Fertilizer

“Wheat drilled into corn residue in northern Alabama yielded 23% more under some surface tillage (conventional, mulch, or light disk) than under no-till, and mulch tillage gave the best net return ($733/ha vs $468/ha for no-till). Fall N boosted early growth up to 25%, but splitting the remaining N between fall and spring gave no yield gain over a single application; 134 kg N/ha maximized no-till yield and returns, suggesting current N recommendations after corn may be too low.”

“County-level life cycle modeling shows Illinois maize has a carbon intensity 9%-12% below the US average of 251 g CO2e/kg, and maize grown within 56 km of ethanol plants is 14%-17% lower, driven by high yields and efficient fertilizer use. National average CI values understate the climate performance of high-yielding regions, and cover crops and conservation tillage shift scores differently from county to county.”

“In a 2022 survey of 1,119 farmers across MN, NE, ND, and SD, only 15% used biofertilizers, but 88% of those users planned to keep using them and 20% of non-users wanted to try them within three years. Adopters tended to be younger, farm larger acreages, value workshops for learning, and already use cover crops, no-till, and soil nutrient testing — suggesting biofertilizers fit into a broader conservation package rather than standing alone.”

“Across 10 long-term Arkansas row-crop trials, soil health indicators (CO2 respiration, β-glucosidase, POXC, organic matter) and composite scores were highest in the top 0-5 cm and declined with depth, and were higher in summer and winter samples than in spring or fall (fall lowest). Cover crops and fertilized treatments scored better than winter fallow and unfertilized plots, so soil health monitoring needs standardized sampling depth and season to make valid comparisons.”

“On a poorly drained no-till Wisconsin field, surface-applied composted or fresh dairy manure (81-102 kg total N/ha) did not match sidedressed urea at 90 kg N/ha for corn yield or nitrogen uptake, and left lower plant-available N in the top 10 cm. An interseeded annual ryegrass cover crop cost nothing in yield or N uptake and cut nitrate-N leachate concentrations by 1.7-4.9 times.”

“Across 26 on-farm Nebraska trials, foliar micronutrients rarely raised corn yield because soils were already sufficient — helping growers avoid unnecessary micronutrient spending.”

“Manure management in the United States must move from a disposal-based model to a circular resource framework that integrates nutrient recovery, emission mitigation, precision application, supportive policy, and site-specific decision-making.”

“Sensor-based N management cut nitrogen application by ~40 kg N/ha in corn with no yield loss across 57 Nebraska on-farm site-years (2015–2023). Benefits are greatest in moderate-to-high yield variability fields with coarser soils. Sensors showed no statistically significant gains in winter wheat. Profit probability exceeded 60% for corn across most price scenarios. Despite consistent evidence, only 11% of Nebraska producers currently use sensor-based approaches — indicating a technology transfer gap.”

“Closing wheel type and row unit down force can affect corn germination in notill production systems.”

“Nitrate leaching into groundwater as a result of high N fertilizer rates to annual crops presents human health risks and high costs associated with water treatment. Intermediate wheatgrass is a low-input crop has the potential to produce profitable grain and biomass yields while reducing nitrate.”

“Soil microbial activity profiles associated with organic compost fertilizers in an urban garden.”

“Sugarbeet yield has increased from 38.8 to 82.9 Mg ha -1 since 1971.”

“Conservation Tillage and Nitrogen Management for Sugarbeet Production.”

“First Report and Virulence Evaluation of Erwinia carotovora subsp. betavasculorum on Sugarbeet in Montana.”

“Effect of tillage on macropore flow and phosphorus transport to tile drains.”

“Canopy-scale wavelength and vegetative index sensitivities to cotton growth parameters and nitrogen status.”

“A comprehensive estimate of nitrous oxide emissions using observations and models from 1995 to 2008.”

“Across 15 North Dakota nitrogen-rate sites, red and red edge NDVI predicted corn yield equally well at V6, but at the later V12 stage red edge NDVI outperformed red NDVI because red readings saturate once the canopy closes. For growers using GreenSeeker or Crop Circle sensors to guide in-season N, red edge is the better choice for late-season sidedress decisions.”

“Remote sensing of maize nitrogen deficiency may be one way to move nitrogen fertilizer applications closer to the specific nitrogen requirement.”

“Phosphorus export from a restored wetland ecosystem in response to natural and experimental hydrologic fluctuations.”

“This study investigates the potential benefits of using tectonite dust as a soil amendment in central Oregon.”

