Effect of nitrogen supply by soil depth on sugarbeet production and quality

Nitrogen (N) supply is important in sugarbeet production to optimize yield and quality. Determining the effect of N supply by soil depth on sugarbeet production in the Northwest U.S. is important to continue fine-tuning management practices while minimizing negative environmental impacts. To accomplish this objective, a greenhouse column study was conducted by Amalgamated Sugar Company and USDA-ARS Northwest Irrigation and Soils Research Laboratory. The study was conducted using thirty, one meter by 0.3 meter columns filled with 0.9 meters of soil. The treatments consisted of adding N fertilizer at a rate of 132 kg N/ha to three 0.3 meter soil depths (depth 1 = 0-0.3 meters, depth 2 = 0.3-0.6 meters, and depth 3 = 0.6-0.9 meters). Each treatment was replicated six times in a randomized block design. Although all treatments (except the control) had a total N supply of 222 kg N/ha in the entire 0.9 meter soil depth, the distribution of the N in the soil profile affected the measured factors. Sugarbeet tuber mass, tuber sucrose mass, leaf (includes stems) mass, tuber N mass, leaf N mass were higher for treatments where N fertilizer was added to depths 1 and 2 compared to when N fertilizer was added to depth 3. Data indicates that sugarbeets were not able to utilize N from depth 3 as efficiently as from depth 1 and depth 2. The N use efficiency measurements (N recovery efficiency, N removal efficiency, and fertilizer N uptake efficiency) were greatest when 132 kg fertilizer N/ha was supplied in depths 1 and 2 compared to when some or all the 132 kg fertilizer N/ha supply was in depth 3. There were no treatment effects on sugarbeet quality factors. The sugarbeet plants did not utilize N in depth 3 as effectively as depths 1 and 2, and N levels in depth 3 did not negatively affect quality. The findings of this study highlight the need to question the value of a depth 3 soil sample for determining N fertilizer requirements. The cost/benefit evaluation of taking a soil sample to include depth 3 (0.6 to 0.9 meters) needs to be further evaluated in the field

Effects of sugarbeet processing precipitated calcium carbonate on crop production and soil properties

Precipitated calcium carbonate (PCC) lime is a byproduct of sucrose extraction from sugar beet processing factories in Idaho. Each year 351,000 Mg PCC is produced and stockpiled at sugarbeet factories in Idaho. There are currently no viable disposal strategies for the PCC and these stockpiles continue to grow in size each year. The simplest solution would be to apply this PCC directly to agricultural fields each year, however the effects of PCC on high pH soils and southern Idaho crop rotations are not well understood. A study was conducted at the USDA-ARS laboratory in Kimberly, Idaho to determine the effects of PCC application to an alkaline silt loam soil on sugar beet, dry bean and barley production and soil properties. Three PCC treatments (rate and timing) and an untreated control were compared. The PCC had no effects on crop production factors and most soil properties. The only significant effect of PCC treatments was an increase in soil phosphorus (P) concentrations compared to the control. The PCC can serve as a P fertilizer. For all crops in this study, PCC was applied at rates that resulted in applied P levels that were 1.6 to 5.3 times greater than even the highest published recommended P rates. Compared to the control, bicarbonate soil P concentrations increased by 25% and 73% for the final PCC application amounts of 26.9 Mg per ha (6.7A treatment) and 89.7 Mg per ha (6.7A and 89.7T treatments), respectively. The PCC used in this study can safely be applied (at rates up to 87.9 Mg per ha) to heavier textured alkaline soils in the local growing area. Disposing of PCC in this way represents a viable strategy for reducing PCC stockpiles

Evaluation of strip-tillage and fertilizer placement in Southern Idaho corn production

