Effect of nitrogen fertiliser management on soil mineral nitrogen, nitrous oxide losses, yield and nitrogen uptake of wheat growing in waterlogging-prone soils of south-eastern Australia

Some of the highest nitrous oxide (N2O) emissions arising from Australian agriculture have been recorded in the high-rainfall zone (>650 mm) of south-western Victoria. Understanding the association between nitrogen (N) management, crop N uptake and gaseous losses is needed to reduce N2O losses. Field experiments studied the effect of N-fertiliser management on N2O emissions, crop N uptake and crop productivity at Hamilton and Tarrington in south-western Victoria. Management included five rates of urea-N fertiliser (0, 25, 50, 100 and 200 kg N/ha) topdressed at either mid-tillering or first-node growth stages of wheat development; urea-N deep-banded 10 cm below the seed at sowing; and urea coated with the nitrification inhibitor DMPP (3,4-dimethylpyrazole phosphate) was either topdressed or deep-banded. Pre-sowing soil profile chemical properties were determined before static chambers were installed to measure N2O losses, accompanied by wheat dry matter, crop N uptake and grain yield and quality, to measure treatment differences. N2O losses increased significantly (P <= 0.10) where urea-N was deep-banded, resulting in a 2-2.5-fold increase in losses, compared with the nil N control. The high N2O losses from deep-banding N appeared to result from winter waterlogging triggering gaseous or drainage losses before wheat reached peak growth and demand for N in spring. Despite the high losses from deep-banding urea-N, grain yields were largely unaffected by N management, except at Hamilton in 2012, where topdressed wheat growing in a soil with large reserves of NO3--N, and later experiencing post-anthesis water deficit resulted in a negative grain yield response. All sites had high concentrations of soil organic carbon (>2.8%) and the potential for large amounts of N mineralisation throughout the growing season to supplement low N fertiliser recovery. However, topdressed urea-N resulted in significant enrichment of crop tissue (P <= 0.004) and associated positive response in grain protein compared with the deep banded and nil N treatments. 3,4-Dimethylpyrazole phosphate (DMPP)-coated urea provided no additional benefit to crop yield over conventional urea N. Our study highlighted the importance of synchronising N supply with peak crop N demand to encourage greater synthetic N uptake and mitigation of N2O losses.