FERTILIZING EXPERIMENTS WITH ANHYDROUS AMMONIA AT KOTKANIEMI Yrjö Pessi, Jorma Syvälahti, Auvo Leskelä and Mikko Ylänen Rikkihappo Oy, Helsinki Received May, 28, 1971 Abstract. On spring cereals and in fertilization in connection with the sowing of winter cereals the effectiveness of ammonia is comparable to that of calcium ammonium nitrate. In tests that were arranged at Rikkihappo Oy’s experimental farm Kotkaniemi it was established that anhydrous ammonia given in connection with spring cereal fertilization and autumn cereal earthing is equal to CAN in effect. 16 tests were carried out during a period of five years using placement fertilization the soil being silty clay in most cases. Differences did not occur in the grain yield, the 1000-grain number hl-weight or in the protein content of the grain crop. Urea proved to be less effective than the two other fertiliz- ers. The usage of anhydrous ammonia as a straight nitrogen fertilizer had a good start in the USA in the 1950’5. This method of using nitrogen in an anhydrous form has also been investigated in many European countries, namely France, England, and Denmark (Anon. 1968) Especially in Denmark the usage of ammonia has increased rapidly, and in 1967 68 about 95 000 tons of anhydrous ammonia was used rapidly as a fertilizer (Anon. 1969) and the figure is still going up. Anhydrous ammonia (NH 3) contains 82.2 % nitrogen (N). Ammonia is usually a gas but under sufficient pressure it is possible to keep it liquid. While the temperature varies from 0° to + 30° C the necessary pressure varies within 3.4 to 10.9 kg/cm 2 . Owing to this, the ammonia storage and transport equipment have to meet certain requirements. When the ammonia is discharged from the application equipment it immediately turns into gas and gets fixed into the soil. The only application method for ammonia is injection. In its effectiveness as a fertilizer ammonia has proved to be equal to other nitrogen fertilizers (Salonen 1967, Cooke 1968, Jansson 1966, van Burg 1969). The equipment necessary for storage and injection, how- ever, requires more capital than is needed in the use of bagged goods. How profitable the usage of ammonia is greatly depends on the distance of transportation, the kind of soil on the farm, the climatic conditions and the size of the farm (Buchner 1966). Ammonia is not a suitable fertilizer for grassland (van Burg 1966, van Burg et al. 1967). In connection with the injection the roots of the plants are damaged and earthing https://www.c-info.fi/en/info/?token=Y9Brj3tCFwKpH9IH.zkuySNCvKvOChu_iKnKiAg._Gc7Ekj390zRq3bnX2Vfvkugwz5mQ4JcHfBdkHAoOXYjP5x0zecyNCouP1WbnXQrXL0LMHaSXvmDywaJuZe6naweJ8Kr4cOECpvbipCpF2eOOtaeePt_PeXvEaLzysyD9V8GI0B6s8Tdrk28NBv0pAZT2GRzZ7DB-hqMmiY9T0nXV1f6DOWCWdI7YEZhQeZ0mTldj25ZTKubCYQ-7WF9Lk4ZANCFxhRN5HM1Vgm-t2QWNm-Q3zeTC80cVC4 214 can seldom be carried out properly. Nor is ammonia suitable for winter cereals in spring because it may uproot the plants in connection with the injection (van Burg et al. 1967). Autumn injection is often too risky in Western Europe because of larger N-losses in mild and wet winters. Under certain conditions, however, autumn application might be suc- cessful (van Burg 1969). In Finland anhydrous ammonia has been used only in experiments. Fertilizing ex- periments with ammonia have been carried out on the Kotkaniemi experimental farm at Vihti, the total number of experiments being sixteen during five years, 1966—70. The experiments have been made with spring and winter cereals. The experiments have been carried out with a Danish Marsk Stig apparatus which is easy to use and has a satis- factory