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Benefits and tradeoffs of reduced tillage and manure application methods in a Zea mays silage system

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Title Benefits and tradeoffs of reduced tillage and manure application methods in a Zea mays silage system
 
Creator Dittmer, Kyle M
Darby, Heather M
Goeschel, Tyler R
Adair, E. Carol
 
Subject climate change
agriculture
food security
tillage
nutrient management
organic fertilizers
silage
 
Description A critical question is whether there are agricultural management practices that can attain the multiple management goals of increasing yields, preventing nutrient losses, and suppressing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. No‐till and manure application methods, such as manure injection, can enhance nutrient retention, but both may also enhance emissions of nitrous oxide (N2O), a powerful GHG. We assessed differences in soil N2O and carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions, nitrate and ammonium retention, and crop yield and protein content under combinations of vertical‐till, no‐till, manure injection, and manure broadcast without incorporation in a corn (Zea mays L.) silage system. During the growing seasons of 2015–2017, GHG emissions and soil mineral nitrogen (N) were measured every other week or more frequently after management events. Crop yield and protein content were measured annually at harvest. No‐till reduced CO2 emissions but had no impact on N2O emissions relative to vertical‐till. Manure injection increased N2O and CO2 emissions, with the magnitude of this effect being greatest for 1 mo post‐application. Manure injection also increased soil ammonium and nitrate but did not increase yield or crop quality relative to broadcast application. Similarly, tillage did not affect crop yield or protein content. Despite the tradeoffs between mineral N retention and elevated GHG emissions, manure injection in no‐till systems benefits farmers by reducing soil carbon losses as CO2, retaining mineral N, and maintaining crop yields and quality.
 
Date 2020-09
2020-08-18T21:59:19Z
2020-08-18T21:59:19Z
 
Type Journal Article
 
Identifier Dittmer KM, Darby HM, Goeschel TR, Adair EC. 2020. Benefits and tradeoffs of reduced tillage and manure application methods in a Zea mays silage system. Journal of Environmental Quality 49(5):1236-1250.
1537-2537
https://hdl.handle.net/10568/109032
https://doi.org/10.1002/jeq2.20125
 
Language en
 
Rights Copyrighted; all rights reserved
Limited Access
 
Format p. 1236-1250
 
Publisher Wiley
 
Source Journal of Environmental Quality