Japanese holly growth and release pattern of ammonium and nitrate from controlled-release fertilizers

Scientia Horticulturae, 16 (1982) 291--297 Elsevier Scientific Publishing Company, A m s t e r d a m - Printed in The Netherlands

291

JAPANESE HOLLY GROWTH AND RELEASE PATTERN OF AMMONIUM AND NITRATE FROM CONTROLLED-RELEASE FERTILIZERS

G.C. SHARMA, L. GASHAW and L.M. MUGWIRA Department o f Natural Resource and Environmental Studies, Alabama A & M University, Huntsville, A L 35762 (U.S.A.) (Accepted for publication 18 June 1981}

ABSTRACT Sharma, G.C., Gashaw, L. and Mugwira, L.M., 1982. Japanese holly growth and release pattern of a m m o n i u m and nitrate from controlled-release fertilizers. Scientia Hortic., 16: 291--297. Applications of 0.85, 1.70 or 2.55 kg N m -3 were made to Ilex crenata Thunb. Hetzi. Nitrogen sources included weekly applications of liquid fertilizer (NH4NO3) and single application of TVA's Sulfur coated urea (SCUT), Gold N (SCUG), Nitroform (NITR), isobutylidene diurea (IBDU), and an experimental N-containing Osmocote (OSCN). Shoot dry matter and leaf N from recently matured leaves were determined. Analyses of NH 4-N and NO~-N were also conducted on the monthly leachates collected from the containers. Most controlled-release fertilizers (CRFs) produced greater dry weights at 1.70 kg N, while NH4NO~ produced more dry weight than CRF's at 0.85 or 2.55 kg N. Initially, for CRF's ammonium was more abundant than nitrate in the leachate ; subsequently, nitrate became the dominant N form for most of the growing-season. All urea-based fertilizers had higher NH 4 levels in the leachate when compared with NH4NO~-based fertilizers.

INTRODUCTION

Controlled-release fertilizers (CRF's) are being substituted for soluble fertilizers in container-grown ornamental production. Studies comparing CRF's and soluble fertilizers for specific ornamental crops have generally shown the suitability of both types of fertilizer materials. Kelley (1962) reported the satisfactory performance of ureaformaldehyde (UF) fertilizers for the production of I l e x crenata. Growth of Japanese holly supplied with Osmocote or Osmocote and UF combination equalled or surpassed growth with liquid fertilization (Gouin and Link, 1973). In another study (Whitcomb, 1974), IBDU treatments were compared with Osmocote and UF on woody ornamentals. Many of the IBDU treatments resulted in top growth equal to or better than the other fertilizers. Furuta et al., (1967) reported I. c o r n u t a to be very sensitive to high N levels supplied by sulfur coated urea (SCU) and IBDU. The superiority of a constant, bi-weekly liquid fertilizer regime over several CRF's has also been noted (Sanderson and Martin, 1974).

0304-4238/82/0000--0000/$02.75 © 1982 Elsevier Scientific Publishing Company

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Kelley (1972) reported high correlation (r = 0.95) between leaf N and growth f o r / . crenata 'Rotundifolia'. Soft solution nitrate also correlated well with plant growth of b o t h / , cornuta a n d / . crenata (Gilliam and Wright, 1977). The purpose of this study was to compare a single application of CFR at 3 N rates with liquid fertilization and to determine the growth response of Japanese holly and the releases of NH4-N and NO3-N from these CRF formulations. MATERIALS AND METHODS

R o o t e d cuttings of Japanese holly Ilex crenata Thunb. Hetzi were planted in 3.8 1 (1 gallon) plastic pots on 17 April 1978. The plants were grown on a raised bench in a shade house (30% shade) with a spaghetti-tube irrigation system. The growing-medium consisted of ground pine bark: sand: peat moss and cracked shale, (4:1:1 v/v). Dolomite at the rate of I kg m -3 was added to increase the medium pH from 4.2 to 5.5. P, K and trace elements were supplied using 3.6 kg of 0--14.7--0 triple superphosphate, 5.3 kg of 0--0--24.2 sulphur coated KC1 and 108 g Peters FTE 503 m -3 of the medium. Single applications of TVA's sulfur coated urea (SCUT, 38--0--0), Gold-N sulfur coated urea (SCUG, 32--0--0), experimental Osmocote N (OSCN, 38--0--0) and Nitroform (NITR, 38--0--0) were surface-applied to each p o t at the rates of 0.85, 1.70 and 2.55 kg N m -3 of media. For comparison, 100 ml liquid ammonium nitrate (NH4NO3) at the rates of 58, 110 and 174 mg 1-1 N was applied once a week, to supply similar amounts of N as CRF's, during the growing-seasons. The experimental design for this 6-month experiment was a randomized complete block with 3 replications of 1 plant per replication. Three harvests were made bi-monthly. Dry weight of the shoots was determined by drying at 75°C for 5 days. Total N in recently matured leaves was measured by micro-Kjeldahl (Bremner, 1965) and NO3-N by the phenoldisulphonic yellow m e t h o d (Chapman and Pratt, 1961). At 4-week intervals after planting, 400 ml of water was added to each container receiving CRF and liquid NH4NO3 treatments and the first 200 ml of leachate was collected. Ammonium-N and NO3-N in the leachate were determined using the steam distillation m e t h o d (Bremner, 1965). RESULTS AND DISCUSSION

