Abstract
Twenty four plots, each 2.0 m2 in area, were established on St. Augustine loam soil series as field plots and microplots (containing lysimeters) in a completely randomised block design of four treatments (mulched fertilized, unmulched fertilized microplots; mulched fertilized and unmulched fertilized field plots), replicated three times. Labelled (15N) and unlabelled (NH2)2CO fertilizer were applied at rates of 400 kg N ha−1 and CaH2PO4 and KCl were applied at rates of 100 and 150 g ha−1 respectively to the field plots and microplots. Mulch (bagasse) was maintained to a depth of two cm and the plots were kept bare with regular applications of gramoxone.
The maximum depth of leaching as measured by diffusion of NO −3 −15N in both the dry and wet seasons was 30 cm. The potential for downward movement of water and NO −3 −15N was low in the wet season because high intensity rainfall followed high soil moisture contents. Effects of mulching, on the mobility of applied N fertilizers were inconclusive. Infiltration rates were significantly (P=0.25) inversely correlated with soil moisture content, supporting the hypothesis that high intensity rainfall on a saturated soil surface is more likely to result in NO −3 −15N dispersion than NO −3 −15N leaching.
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Nkrumah, M., Griffith, S.M., Ahmad, N. et al. Lysimeter and field studies on15N in a tropical soil. Plant Soil 114, 3–12 (1989). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02203075
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02203075