Strip tillage (ST) and associated nutrient placement can potentially help producers reduce fuel and machinery costs, increase yield, and reduce soil erosion compared to chisel tillage (CT). This study was initiated to evaluate corn production (Zea mays L.) under ST and CT, and various nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P) fertilizer placements. The effects of tillage practice and N and P placement on grain and biomass yield of field corn was assessed on two sites at the USDA ARS Northwest Irrigation & Soils Research Laboratory at Kimberly, ID with different levels of soil fertility and productivity. Two sites were selected in a furrow irrigated field that had been previously cropped to alfalfa. Site A was located in the top half of the field and Site B was located in the bottom half of the field. Site A had lower levels of soil organic C (OC) and soil test P and K compared to Site B. The treatments were 1) ST with deep placement of N and broadcast P; 2) ST with 2 by 2 placement of N and broadcast P; 3) ST with deep placement of N and P; 4) CT with 2 by 2 placement of N and broadcast P; and 5) CT with broadcast N and P. The grain yields at Site A were greater for ST compared to CT. The deep band placement of N and P with ST had a yield (175 bu acre-1) advantage of 23 and 16 bu acre-1 over both CT treatments, respectively and increased yields to levels similar to the average of Site B (178 bu acre-1). No differences in grain yield occurred at Site B for all treatments. There were no differences in biomass yield of corn at the VT (tassel) growth stage and grain harvest time at both sites. The average total dry matter biomass at grain harvest time was 9.1 and 10.4 tons acre-1 averaged over all treatments, respectively. Data from year one of this study indicates that ST and deep band placement of N and P increased corn grain yield over CT and conventional fertilizer placement methods in highly eroded low fertile soils. Irrespective of the potential yield increases there may be an economic advantage associated less fuel due to less tillage passages with ST compared to CT. Because the data presented in this paper is from one year, caution should be exercised in extrapolating these results from year to year due to the variability in crop production associated with time-specific factors. This study will be carried out over a least one to two more years before final conclusions and recommendations are issued

Evaluation of Nitrogen and Phosphorus Fertilizer Placement With Strip Tillage for Irrigated Pacific Northwest Corn Production

Nutrient placement options with strip tillage (ST) can potentially improve plant nutrient utilization and increase crop yield compared to conventional fertilizer placement practices under conventional tillage (CT). The effects of tillage practice and nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P) placement on grain yield, biomass yield (whole plant, grain + cobs + stover), and N and P uptake of field corn (Zea mays L.) were assessed on four sites during 2007 and 2009 at the USDA-ARS Northwest Irrigation & Soils Research Laboratory at Kimberly, ID. During each year, two locations (eroded and not eroded from furrow irrigation) were utilized as study locations. Band placement of fertilizer with ST increased corn grain yield by 12.5 % (11 bu/acre) and 25.9% (26 bu/acre) on the eroded locations compared to broadcast N and P and 5cm×5cm N under CT in 2007 and 2009, respectively. These increased yields also resulted in better utilization of N and P by the plant. Reduced tillage costs of ST with associated band placement of N and P could increase the economic productivity of many acres of land in the Pacific Northwest

Nitrogen management in northwest U.S. sugarbeet production

Nitrogen (N) management is important in sugar beet production. This study was conducted to continue to fine-tune N management in the Northwest U.S. sugarbeet growing area. In 2018 and 2019, field studies were conducted at 6 locations by agronomists from The Amalgamated Sugar Company and scientists at the USDA-ARS Northwest Irrigation and Soils Research Laboratory in Kimberly, Idaho. The purpose was to evaluate the effect of N supply (fertilizer N + soil available N) on sugarbeet production. Five of the studies had a significant relationship between N supply and sucrose or root yield. The N supply required to maximize sucrose yields in the 5 responsive sites ranged from 145 to 258 kg N per ha. Data from our study supports past research showing that a Static Range N Management (SRNM) approach is valid as an alternative to a Yield Goal N Management approach which often leads to an over-supply of N. The average N supply required to maximize yields in our study was only 1 kg N per ha greater than that identified in our 2005-2011 study conducted in the same area (203 kg N per ha vs 202 kg N per ha). However, although optimal N supply was similar, the average maximum yield in this study was 22.2 percent greater than in the 2005 to 2011 studies. We suggest that sugarbeet growers determine N supply from a representative 0 to 0.9 m soil samples and employ a SRNM approach to N management. Continued research over time may be required to further fine tune the SRNM N range

Effects of manure history and nitrogen fertilizer rate on sugar beet production in the northwest U.S.