There were no significant differences in dry weight among N rates and fertilizer sources at the first harvest (Fig. 1). At the second harvest, NITR, OSCN and NH4NO3 at 0.85 N rate produced significantly less dry weight than all the other treatments. There were no significant differences in dry weight produced between the different rates and sources of SCUT, SCUG and IBDU at the third harvest. However, the 0.85 kg N rate, NITR and

293

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3,d HARVEST,LSO(.05)I

22 20 18 16 pZ 14 #. 12 _0 10 8 >6 (3 4 2 SCUT

SCUG

IBDU

NITR

OSCN

NH4 NO 3

Fig. 1. Effect o f 3 rates and 6 N sources o n the dry weight o f Japanese holly harvested at 2, 4 or 6 m o n t h s f r o m transplanting. The 3 bars for each fertilizer f r o m left to right represent 0.85, 1.70 and 2.55 kg N m -3 rates, respectively.

OSCN produced significantly less weight than other fertilizers and rates. Ammonium nitrate produced higher dry matter than CRF's at 0.85 and 2.55 kg N at the final harvest. Leaf N levels of the first harvest were higher when SCUT, SCUG and NH4NO3 at the rates of 1.70 and 2.55 kg N were used (Table I). The 3 fertilizers sources (IBDU, NITR, OSCN) produced no significant differences in total leaf N between the N rates. During the second harvest, NH4NO3 and SCUG at the 2.55 N rate of the N sources showed significantly higher total leaf N than with other treatments. However, all the fertilizer sources showed increases in leaf N with increasing N rates, b u t such increases were n o t statistically significant. During the third harvest, leaf N as a result of the 0.85 kg N rate was significantly lower than at the 2 highest rates. This indicated that the N from all the sources at the lower rate was largely utilized or leached by the third harvest. The means for overall N rates (Table I) suggest that at the first harvest, use of SCUT and SCUG resulted in higher leaf N than the other N sources except NH4NO3. However, during the second and third harvests, there were less differences in leaf N between the sources, except that NITR-treated plants contained less leaf N. Critical leaf N levels f o r / . crenata 'Helleri' and 'Rotundifolia' hollies have been reported to be 2.20 and 2.60% N, respectively (Gilliam and Wright, 1977). Except for NITR, in the second and third harvest the 1.70 and 2.55 kg m -3 rates of other CRF's gave similar leaf N levels for 'Hetzi' holly as those reported for 'Helleri' and 'Rotundifolia'. Plants at the highest N level

294 TABLEI Leaf N (%) in Japanese holly at 3 harvests following applications of 5 controlled-release fertilizers and NH4NO 3. For abbreviations refer to the text. Mean separation within each harvest by Duncan's multiple range test, 5% level. Overall means analyzed similarly Fertilizer sources

Nitrogen rate (kg N/m -3) 0.85 1.70 2.55

Mean

1st harvest SCUT SCUG IBDU NITR OSCN NH4NO ~

2.47 2.42 1.89 1.72 1.28 2.10

bc bc cd de e cd

2.91 3.09 2.24 2.04 1.51 2.74

a a bcd cd e ab

3.21 3.09 2.41 2.25 1.83 3.22

a a bc bcd de a

2.41 2.41 1.90 1.76 1.42 2.27

a a b b b ab

2.80 3.04 2.69 1.55 2.57 2.57

b b b c b b

2.98 3.19 2.72 2.22 3.13 3.04

b b b bc b b

3.10 4.24 3.12 2.52 3.22 4.15

b a b b b a

2.96 2.99 2.51 1.95 2.60 2.81

a a a b a a

2.36 1.99 2.37 1.96 2.55 2.46

ef f ef f ef ef

3.04 2.92 2.98 2.12 3.00 3.64

bcd cde bcd ef bcd bc

3.80 3.45 3.22 2.75 3.24 4.52

ab bcd bcd de bcd a

2.63 2.42 2.47 2.04 2.53 2.90

a ab ab b ab a

2nd harvest SCUT SCUG IBDU NITR OSCN NH4NO 3 3rd harvest SCUT SCUG IBDU NITR OSCN NH,NO s

