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Managing nitrogen for sustainable corn systems: Problems and possibilities

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  30 October 2009

Fred Magdoff
Fred Magdoff
Affiliation:
Professor, Department of Plant and Soil Science, University of Vermont, Burlington, VT 05405.
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Abstract

Excessive nitrogen fertilizer use in corn production has resulted in widespread nitrate pollution of ground water and economic losses for farmers. In addition, reliance on nitrogen fertilizers produced with large amounts of fossil fuels may not be economically or environmentally sustainable in the future. Although leaching of significant amounts of nitrate to the ground water is inherent in growing corn, several techniques are available for more environmentally and agronomically sound management. The following management practices are discussed in this article: sidedress as the main method of N fertilizer application; the pre-sidedress (Magdoff) nitrate soil test; farm-based nitrogen sources (manures, green manures, and rotations with sod crops); cover crops for lowering profile nitrate during the most likely period for leaching; and the end of season stalk nitrate test.

Keywords

nitrogen managementnitrogen fertilizerscorn systemsnitrate pollutionfarm-based N sources
Type
Articles
Information
American Journal of Alternative Agriculture , Volume 6 , Issue 1 , March 1991 , pp. 3 - 8
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 1991

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