Attainable yield and soil texture as drivers of maize response to nitrogen: A synthesis analysis for Argentina

CORRENDO, ADRIÁN A.; GUTIÉRREZ-BOEM, FLAVIO H.; GARCÍA, FERNANDO O.; ALVAREZ, CAROLINA; ÁLVAREZ, CRISTIAN; ANGELI, ARIEL; BARBIERI, PABLO; BARRACO, MIRIAN; BERARDO, ANGEL; BOXLER, MIGUEL; CALVIÑO, PABLO; CAPURRO, JULIA E.; CARTA, HÉCTOR; CAVIGLIA, OCTAVIO; CIAMPITTI, IGNACIO A.; DÍAZ-ZORITA, MARTÍN; DÍAZ-VALDÉZ, SANTIAGO; ECHEVERRÍA, HERNÁN E.; ESPÓSITO, GABRIEL; FERRARI, MANUEL; FERRARIS, GUSTAVO N.; GAMBAUDO, SEBASTIAN; GUDELJ, VICENTE; IOELE, JUAN P.; MELCHIORI, RICARDO J.M.; MOLINO, JOSEFINA; ORCELLET, JUAN M.; PAGANI, AGUSTIN; PAUTASSO, JUAN M.; CALVO, NAHUEL I. REUSSI; REDEL, MATÍAS; RILLO, SERGIO; RIMSKI-KORSAKOV, HELENA; SAINZ-ROZAS, HERNÁN R.; SAKS, MATÍAS; TELLERÍA, MA. GUADALUPE; VENTIMIGLIA, LUIS; ZORZÍN, JOSE L.; ZUBILLAGA, MA. MERCEDES; SALVAGIOTTI, FERNANDO

FIELD CROPS RESEARCH

ELSEVIER SCIENCE BV

Año: 2021 vol. 273

0378-4290

The most widely used approachfor prescribing fertilizer nitrogen (N) recommendations in maize (Zea Mays L.)in Argentina is based on the relationship between grain yield and the availableN (kg N ha- 1),calculated as the sum of pre-plant soil NO3--Nat 0- 60 cm depth (PPNT) plus fertilizer N (Nf).However, combining covariates related to crop N demand and soil N supply at alarge national scale remains unexplored for this model. The aim of this workwas to identify yield response patterns associated to yield environment (crop Ndemand driver) and soil texture (soil N supply driver). A database of 788experiments (1980- 2016) was gathered and analyzed combiningquadratic-plateau regression models with bootstrapping to address expectedvalues and variability on response parameters and derived quantities. Thedatabase was divided into three groups according to soil texture (fine, mediumand coarse) and five groups based on the empirical distribution of maximumobserved yields (from Very-Low = <8.5Mg ha- 1 toVery-High = >13.1Mg ha- 1)resulting in fifteen groups. The best model included both, attainable yieldenvironment and soil texture. The yield environment mainly modified theagronomic optimum available N (AONav), with an expected increase rate of ca. 21.4 kg N Mgattainable yield- 1,regardless of the soil texture. In Very-Low yield environments, AONav wascharacterized by a high level of uncertainty, related to a poor fit of the Nresponse model. To a lesser extent, soil texture modified the responsecurvature but not the AONav, mainly by modifying the response rate to N (Fine > Medium> Coarse), and the N use efficiencies. Consideringhypothetical PPNT levels from 40 to 120 kg N ha- 1, the expected agronomic efficiency (AENf)at the AONav varied from 7 to 31, and 9?29kg yield response kg fertilizer N (Nf)- 1,for Low and Very-High yield environments, respectively. Similarly, the expectedpartial factor productivity (PFPNf) at the AONav ranged from 62 to 158, and 55?99kg yield kg Nf- 1, for the same yield environments. These resultshighlight the importance of combining attainable yield environment and soiltexture metadata for refining N fertilizer recommendations. Acknowledging thestill low N fertilizer use in Argentina, space exists to safely increasing Nfertilizer rates, steering the historical soil N mining profile to a moresustainable agro-environmental scenario in the Pampas.