Method for precision nitrogen management in spring wheat: II. Implementation

By accounting for spatial variation in soil N levels, variable-rate fertilizer application may improve crop yield and quality, and N use efficiency within fields. The main purpose of this study was to demonstrate how site-specific wheat yield and protein data, and a geographic information system may be used in developing precision N-recommendations for spring wheat. The three steps in the procedure include: (1) estimate the amount of N-removed in wheat in the year in which the crop is harvested, (2) estimate the N-deficit, defined as the amount of additional N needed for raising protein concentration in a future crop to a specified target level, and (3) estimate the total N-recommendation by summing the mapped values of the N-removed and the N-deficit. A map for variable-rate application of fertilizer is derived by specifying cutoff values to divide the range in the total N-recommendation into classes representing N management zones. A field experiment was conducted within an annually cropped wheat field (101 ha) in northern Montana to determine whether the proposed method could improve grain yields and protein levels. The N-removal and N-deficit were estimated from site-specific wheat yield and protein data that were acquired during harvest of 1996. In 1997, which was a dry year, an experiment was conducted in the same field that consisted of a randomized complete block design arranged as pairs of strip plots. Variable- or uniform-rate N treatments were randomly assigned to each pair of strips. Both treatments received nearly the same amount of fertilizer, however, N in the variable treatment was varied to match patterns in grain yield and protein levels that previously existed in 1996. Yields were not significantly different between management systems, but -proteins were significantly enhanced by spatially variable N application. In addition, variability in protein levels was reduced within the whole field. Field areas deficient in N fertility could be identified without having to sample for soil profile N.