h a d a g r e e n e r a p p e a r a n c e t h a n t h o s e a t t h e l o w e r level. T h e l e a f NO3-N d a t a f o r t h e 3 h a r v e s t s d i d n o t r e v e a l a n y d i f f e r e n c e s bet w e e n C R F ' s ( d a t a n o t p r e s e n t e d h e r e ) . L e a f n i t r a t e levels r a n g e d f r o m 2 0 0 t o 1 1 0 0 m g 1-1 d e p e n d i n g o n t h e N r a t e a n d t h e h a r v e s t d a t e . T h e a m o u n t s o f NH4-N a n d NO3-N r e c o v e r e d f r o m t h e i n d i v i d u a l l e a c h a t e s are p r e s e n t e d in Fig. 2. T h e NH4-N c o n c e n t r a t i o n f r o m t h e f i r s t l e a c h a t e f o l l o w e d t h e o r d e r o f S C U T > S C U G > I B D U > NH4NO3 > N I T R > O S C N . E x c e p t f o r O S C N , t h e a m o u n t o f NH4-N c o l l e c t e d in t h e s e c o n d a n d subs e q u e n t l e a c h i n g s w a s c o n s i d e r a b l y less t h a n in t h e first o n e f o r all C R F ' s . T r a c e a m o u n t s o f NO3-N w e r e r e c o v e r e d f o r t h e first l e a c h a t e f o r m o s t o f t h e C R F ' s , b u t c o n s i d e r a b l e i n c r e a s e s w e r e o b s e r v e d in t h e s e c o n d l e a c h i n g (Fig. 2). F r o m t h e 3 r d t o t h e 6 t h l e a c h i n g , S C U T , S C U G a n d N I T R g e n e r a l l y s h o w e d a l i n e a r d e c l i n e in NO3-N c o n c e n t r a t i o n . T h e NO3-N f r o m O S C N s h o w e d a d o m e - s h a p e d r e l e a s e p a t t e r n , w i t h less NO3-N r e c o v e r e d in t h e 1st and 2nd, a gradual build-up during the 3rd, 4th and 5th, and a decline by the

295 6th leaching. Greater decline in leachate NH4-N and NO3-N following NH4NO3 treatments occurred during the 2nd, 3rd and 4th month. Increased rainfall during that period and increased nutrient uptake by the plant were largely responsible for the decline. The decline in NH4-N and NO3-N in CRF's is due to depletion of N in these fertilizers by the 6th month. The rate of NO3-N release from IBDU in this study differed markedly from that reported on a 4-month study which showed an increase in NO3-N with time (Miner et al., 1978). However, the NH4-N release-pattern observed here was similar to this earlier report. Leachate analysis clearly demonstrates a preponderance of NH4-N ions during the first m o n t h for most CRF's (Fig. 2). Accumulation of ammonium at a b o u t 2 weeks following IBDU applications, particularly when the pH of the media is 6 or below, has been reported (Hughes, 1974). From our study, it is clear that other urea-based fertilizers, such as the SCU's and to a large extent NITR, a U F fertilizer, also show a similar response (Fig. 2). Fertilizer OSCN, which primarily contains NH4NO3, resulted in considerably lower NH4 levels during the first month. Subsequently, NO3-N was generally the dominant ion in the 2nd to the 6th leachings. The difference in growth, leaf N and quantity of NH4 and NO3 released from CRF's can be explained, based on the C R F product characteristic. Nitroform is a low-solubility CRF. Both biological activity and lower solubility exert an influence on its mineralization rate (Sharma, 1979). In a container environment, microbial activity is conceivably lower and therefore NITR would release lower amounts of plant-available N forms. The inorganic N from IBDU is released more rapidly than from U F fertilizers, thus explaining the greater mineralized N in the leachate for IBDU (Verstraete et al., 1973). Neither micro-organisms nor soil pH have a marked effect on the releaserate for O s m o c o t e fertilizers. Lesser levels of mineralized N were produced by OSCN, primarily because of the thicker coating (Lunt and Oertli, 1962). Higher levels of ammonium released by the 2 SCU products, particularly during the first 2 months (Fig. 2), were probably the result of coating-imperfections (Patel and Sharma, 1977) and a relatively less stringent control mechanism on N-release exerted by the sulfur coating throughout its active release period. In this study, a single application of 1.70 kg m -3 rate of SCUT and IBDU produced dry matter comparable to weekly application of NH4NO3 at its highest rate. The leaf N levels at the end of the growing-season were similar between most CRF's and NH4NO3 treatment. The leachate patterns for NH4-N and the NO3-N differed markedly between CRF's and NH4NO3. Specialized studies under specific media and culture conditions would need to be undertaken before use of CRF's became a standard, dependable and laborsaving production practice for container-grown nursery crops.

