Fine-tuning
fertility for
top yields
and clean water
Safe drinking water is one reward for good stewardship. To help the agricultural community protect water quality, scientists at the four research institutions conduct monitoring studies, develop management models and evaluate the effect of management strategies such as timing of fertilizer applications or use of constructed watersheds.
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Nitrogen fertilizer contributes to
the bountiful corn harvest the world has come to depend upon from Illinois. It is so important that few producers would consider growing corn without nitrogen fertilizer. When nitrogen moves off the farm and into water
supplies, however, it costs farmers and communities.
At the University of Illinois Champaign-Urbana, three research projects sponsored by C-FAR will allow researchers to assess whether changes in nitrogen management practices could help reduce the impact of nitrogen applications on the environment without adversely affecting yields. Research teams are monitoring constructed wetlands, yields in select cornfields and a number of watersheds to find out what happens to agricultural inputs, such as nitrogen.
Over the years, Robert Hoeft, an Extension fertility specialist, became increasingly intrigued by cornfields that did not respond to nitrogen, yet yielded 170 to 190 bushels of corn. "The nitrogen wasn't showing up in the soil test, but could it still be in the soil in an organic form, and could that nitrogen be released out faster than normal? That theory held up in a study at the UI Monmouth Ag Research Center and prompted us to think we had to look more closely at the idea that some fields might have an accumulation of this organic nitrogen. If so, farmers could reduce nitrogen rates on those fields for the short run."
With C-FAR and Fertilizer Research Education Council funds, Hoeft is teaming up with a corn production specialist, an agricultural engineer, a landscape architect and an agricultural economist to analyze what happens to nitrogen applied to fields with a history of receiving recommended and higher-than-recommended nitrogen rates.
Field research is conducted on farms in the Lake Decatur watershed. The researchers plan to collect and analyze soil, air, temperature, plant and water data from tile lines. The project is designed to take advantage of new water sampling technologies that are less disruptive to fields. As part of the study, the team also will evaluate the effects of application rates, timing and other management practices on nitrogen movement.
The study is funded for two years, but Hoeft anticipates four to five years of research will be necessary to take into account weather, environment and other factors that can impact data. In the meantime, the team will share preliminary findings through Cooperative Extension Service Winter Agronomy Days, field days and publications.
"It's important to collect data over several years to ensure that any recommendations that come from this will not adversely affect any farmer," Hoeft said. "Our end goal is to put together recommendations for practices that are environmentally and economically sound, but are not high risk for the farmer."
Project & Updates
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