Combined N, P, K fertilization and liming maximises crop productivity of acid loams in Lithuania
Title:
Combined N, P, K fertilization and liming maximises crop productivity of acid loams in Lithuania
Author:
Jankauskas, Benediktas Otabbong, Erasmus
Appeared in:
Acta agriculturae Scandinavica. Section B, Soil and plant science
Paging:
Volume 54 (2004) nr. 2 pages 60-66
Year:
2004-05
Contents:
Crop response to fertilization and liming was investigated in field and pot trials on sandy loam Dystric Albeluvisols (pH 4.2-4.3). Treatments in the field trial were: 1, no fertilizer; 2, PK; 3, NK; 4, NP; 5, NPK; 6, lime; 7, lime+PK; 8, lime+NK; 9, lime+NP; 10, lime+NPK. In the pot trial, they were: 1, no fertilizer; 2, N; 3, P; 4, K; 5, NP; 6, NK; 7, PK; and 8, NPK applied to unlimed and limed soils. All treatments were in four replicates. Crops sensitive to soil acidity (winter wheat, fodder beet, spring barley and clover-timothy ley) and the less acid-sensitive winter rye, potatoes, oats and lupins and oats mixture were sown in the field trial. In the pot trial, the acid-sensitive spring barley and red clover, and the less acid-sensitive oats and lupin-oats served as the test crops. Combined application of fertilizers (NPK) increased yields of crops sensitive to soil acidity in plots receiving lime by 23%, and those of crops less sensitive to soil acidity by 18% in comparison to crops grown on unlimed soils. The results of pot experiments corroborated the field results. When N was applied alone, crop yields were always higher than those recorded for P or K treatments on both the unlimed and limed treatments. N application proved to be a prerequisite for high crop yields in the soils investigated. Thus, the efficiency of P and K fertilizers increased in the order NK<NP<NPK, with the effects being accentuated more in the limed than in the unlimed treatments. The results demonstrated the importance of multi-nutrient (NPK) fertilization in combination with liming for enhancement of high crop productivity in the unlimed soil investigated. N applied alone in combination with liming produced relatively good yields; hence, where resources are limited for the purchase of P and K fertilizers, applying N and lime can be a viable option in the short term.
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