Past manure applications effects on sugarbeet production needs to be assessed in the areas where manure applications to crop land are common. A study was conducted in Kimberly, Idaho in 2014 and 2016 to assess the effects of manure application history and N rates on sugarbeet production on a Portneuf silt loam (coarse-silty mixed mesic Durixerollic Calciorthid) soil. From 2004 to 2009, manure was applied to plots every two years (M1, total application = 60 tons per acre), every year (M2 total application = 106 tons per acre), or no manure (F, commercial fertilizer only). In spring 2014, the manure main plots were split in half with one half receiving a commercial fertilizer N rate treatment superimposed on the main plots in 2014 and the other half receiving the superimposed N rate treatments in 2016. In 2014 and 2016, the commercial fertilizer N rates were 0, 30, 56, 77, 100, 141, 180, and 202 pounds per acre. The study design was a randomized block split-plot with manure history as the main plot and N rate as the subplot. During both years of the study, N rate did not affect sugarbeet yields, but M1 and M2 treatments had higher sugarbeet root yields compared to the F treatment. Averaged across all N rates, root yields from both manured treatments were 12% and 36% greater than the F treatment in 2014 and 2016, respectively, although sugar yield was only significantly greater in 2016. Manure applications will impact sugarbeet production for several years after manure applications have ceased

Clinoptilolite Zeolite Influence on Inorganic Nitrogen in Silt Loam and Sandy Agricultural Soils

Development of best management practices can help improve inorganic nitrogen (N) availability to plants and reduce nitrate-nitrogen (NO3-N) leaching in soils. This study was conducted to determine the influence of the zeolite mineral Clinoptilolite (CL) additions on NO3-N and ammonium-nitrogen (NH4-N) in two common Pacific Northwest soils. The effects of CL application rate (up to 26.9 Mg ha-1) either band applied or mixed with a set rate of nitrogen (N) fertilizer on masses of NO3-N and NH4-N in leachate and soil was investigated in a column study using a Portneuf silt loam (coarse-silty mixed mesic Durixerollic Caliciorthid) and a Wolverine sand (Mixed, frigid Xeric Torripsamment). All treatments for each soil received a uniform application of N from urea fertilizer, with fertilizer banded or mixed with CL. In the Portneuf soil, band application of CL and N contained 109% more total inorganic N (NO3-N + NH4-N) in the soil/leachate system compared to mixing. In both soils, CL application rate influenced the quantity of NO3-N and NH4-N in the leachate and soil. Application of CL at rates of 6.7 to 13.4 Mg ha-1 resulted in the conservation of inorganic N in the soils. Band applying CL and N appears to conserve available inorganic N in the soil compared to mixing CL and N possibly due to decreased rates of microbial immobilization, nitrification and denitrification

Effects of tillage and irrigation management on sugarbeet production

Increased water demands and drought have resulted in a need to determine the impact of tillage and deficit water management practices in irrigated sugarbeet (Beta vulgaris L.) production. This study was conducted over three growing seasons (2012, 2013, and 2015) at the USDA-Agricultural Research Service, Northwest Irrigation and Soils Research Laboratory in Kimberly, ID on a Portneuf silt loam soil. Treatments consisted of two tillage treatments (strip tillage [ST] and conventional tillage [CT]) and four water input treatments (approximately 100, 75, 50 and 25 percent of estimated crop ET [ETd]) using a linear move irrigation system. Estimated recoverable sucrose (ERS) yield, root yield, sucrose concentration and brei nitrate concentration were statistically the same for ST and CT across all water input levels. However, there was a significant tillage by water interaction for root yield in 2012. The significant interaction was a result of ST at the W3 (approx. 57 percent ETd) water input level having a higher root yield (72 Mg/ha) compared to the CT treatment (63 Mg/ha). Water input had significant effects on ERS and root yields. In general, as water input increased, ERS and root yields increased. Estimated recoverable sucrose and root yields in 2012, 2013, and 2015 were maximized at the ETd rates of 75, 97 and 58 percent, respectively. Data from this study supports the use of ST in sugarbeet production at various water input rates ranging from full irrigation to deficit irrigation. This support is based on equal yield potential with CT, tillage cost savings compared to CT, and agronomic and environmental benefits associated with increased soil surface residue

