Effect of Soil Contamination on the Mineral Composition of Forage Fertilized with Nitrogen

Mayland, H.F. and Sneva, F.E. (1983) Effect of Soil Contamination on the Mineral Composition of Forage Fertilized with Nitrogen. Journal of Range Management. 36(3):286-288.

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Abstract

Mineral analysis of forage from a nitrogen (N) fertilizer, field
study produced unexpectedly high iron (Fe) concentrations which
were correlated with the N fertilizer level (r²=.92) and the percentage
N in the forage (r²=.94). The high Fe values were presumed to
be associated with dust on the leaves. The objective of this study
was to determine the level of soil contamination on the forage
sample and the contribution of mineral in the contaminant to that
measured in the sample. Soil contamination of plant tissue samples
was calculated from the dilution of soil titanium (Ti) assuming that
the uncontaminated tissue contained 0 g Ti/g. Tissue harvested
from the 0, 28, 56, or 84 kg N/ha treatments contained 23, 49, 48,
and 60 mg soil/ g, respectively. Significant N fertilizer effects would
have been accepted for each element tested if soil contamination
had been ignored. Correcting for contamination resulted in significant
N-fertilizer effects on the concentrations of sodium, potassium,
manganese, iron, and zinc but not magnesium or calcium in
the forage. Some of these effects may be explained by the acidifying
effect of the N fertilizer source.

Item Type:	Article
NWISRL Publication Number:	0508
Subjects:	Irrigated crops > Grass forage > Chemistry Soil > Amendments > Fertilizer Soil > Chemistry > Nitrogen Mass Import - autoclassified (may be erroneous)
Depositing User:	Dan Stieneke
Date Deposited:	20 Nov 2010 21:52
Last Modified:	13 Jan 2017 23:36
Item ID:	403
URI:	https://eprints.nwisrl.ars.usda.gov/id/eprint/403