296

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1 1: 1

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Vl 2 3 4 5 6 MONTHS FROM PLANTING

I

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I

1 2 3 4 5 6 MONTHS FROM PLANTING

Fig. 2. Release pattern of NH 4 and NO~ in leachate from container-grown Japanese holly treated with 5 controlled-release fertilizers and NH4NO 3. Data are the averages of 3 rates. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

The authors wish to acknowledge the support of the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA, Ala. A&M 1131-105). Fertilizers used here were graciously provided by Hercules, Inc., Wilmington, DL (Nitroform); Swift Chemical Co., Chicago, IL (IBDU); Sierra Chemical Co., Milpitas, CA (Experimental Osmocote-N); Canadian Industries Ltd., London, Ontario (SCUG); and TVA, Muscle Shoals, AL. (SCUT). REFERENCES Bremner, J.M., 1965. Total nitrogen methods of soil analysis, Part 2. In: C.A. Black (Editor), Am. Soc. Agron., Madison, WI 1238. Chapman, H.D. and Pratt, P.F., 1961. Methods of analysis of soil, plant and water. University of California, Div. Agric. Sci., Berkeley, CA, pp. 150--161. Furuta, T., Sciaroni, R.H. and Breece, J.R., 1967. Sulfur-coated urea fertilizer for controlled-release nutrition of container-grown ornamentals. Calif. Agric., 21 (9) 4--5.

297 Gilliam, C.H. and Wright, R.D., 1977. Effect of four levels o f soil, solution and nutrient levels in three container-grown Ilex cultivars. J. Am. Soc. Hortic. Sci., 102: 662--664. Gouin, F.R. and Link, C.B., 1973. Growth response o f container-grown w o o d y ornamentals to slow-release fertilizers. HortScience, 8: 208--209. Hughes, T.D., 1974. Factors affecting nitrogen availability from IBDU. Illinois Turfgrass Conf., College of Agric., Univ. of Illinois, Urbana, IL, 15: 4--5. Kelly, J.D., 1962. Response o f container-grown w o o d y ornamentals to fertilizer with urea-formaldehyde and potassium frit. Proc. Am. Soc. Hortic. Sci., 81: 544--551. Kelley, J.D., 1972. Nitrogen and potassium rate of effects on growth, leaf nitrogen and winter hardiness of Pyracantha coccinia 'Lalandi' and Ilex crenata 'Rotundifolia'. J. Am. Soc. Hortic. Sci., 97: 446--448. Lunt, O.R. and Oertli, J.J., 1962. Controlled-release fertilizer minerals by incapsulating membrane: II. Efficiency o f recovery, influence of soil moisture, mode of application and other considerations in relation to use. Soil Sci. Soc. Am. Proc., 26: 548--587. Miner, G.S., Lilly, J.P. and Terry, D.L., 1978. Nitrogen release characteristics of isobutylidene diurea and its effectiveness as a source of N for flue-cured tobacco. Agron. J., 70: 434--438. Patel, A.J. and Sharma, G.C., 1977. Nitrogen release characteristics of controlled-release fertilizer during a four month soil incubation. J. Am. Soc. Hortic. Sci., 102: 364--367. Sanderson, K.C. and Martin, W.C., 1974. Performance of woody ornamentals in municipal compost medium under nine nitrogen regimes. HortScience, 9: 242--243. Sharma, G.C., 1979. Controlled-release fertilizers and horticultural applications. Scientia Hortic., 11: 107--129. Verstraete, W.V., Claes, M., DeBackere, R. and Voets, J.P., 1973. The influence of Crotodur, Isodur and Nitroform on some soil micro-biological populations and processes. Z. Pflanzenphysiol., 135: 258--266. Whitcomb, C.E., 1974. Development of long-term, low salt, slow-release fertilizer for field and container production and landscape use. Okla. State Agric. Exp. Stn. Res. Rep., 704: 18--22.