Fertilizer value of sugarbeet processing precipitated calcium carbonate for crop production in Southern Idaho

The annual accumulation of precipitated calcium carbonate (PCC) in sugar processing factory stockpiles in the Northwest U.S. sugar beet growing area can create problems related to storage requirement and environmental related issues. Utilizing this PCC for agricultural use may provide a long-term solution to this problem but applying PCC or other lime materials to high pH soils is not a common practice. In other areas of the U.S., PCC is routinely used as an amendment in low pH soils to ameliorate negative effects on crop growth, however this use is not needed in the Northwest U.S. sugarbeet growing area due to soils typically having high pH. Recently concluded research in southern Idaho has demonstrated that PCC application (rates up to 40 dry tons per acre) on calcareous soils does not negatively affect crop growth or yields. An alternative reason for PCC application may be to supply phosphorus (P) and potassium (K) as a fertilizer. The PCC in this study had average P and K concentrations of 24.8 lbs P2O5 per ton and 4.1 lbs K2O per ton. Data from this and other research studies suggests that PCC and P fertilizer likely have equivalent plant P availability. This study also assumed that the K in PCC was equivalent to K fertilizer. Across all crops assessed in this study (sugarbeet, corn, spring malt barley, and potato (Russet Burbank)), as P and K fertilizer prices increased from 2018 and 2022, the value of P and K in PCC increased from $12.65 per ton to$25.54 per ton and $1.19 per ton to$2.87 per ton, respectively. Averaged across all acres and selected crops in the Amalgamated Sugar Company (ASCO) growing area, substituting PCC for fertilizer P and accompanying K could have resulted potential savings of between $39 per acre in 2018 to$80 per acre in 2022. Substituting PCC for fertilizer K could have resulted potential savings of between $34 per acre in 2018 to$77 per ac in 2022. Alternate uses, and transportation and application costs need to be accounted for to fully understand the full PCC value. Because Amalgamated Sugar Company is a grower owned cooperative, PCC utilization strategies are economically important for sugarbeet growers

Effect of deficit irrigation timing on sugarbeet

Increased water demands and drought have resulted in a need to determine the impact of deficit water management in irrigated sugarbeet (Beta vulgaris L.) production. This study was conducted over 3 yr at USDA-ARS in Kimberly, ID, on a Portneuf silt loam soil. Eight irrigation treatments consisted of crop evapotranspiration (ETc) rates combined with application timing. Treatments were: W1 Even: approximately (?) 100% ETc evenly throughout the growing season; W2 Even: ?65% crop evapotranspiration; W2 Early: ?100% ETc early in season, ?55% ETc the remainder of the season; W2 Late: rain-fed from emergence to end of July, ?100% ETc the remainder of the season; W3 Even: ?40% ETc; W3 Early: ?100% ETc early in season, ?25% the remainder of the season; W3 Late: rain-fed through mid-August, ?100% ETc the remainder of the season, and rain-fed: no post emergence irrigation. Results showed that within deficit irrigation treatments, higher yields were obtained when water was applied evenly throughout the season (Even) or ?100% of ETc was applied early with deficit irrigation later in the season (Early). Thus, the W2 Even and W2 Early treatments had 31.6, 32.9, and 28.2% greater estimated recoverable sucrose (ERS) yields compared to the W2 Late treatment in 2011, 2012, and 2016, respectively. Across all years, ERS yields increased at rates ranging from 17.3 to 22.0 kg ha–1 mm–1 actual crop water evapotranspiration (ETa). Generally, sugarbeet with greater water stress early in the season followed by ?100% ETc later had lower yields and sucrose content (late treatments)