N2O Emissions from wheat, 2014 Hamilton, Victoria, (NANORP Filling the Research Gap Round1)

Brief description

In the high rainfall zone (>650 mm) of south west Victoria, some of the largest emissions of nitrous oxide (N2O) arising from Australian agriculture have been recorded; understanding the association between nitrogen (N) management, crop N uptake and gaseous losses are needed for formulating N2O abatement strategies. A Field experiment was conducted at Hamilton south west Victoria, to study the effect of N fertiliser management on N2O emissions, crop N uptake and crop productivity over the 2014 growing season. Management included five different rates of N fertiliser (0, 25, 50, 100 and 200 kg N/ha), mostly topdressed at either mid till or first node growth stags of wheat cv. Bolac; urea N deep banded 10 cm below the seed at sowing; and the nitrification inhibitor DMPP (3,4-Dimethylpyrazole phosphate) coated to urea (ENTEC®) was also deep banded. Three more rates of urea N with additional foliar Cu fertiliser treatments were also included in the study. Pre-sowing profile soil chemical properties were determined before static chambers were used to measure N2O losses, accompanied by wheat dry matter and grain yield, crop N uptake and grain quality measurements to quantify differences between N management.