STICS model to predict nitrate leaching following agricultural practices , 2004 .

[29]  Greg Stewart,et al.  Nitrous oxide fluxes from corn fields: on‐farm assessment of the amount and timing of nitrogen fertilizer , 2010 .

[30]  Bruno Basso,et al.  Impact of compost, manure and inorganic fertilizer on nitrate leaching and yield for a 6-year maize-alfalfa rotation in Michigan , 2005 .

[31]  James S. Schepers,et al.  Appropriateness of Management Zones for Characterizing Spatial Variability of Soil Properties and Irrigated Corn Yields across Years , 2004, Agronomy Journal.

[32]  R. Godwin,et al.  A Review of the technologies for mapping within-field variability , 2003 .

[33]  James W. Jones,et al.  Impact of manure and slurry applications on soil nitrate in a maize–triticale rotation: Field study and long term simulation analysis , 2012 .

[34]  S. Asseng,et al.  Determining the Causes of Spatial and Temporal Variability of Wheat Yields at Sub-field Scale Using a New Method of Upscaling a Crop Model , 2006, Plant and Soil.

[35]  F. J. Pierce,et al.  The state of site specific management for agriculture. , 1997 .

[36]  Walter C. Bausch,et al.  Strategies to evaluate goodness of reference strips for in-season, field scale, irrigated corn nitrogen sufficiency , 2011, Precision Agriculture.

[37]  D. Egli.  Comparison of Corn and Soybean Yields in the United States: Historical Trends and Future Prospects , 2008 .

[38]  Johanna Link,et al.  Evaluation of current and model-based site-specific nitrogen applications on wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) yield and environmental quality , 2008, Precision Agriculture.

[39]  James W. Jones,et al.  Spatial validation of crop models for precision agriculture , 2001 .

[40]  G. Robertson,et al.  The contribution of maize cropping in the Midwest USA to global warming: A regional estimate , 2011 .

[41]  G. Robertson,et al.  Contemporary Evidence of Soil Carbon Loss in the U.S. Corn Belt , 2009 .

[42]  M. Ittersum,et al.  Assessing farm innovations and responses to policies: A review of bio-economic farm models , 2007 .

[43]  M. Robertson,et al.  Whole farm implications on the application of variable rate technology to every cropped field , 2011 .

[44]  A. Mosier,et al.  N2O emissions from agricultural lands: a synthesis of simulation approaches , 2008, Plant and Soil.

[45]  J. Paz,et al.  Evaluating Management Zone Optimal Nitrogen Rates with a Crop Growth Model , 2006 .

[46]  S. Hafner.  Trends in maize, rice, and wheat yields for 188 nations over the past 40 years: a prevalence of linear growth , 2003 .

[47]  S. Fountas,et al.  A model of decision-making and information flows for information-intensive agriculture , 2006 .

[48]  David E. Clay,et al.  Defining Yield Goals and Management Zones to Minimize Yield and Nitrogen and Phosphorus Fertilizer Recommendation Errors , 2004 .

[49]  Clyde W. Fraisse,et al.  Delineation of Site-Specific Management Zones by Unsupervised Classification of Topographic Attributes and Soil Electrical Conductivity , 2001 .

[50]  S. Blackmore,et al.  The Analysis of Spatial and Temporal Trends in Yield Map Data over Six Years , 2003 .

[51]  J. J. Stoorvogel,et al.  Tools for optimizing management of spatially-variable fields , 2001 .

[52]  D. Cammarano,et al.  Analysis of rainfall distribution on spatial and temporal patterns of wheat yield in Mediterranean environment , 2012 .