IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/gam/jsusta/v12y2020i11p4403-d363894.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Reduction of Nitrogen Fertilizer Requirements and Nitrous Oxide Emissions Using Legume Cover Crops in a No-Tillage Sorghum Production System

Author

Listed:
  • G. Y. Mahama

    (Department of Agronomy, 2004 Throckmorton Plant Science Center, Kansas State University, Manhattan, KS 66506, USA
    Council for Scientific and Industrial Research–Savanna Agricultural Research Institute, P.O. Box 494 Wa, Ghana)

  • P. V. V. Prasad

    (Department of Agronomy, 2004 Throckmorton Plant Science Center, Kansas State University, Manhattan, KS 66506, USA)

  • K. L. Roozeboom

    (Department of Agronomy, 2004 Throckmorton Plant Science Center, Kansas State University, Manhattan, KS 66506, USA)

  • J. B. Nippert

    (Division of Biology, 116 Ackert Hall, Kansas State University, Manhattan, KS 66506, USA)

  • C. W. Rice

    (Department of Agronomy, 2004 Throckmorton Plant Science Center, Kansas State University, Manhattan, KS 66506, USA)

Abstract

Nitrous oxide (N 2 O) emission from denitrification in agricultural soils often increases with nitrogen (N) fertilizer and soil nitrate (NO 3 − ) concentrations. Our hypothesis is that legume cover crops can improve efficiency of N fertilizer and can decrease N 2 O emissions compared to non–cover crop systems. The objectives of this study were to (a) evaluate the performance of summer leguminous cover crops in terms of N uptake and carbon (C) accumulation following winter wheat and (b) to quantify the effects of summer leguminous cover crops and N fertilizer rates on N 2 O emissions and grain yield of the subsequent grain sorghum crop. Field experiments were conducted in the context of a wheat-sorghum rotation for two seasons in Kansas. Treatments consisted of double-cropped leguminous cover crops following winter wheat harvest with no fertilizer applied to the following grain sorghum or no cover crop after wheat harvest and N fertilizer rates applied to the grain sorghum. The cover crops were cowpea ( Vigna unguiculata L. Walp.), pigeon pea ( Cajanus cajan L. Millsp.), and sunn hemp ( Crotalaria juncea L.). The three N treatments (were 0, 90, and 180 kg·N·ha −1 ). Fallow systems with 90 and 180 kg·N·ha −1 produced significantly greater N 2 O emissions compared with cropping systems that received no N fertilizer. Emissions of N 2 O were similar for various cover crops and fallow systems with 0 kg·N·ha −1 . Among cover crops, pigeon pea and cowpea had greater C accumulation and N uptake than sunn hemp. Grain yield of sorghum following different cover crops was similar and significantly higher than fallow systems with 0 kg·N·ha −1 . Although fallow systems with 90 and 180 kg·N·ha −1 produced maximum sorghum grain yields, N 2 O emissions per unit of grain yield decreased as the amount of N fertilizer was reduced. We conclude that including leguminous cover crops can decrease N fertilizer requirements for a subsequent sorghum crop, potentially reducing N 2 O emissions per unit grain yield and providing options for adaptation to and mitigation of climate change.

