NITROGEN MANAGEMENT STRATEGIES to IMPROVE CORN GROWTH and REDUCE SOIL GREENHOUSE GAS EMISSIONS from CLAYPAN SOILS a Thesis Prese
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NITROGEN MANAGEMENT STRATEGIES TO IMPROVE CORN GROWTH AND REDUCE SOIL GREENHOUSE GAS EMISSIONS FROM CLAYPAN SOILS A Thesis presented to the Faculty of the Graduate School at the University of Missouri In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree Master of Science by TYLER W. STEUSLOFF Dr. Peter Motavalli, Thesis Co-Advisor Dr. Kelly Nelson, Thesis Co-Advisor May 2018 The undersigned, appointed by the dean of the Graduate School, have examined the thesis entitled: NITROGEN MANAGEMENT STRATEGIES TO IMPROVE CORN GROWTH AND REDUCE SOIL GREENHOUSE GAS EMISSIONS FROM CLAYPAN SOILS Presented by Tyler W. Steusloff a candidate for the degree of Master of Science, and hereby certify that, in their opinion, it is worthy of acceptance. _________________________________________ Dr. Peter Motavalli _________________________________________ Dr. Kelly Nelson _________________________________________ Dr. Kristen Veum ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I would like to thank my parents for their love and generosity to allow me to continue my education and pursue my Master’s degree in the field I love. Regardless of the situation, my parents were always there for me and supported me along the journey. I would like to thank Dr. Peter Motavalli for giving me a chance to pursue my Master’s degree at the University of Missouri. Dr. Motavalli was always willing to take the time out of his day to provide me with the skills and knowledge required to conduct a successful thesis research project. I would also like to thank Dr. Kelly Nelson, the head agronomist at the University of Missouri’s Greenley Memorial Research Center, for all of his support. Dr. Nelson constantly went out of his way to provide me with the necessary skills and tools to being a successful person and student. I would also like to thank you, Dr. Nelson, for managing and monitoring this research project through completion. This project would not have been successful without you and others, such as Max Mungyeko, Lynn Bradley, Dana Harder, and the rest of the staff at Greenley Memorial Research Center. I would also like to thank Rafid Al-Ubori, Renee Adler, and Logan Bishop for all of their hard work in helping me collect gas and soil samples throughout the growing seasons. Without their continued support, I would not have been able to be as successful. I would also like to thank Dr. Kristen Veum for graciously offering her advice and time to be a part of my committee. Lastly, I would like to thank all of the faculty and staff at the University of Missouri who have been generous with all of their support and helping me in the classroom, offices, and laboratories. My time and experience at the University of Missouri was an enjoyable one. ii TABLE OF CONTENTS ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ................................................................................................ii LIST OF TABLES ............................................................................................................. vi LIST OF FIGURES ......................................................................................................... viii ABSTRACT ....................................................................................................................... ix CHAPTER 1: LITERATURE REVIEW .............................................................................1 Agriculture’s Impact on World Hunger and Its Environmental Implications .................................................................................................1 Biological Nitrogen Transformations Effect on Nitrogen Loss in Row Crop Production ..........................................................................................3 Urea Hydrolysis ..............................................................................4 Ammonia Volatilization ..................................................................5 Nitrification .....................................................................................6 Denitrification .................................................................................8 Vulnerability of Midwestern Agricultural Soils to N Loss and Implications of Rainfall Distribution on N Transformations ..........................................10 Properties of Claypan Soils ............................................................10 Rainfall Distribution’s Impact on N Use Efficiency ......................11 Agricultural Management Factors Affecting Soil Nitrous Oxide Emissions Nitrogen Fertilizer Placement ........................................................13 Traditional and Enhance Efficiency N Fertilizer ...........................13 Nitrification Inhibitors ...................................................................15 Alternative Management Factors Effect on Corn Yield ............................17 Timing and Rate of Nitrogen Application .....................................17 Nitrogen Fertilizer Placement .......................................................19 Conventional and Enhanced Efficiency N Fertilizers ....................21 Objectives .................................................................................................25 Hypotheses ................................................................................................25 Arrangement of Thesis ...............................................................................26 References .................................................................................................26 CHAPTER 2: FERTILIZER PLACEMENT EFFECTS ON SOIL NITROUS OXIDE EMISSIONS IN A CLAYPAN SOIL ...............................................................................38 ABSTRACT ..............................................................................................38 INTRODUCTION ....................................................................................39 MATERIALS AND METHODS ..............................................................42 RESULTS AND DISCUSSION ...............................................................45 Weather and Soil Conditions ........................................................45 Daily Soil Nitrous Oxide Flux ......................................................46 iii Cumulative Soil Nitrous Oxide Emissions ....................................48 Emission Factor and Nitrous Oxide Emitted Mg-1 Grain Yield ....51 CONCLUSIONS .......................................................................................52 REFERENCES .........................................................................................53 CHAPTER 3: FERTILIZER PLACEMENT AFFECTS CORN AND NITROGEN USE EFFICIENCY IN A CLAYPAN SOIL .............................................................................69 ABSTRACT ...............................................................................................69 INTRODUCTION .....................................................................................70 MATERIALS AND METHODS ...............................................................72 RESULTS AND DISCUSSION ................................................................75 Weather Conditions .......................................................................75 Plant Population ............................................................................76 SPAD Meter ...................................................................................76 Corn Grain and Silage Yields ........................................................77 Silage N Concentration, N Uptake, and NUE................................80 Grain Quality .................................................................................83 CONCLUSIONS........................................................................................85 REFERENCES ..........................................................................................86 CHAPTER 4: ENHANCED EFFICIENCY LIQUID NITROGEN FERTILIZER MANAGEMENT FOR CORN PRODUCTION ............................................................101 ABSTRACT .............................................................................................101 INTRODUCTION ..................................................................................102 MATERIALS AND METHODS ............................................................107 RESULTS AND DISCUSSION .............................................................108 Weather Conditions ....................................................................108 Ear Leaf SPAD ...........................................................................110 Plant Population ..........................................................................112 Corn Grain Yield..........................................................................113 Grain Moisture and Quality .........................................................118 Early-Season Corn Plant Height .................................................120 CONCLUSIONS......................................................................................122 REFERENCES ........................................................................................123 CHAPTER 5: OVERALL CONCLUSIONS...................................................................144 APPENDIX .....................................................................................................................147 A. Diagram showing the soil sampling template used for assessing spatial variation in the soil profile with depth from soil surface and distance from the deep-banded N application .................................................................................147