Növénytermelés / Volume 66 / Issue 3 (September 2017) / pp. 11-32
The purpose of this research was to examine the impact of soil fertility on yield under natural circumstances (no nutrient replenishment) and how precipitation in the winter period and the growing season, as well as fertilisation and the interaction of these two affected maize yield.
Examinations were carried out at the Látókép Experiment Site of the University of Debrecen on mid-heavy calcareous chernozem soil in a multifactoral long-term field experiment established in 1984. The long-term experiment covered 25 years (1990–2016).
There was a positive significant correlation between the amount of precipitation in the growing season and yield (r=0.598; P<0.01). Based on the precipitation during the growing season, the effective heat units (EH) and potential evapotranspiration (PET), the growing seasons of the long-term experiment were classified into dry and wet years. There was a significant difference (P<0.001) between the average yields of the wet and dry years and yield was 2.142 t ha-1 higher in wet years on average.
There was a significant difference (P<0.001) between non-fertilised treatments and the 120 kg N ha-1 treatment in terms of maize yield (independently of whether the crop year was wet or dry). The average yield surplus was 4.022 t ha-1.
Based on the analysis of the joint effect of fertilisation and precipitation on yield, it was concluded that fertilisation is responsible for nearly twice as much of the standard deviation of yield as precipitation. The 120 kg N ha-1 fertiliser treatment resulted in significantly higher yield (2.683 t ha-1 yield surplus) in wet years than in dry years.
In dry years, low soil moisture content inhibits the conversion of the natural nutrients of the soil and soil resistance values are also higher. Shallow tillage potentially contributes to preserving the soil moisture in the 25–35 cm soil layer. In dry years, soil resistance increases due to the reduction of soil moisture.
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János Nagy
Debreceni Egyetem
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