Suggested Citation

  • G. Y. Mahama & P. V. V. Prasad & K. L. Roozeboom & J. B. Nippert & C. W. Rice, 2020. "Reduction of Nitrogen Fertilizer Requirements and Nitrous Oxide Emissions Using Legume Cover Crops in a No-Tillage Sorghum Production System," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(11), pages 1-18, May.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:12:y:2020:i:11:p:4403-:d:363894
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/12/11/4403/pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/12/11/4403/
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Dave S. Reay & Eric A. Davidson & Keith A. Smith & Pete Smith & Jerry M. Melillo & Frank Dentener & Paul J. Crutzen, 2012. "Global agriculture and nitrous oxide emissions," Nature Climate Change, Nature, vol. 2(6), pages 410-416, June.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Mathijs Harmsen & Charlotte Tabak & Lena Höglund-Isaksson & Florian Humpenöder & Pallav Purohit & Detlef Vuuren, 2023. "Uncertainty in non-CO2 greenhouse gas mitigation contributes to ambiguity in global climate policy feasibility," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 14(1), pages 1-14, December.
    2. Yuan Li & Gang Wang & Narasinha J. Shurpali & Yuying Shen, 2022. "Nitrogen Addition Affects Nitrous Oxide Emissions of Rainfed Lucerne Grassland," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(13), pages 1-13, June.
    3. Vagner do Nascimento & Orivaldo Arf & Marlene Cristina Alves & Epitácio José de Souza & Paulo Ricardo Teodoro da Silva & Flávio Hiroshi Kaneko & Arshad Jalal & Carlos Eduardo da Silva Oliveira & Miche, 2022. "Mechanical Chiseling and the Cover Crop Effect on the Common Bean Yield in the Brazilian Cerrado," Agriculture, MDPI, vol. 12(5), pages 1-14, April.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Lili Guo & Yuting Song & Mengqian Tang & Jinyang Tang & Bright Senyo Dogbe & Mengying Su & Houjian Li, 2022. "Assessing the Relationship among Land Transfer, Fertilizer Usage, and PM 2.5 Pollution: Evidence from Rural China," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(14), pages 1-18, July.
    2. Felizitas Winkhart & Thomas Mösl & Harald Schmid & Kurt-Jürgen Hülsbergen, 2022. "Effects of Organic Maize Cropping Systems on Nitrogen Balances and Nitrous Oxide Emissions," Agriculture, MDPI, vol. 12(7), pages 1-30, June.
    3. Stafford, William & Birch, Catherine & Etter, Hannes & Blanchard, Ryan & Mudavanhu, Shepherd & Angelstam, Per & Blignaut, James & Ferreira, Louwrens & Marais, Christo, 2017. "The economics of landscape restoration: Benefits of controlling bush encroachment and invasive plant species in South Africa and Namibia," Ecosystem Services, Elsevier, vol. 27(PB), pages 193-202.
    4. Guofeng Wang & Pu Liu & Jinmiao Hu & Fan Zhang, 2022. "Agriculture-Induced N 2 O Emissions and Reduction Strategies in China," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(19), pages 1-16, September.
    5. Anik, Asif Reza & Eory, Vera & Begho, Toritseju & Rahman, Md. Mizanur, 2023. "Determinants of nitrogen use efficiency and gaseous emissions assessed from farm survey: A case of wheat in Bangladesh," Agricultural Systems, Elsevier, vol. 206(C).
    6. Francesco N. Tubiello & Josef Schmidhuber, 2014. "Emissions of greenhouse gases from agriculture and their mitigation," Chapters, in: Raghbendra Jha & Raghav Gaiha & Anil B. Deolalikar (ed.), Handbook on Food, chapter 16, pages 422-442, Edward Elgar Publishing.
    7. Mario Herrero & Benjamin Henderson & Petr Havlík & Philip K. Thornton & Richard T. Conant & Pete Smith & Stefan Wirsenius & Alexander N. Hristov & Pierre Gerber & Margaret Gill & Klaus Butterbach-Bahl, 2016. "Greenhouse gas mitigation potentials in the livestock sector," Nature Climate Change, Nature, vol. 6(5), pages 452-461, May.
    8. Yusuf Nadi Karatay & Andreas Meyer-Aurich, 2018. "A Model Approach for Yield-Zone-Specific Cost Estimation of Greenhouse Gas Mitigation by Nitrogen Fertilizer Reduction," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 10(3), pages 1-18, March.
    9. Ahmmed Md Motasim & Abd Wahid Samsuri & Arina Shairah Abdul Sukor & Amin Mohd Adibah, 2021. "Gaseous Nitrogen Losses from Tropical Soils with Liquid or Granular Urea Fertilizer Application," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(6), pages 1-11, March.
    10. Dario Caro & Steven Davis & Simone Bastianoni & Ken Caldeira, 2014. "Global and regional trends in greenhouse gas emissions from livestock," Climatic Change, Springer, vol. 126(1), pages 203-216, September.
    11. Raymond Mugandani & Liboster Mwadzingeni & Paramu Mafongoya, 2021. "Contribution of Conservation Agriculture to Soil Security," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(17), pages 1-11, September.
    12. Gernot Pehnelt & Christoph Vietze, 2013. "Quo Vadis European Biofuel Policy: The Case of Rapeseed Biodiesel," Jena Economics Research Papers 2013-015, Friedrich-Schiller-University Jena.
    13. Fan, Xing & Zhang, Wen & Chen, Weiwei & Chen, Bin, 2020. "Land–water–energy nexus in agricultural management for greenhouse gas mitigation," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 265(C).
    14. Kapila Shekhawat & Vinod K. Singh & Sanjay Singh Rathore & Rishi Raj & T. K. Das, 2021. "Achieving Sustainability in Food Systems: Addressing Changing Climate through Real Time Nitrogen and Weed Management in a Conservation Agriculture-Based Maize–Wheat System," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(9), pages 1-19, April.
    15. Martina Lori & Sarah Symnaczik & Paul Mäder & Gerlinde De Deyn & Andreas Gattinger, 2017. "Organic farming enhances soil microbial abundance and activity—A meta-analysis and meta-regression," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 12(7), pages 1-25, July.
    16. Md Elias Hossain & Xurong Mei & Wenying Zhang & Wenyi Dong & Zhenxing Yan & Xiu Liu & Saxena Rachit & Subramaniam Gopalakrishnan & Enke Liu, 2021. "Substitution of Chemical Fertilizer with Organic Fertilizer Affects Soil Total Nitrogen and Its Fractions in Northern China," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(23), pages 1-15, December.
    17. Chaobiao Meng & Jianyu Zhao & Ning Wang & Kaijing Yang & Fengxin Wang, 2022. "Black Plastic Film Mulching Increases Soil Nitrous Oxide Emissions in Arid Potato Fields," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(23), pages 1-12, November.
    18. Murillo Vetroni Barros & Rômulo Henrique Gomes Jesus & Bruno Silva Ribeiro & Cassiano Moro Piekarski, 2023. "Going in Circles: Key Aspects for Circular Economy Contributions to Agro-industrial Cooperatives," Circular Economy and Sustainability, Springer, vol. 3(2), pages 861-880, June.
    19. Jiang, Rui & Li, Xiao & Zhu, Wei & Wang, Kun & Guo, Sheng & Misselbrook, Tom & Hatano, Ryusuke, 2018. "Effects of the ridge mulched system on soil water and inorganic nitrogen distribution in the Loess Plateau of China," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 203(C), pages 277-288.
    20. Shanyun Wang & Bangrui Lan & Longbin Yu & Manyi Xiao & Liping Jiang & Yu Qin & Yucheng Jin & Yuting Zhou & Gawhar Armanbek & Jingchen Ma & Manting Wang & Mike S. M. Jetten & Hanqin Tian & Guibing Zhu , 2024. "Ammonium-derived nitrous oxide is a global source in streams," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 15(1), pages 1-9, December.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:12:y:2020:i:11:p:4403-:d:363894. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: MDPI Indexing Manager (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.mdpi.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.