Field experiments on the effect of applying a nitrogenous fertilizer to wheat at different stages of growth

Abstract

An account is given of the results of two series of field experiments carried out at Rothamsted and Woburn in the years 1926 to 1936 on the effect of nitrogenous fertilizers on wheat. In the first series a comparison was made of the effects of early (March) and late (May) top-dressings, and in the second series a range of times of application from sowing to the end of May were tested.At Rothamsted, the increases of yield of grain produced by the nitrogenous fertilizer were small and rarely significant, but they were greater at Woburn. On the average of all experiments, the effect of the fertilizer on yield of grain was independent of the time of application. In individual years, variation in effectiveness between times of application was found, and this was correlated with the amount of rain falling in a short period after the time of application. At Woburn, the effectiveness of the fertilizer decreased with increase in the amount of rain falling immediately after the application of the fertilizer, but at Rothamsted the effects were less clear and appeared to be in the opposite direction.The effects on straw yield were relatively greater, and more consistent, than those on grain yield. A greater increase of straw yield was produced by early top-dressing (January–March) than by application at the time of sowing, and the increase declined steadily the later the time of topdressing. Shoot height was increased by the nitrogenous fertilizer, and varied with time of application in a similar manner to straw yield.