“Quantifying and mapping atmospheric potassium deposition for soil ecosystem services assessment in the United States.”

“Broccoli microgreens: A mineral-rich crop that can diversify food systems.”

“Global Water Scarcity and Watershed Management Planning: A Case Study of Clear Lake, IOWA, USA.”

“The comparison of three environmental metrics for Cd, Cu, and Ni in the agricultural region of the Mid Continent of USA.”

“The comparison of three environmental metrics for Cr, Pb, and Zn in the agricultural region of the Mid-Continent of USA.”

“Soil profile distribution of nutrients in contrasting soils amended with struvite and other conventional phosphorus fertilizers.”

“The need for sustainable agricultural practices to meet the food, feed, and fuel demands of a growing global population while reducing detrimental environmental impacts has driven research in multifaceted approaches to agricultural sustainability. Perennial cropping systems and microbial biofertilizer supplements are two emerging strategies to increase agricultural sustainability that are studied in tandem in this study.”

“Soiltest biological activity with the flush of CO 2: VI. Economics of optimized nitrogen inputs for corn.”

“Relationship of inseason soil nitrogen concentration with corn yield and potential nitrogen losses.”

“Wheat cover can impose a corn yield penalty (−12.6% in 2018). N timing matters under wet springs: in 2019, delayed/sidedress N improved NUE and yield vs more at-plant N. MRTN tools should account for cereal cover crops via N credit/adjustment.”

“Match stabilizer to the main loss pathway: use NI to reduce NO3 leaching/nitrification (≤20% less NO3; VLS-NI −22% nitrification potential) and DI to suppress NH3 volatilization (82–89%). UI alone may increase NH4 leaching; N2O unchanged.”

“Timing of a single urea application (224 kg N/ha) strongly changed gas losses: fertilizer-derived N2O was under 0.05% of applied N across all six application dates — far below the IPCC 1% default — with fertilizer raising N2O rates above unfertilized soil only in early fall and early summer. The biggest combined N2O + ammonia losses came in cool, wet early-spring soils (>60% water-filled pore space), so matching application date to soil temperature and moisture can cut nitrogen losses.”

“In HLB-infected 'Ray Ruby' grapefruit in Florida, packing 975 trees/ha instead of 300 cut canopy volume per tree by 33% but raised fruit yield per hectare 160% and solids yield 190%, with slightly more acidic, higher-soluble-solids fruit. Controlled-release fertilizer blends with extra micronutrients and less potassium grew bigger canopies but did not improve yield — in fact yield per hectare dropped 24% in the first season — so micronutrient-boosted CRF is not a reliable fix for HLB in grapefruit.”

“In HLB-infected 'Ray Ruby' grapefruit, planting at 975 trees/ha (double-row high density) gave the highest fruit and solids yield per hectare despite smaller trees and lower yield per tree, with slightly more acidic, higher-soluble-solids fruit. Extra soil or foliar B/Mn/Zn (up to 6x recommended rates) raised leaf nutrient levels but did not improve yield or reduce bacterial titer — foliar micronutrients actually coincided with lower yield and photosynthesis in one year.”

“Cropland soil nitrogen oxide emissions vary with dairy manure incorporation methods.”

“Nitrous oxide emissions are driven by environmental conditions rather than nitrogen application methods in a perennial hayfield.”

“This study demonstrates integrated modeling methods to assess water treatment costs over time associated with groundwater nitrate contamination.”

“The LTAR Cropland Common Experiment at R. J. Cook Agronomy Farm.”

“Long-term biosolids applications improve key soil health functions for semi-arid dryland systems.”

“Application of UAV Multispectral Imaging to Monitor Soybean Growth with Yield Prediction through Machine Learning.”

“Timing and rate of nitrogen fertilizer application can influence maize grain yield, N uptake, and NUE parameters, but results have been inconsistent across the upper Midwest.”

“Ammonia volatilization, nitrous oxide emissions, and corn yields as influenced by nitrogen placement and enhanced efficiency fertilizers.”

“Influence of variable biochar concentration on yield-scaled nitrous oxide emissions, Wheat yield and nitrogen use efficiency.”

“Significant contributions of combustion-related sources to ammonia emissions.”

“Sensitivity of fine particulate matter concentrations in South Korea to regional ammonia emissions in Northeast Asia.”

“Can We Increase Economic Return from Sugarbeet with SlowRelease Nitrogen Additions?.”

“The case for static range nitrogen management in Idaho sugarbeet production.”