Ammonium and Nitrate Nitrogen in Soil Profiles of Long-Term Winter Wheat Fertilization Experiments

Accumulation of NH -N and NO -N in soils has not been thoroughly evaluated in long-term continuous winter wheat (L.) production systems. The objectives of this study were to determine long-term response of winter wheat to N fertilization and to evaluate accumulation of NH -N and NO -N in the soil profile. Four long-term winter wheat soil fertility experiments on thermic Ustoll soils that received annual applications of N for > 18 yr at selected N rates were sampled. At each location, one soil core 4.4 cm in diameter was taken to a depth of 240 cm from plots receiving variable N rates. Cores were separated into 30-cm increments and analyzed for 2 KCI-extractable NH -N and NO-N. At all locations, NH -N levels were not significantly different from the check (no fertilizer N) when rates were applied at or below yield goal requirements (90 or 45 kg N ha vs. 0 N). At N rates >90 kg N ha, surface (0–15 cm) NH -N increased compared with the check, while subsurface NH -N did not. Similarly, when N rates were 90 kg N ha, NO -N accumulated in the subsurface soil profile (>30 cm). Estimates of N rates determined from simultaneous solutions of NO -N accumulation minimums and yield maximums generated from quadratic regression were greater than N rates currently recommended to achieve yield goals at all locations. For these long-term continuous winter wheat experiments, no accumulation of NH-N and NO -N occurred at recommended N rates where near maximum yields were obtained.