Crop Nutrition Sponsored by YARA UK Navigating the right course for quality water and profit Professor Keith Goulding Sustainable Soils Research Fellow Rothamsted Research
§ doubling resource productivity by 2050 § continuing to cut greenhouse gas emissions including from land use, land use change, the agriculture and waste sectors § working towards our ambition of zero avoidable waste by 2050 Actions we will take include : Putting in place a robust framework to limit inputs of nitrogen-rich fertilisers such as manures, slurries and chemicals to economically efficient levels, and make sure they are stored and applied safely. Draft Environment Bill includes an ‘Office of Environmental Protection’?
N N le leac ache hed d de depe pende ndent nt on n the the N N sur urplus plus no not t the amo the amount unt of N N applie applied N leached (kg N ha -1 yr -1 ) 90 80 70 60 50 40 30 1st wheat 20 cont. wheat 10 0 -100 0 100 200 300 N surplus (kg N ha -1 yr -1 )
Supported by on-farm data from The Netherlands Relationship between average farm N surplus in 1999-2001 and NO 3 concentration in groundwater in 2000-2002 in The Netherlands. (O. Oenema)
Wide range of N surpluses on UK farms N surplus (= N inputs – N in product; kg N/ha) pig/arable dairy sheep dairy (clover) arable organic Fertiliser N input (kg N/ha)
Improving NUE: precision Avoid excessive surplus by: n Realistic yield prediction n Recommendation system for N application, e.g. ‘Nutrient Management Guide (RB209) n ‘4R nutrient management’
‘4R Nutrient Stewardship’ for BMP § Right source § Right rate § Right time Johnston and Bruulsema 2014 Procedia Engineering 83, 365-370. § Right place FAO International Code of Conduct for the Sustainable Use and Management of Fertilizers. Approved 27 June 2019 : Includes: “…site-specific nutrient management incorporating the ‘4Rs’ … is a requirement to close remaining yield gaps as well to reduce the environmental footprint of fertilizers”
Inhibitors: N 2 O emissions from fertilisers Harty et al 2016, Sci. Total Env., 563-564 , pp 576-586.
Inhibitors: NH 3 emissions from fertilisers applied to pH7 soils Hutchings N, Webb J, Amon B (2016): EMEP/EEA air pollutant emission inventory guidebook | via Yara International ASA
AHDB data on Excess Winter Rainfall used to inform on N requirements
Good soil structure essential Paul Hallett: IFS Agronomy Conference 2018 Good Compacted
Good all-round agronomy: Many UK arable soils contain too little P and K Professional Agriculture Analysis Group, 2014
A graphical presentation of the desirable range for the N surplus
An example from Broadbalk An example from Broadbalk
Take-home points § Precision: Ø Realistic yield prediction Ø Minimise the N surplus Ø ‘4Rs’ critical § Use online alerts such as AHDB EWR § Soil structure, pH, PKMg… supply important § Good all-round agronomy
Go Good all all-rou ound a agr gron onom omy e y essential: Br Broa oadbalk Broadbalk: mean yields of wheat grain, cultivars and major changes
IFS Agronomy Conference, 12-13 Dec 2019 ‘Factors affecting Nitrogen Use Efficiency - identification, measurement and management’ Papers on: § NUE by De Vries § Ammonia emission by Powlson § Inhibitors by Cardenas
Final question: Do you know your NUE?
Acknowledgements Rothamsted Research receives funding from the UK Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council. The UK Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs funded some of the research described in this talk. Yara sponsored this seminar.
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