injection accuracy. When the experiments were started the tank of the machine was replaced by gas bottles filled with ammonia in order to perform fertilization to a depth of 15 cm and make the ammonia fix perfectly into the soil. The working of the cultivator at the back of the machine is weak. The precipitations and the mean temperatures of the test years (1965—70) are given in Table 1. Table 1. Climatic conditions at Vihti during the growing seasons 1965—70. Precipitation per month in mm. V VI VII VIII IX Total 1965 8.318.1 106.990.0 65.0288.3 1966 15.1 40.7 74.9 28.3 77.7236.7 1967 51.921.8 27.8 142.1 53.3296.9 1968 70.530.6 67.1 111.4 74.4354.0 1969 21.615.5 45.340.1 95.9218.4 1970 26.420.3 130.4 34.1 61.8273.0 Mean value 32.324.5 75.474.3 71.3 277.8 Mean temperature per month in °C Mean value V VI VII VIII IX (V—IX) 7.7 16.0 9.4 17.9 10.1 14.7 7.4 16.2 8.7 15.3 9.3 16.2 1965 14.6 13.4 11.6 12.66 13.8 7.9 13.381966 17.9 7.9 13.38 1967 17.6 15.2 10.5 13.62 15.3 10.0 12.68 15.2 9.6 13.00 1968 14.5 1969 16.2 9.6 13.00 1970 16.0 14.4 9.2 13.00 Mean value 8.8 16.0 16.1 14.5 9.813.04 Table 2. Experiment with anhydrous ammonia on winter cereals in the years 1966 —70. Test in 1966 —67. Soil type silty clay. Soil analysis in 1967: pH 5.8, Ca 2 500, P 4.5 and K 220 mg/1. Fertilization in connection with seed- bed preparation 500 kg ha compound fertilizer (15 —25 —10). Test made with Pekka rye and Nisu wheat. Size of test plot: wheat 5 X 30 m, rye 5 X 25 m. 2 replicates in both experiments. Test in 1967 —68. Soil type sandy and silty clay. Soil analysis in 1967: pH 5.8, Ca 2 100, P 10.0 and K 315 mg 1. Fertilization in connection with seed-bed preparation 1 000 kg/ha compound fertilizer (15 —20 —15). Test made with Pekka rye. Size of test plot 5 X 25 m. 3 replicates. Test in 1968 —69. Soil type silty sandy clay. Soil analysis in 1967: pH 5.7, Ca 2 430, P 4.0 and K 290 mg/1. Fertilization in connection with seed-bed preparation 800 kg/ha PK-fertilizer (2— 17— 15). Test made with Linna wheat. Size of test plot 5 X 50 m.4 replicates. Test in 1969 —70. Soil type loam. Soil analysis in 1967: pH 5.8, Ca 2 770, P 2.0 and K 100 mg/1. Fertilization in connection with seed-bed preparation 800 kg/ha PK-fertilizer (2— 17— 15). Test made with Pekka rye. Size of test plot 7.5 x 40 m. 4 replicates. The following table of experiments conforms with the year 1969. In 1966 —68 the amount of nitrogen (N) given to the crop was 150 kg/ha, in 1969 162 kg/ha, in 1970 164 kg/ha. Average grain yield Treatment Wheat Rye Average Lodging Hl-weight 1 000 g.w. (2 experiments) (3 experiments) (wheat 4- rye) % kg g kg/ha rel. kg/ ha rel. kg/ ha rel. Wheat Rye Wheat Rye Wheat Rye 1. PK-fertilizer (2—17—15) 800 kg/ha in autumn + nitrogen in calcium ammonium nitrate in spring 3 290 100 2 930 100 3 070 100 0 84 80.4 72.7 36.625.5 2. » + nitrogen in calc. amm.nitrate 54 ' n autumn, y2inspring 3 360 102 3 070 105 3 180 104 0 81 80.773.2 35.824.3 3. » + Y2of nitrogen in autumn as ammonia, Y2inspring as calc. amm.nitrate 3 120 95 3 010 103 3 050 99 0 77 80.2 73.1 36.924.8 4. » + nitrogen as calc. amm.nitrate in autumn 3 240 98 2 990 102 3 090 101 0 76 80.6 73.8 36.5 27.1 5. » + nitrogen as ammonia in autumn 3 420 104 3 050 104 3 190 104 0 77 80.673.5 35.823.9 F-value (wheat + rye) = 1.26 Results The results of the experiments are given in Tables 2—6. Used in autumn on winter wheat and rye ammonia proved (Table 2) to have a fertilizing effectiveness as good as 215 Table 3. Experiment with anhydrous ammonia on spring cereals in 1966 —69. Test in 1966 —67. Soil type silty clay fine sand. Soil analysis in 1967: pH 6.2, Ca 2060, P 11.0 and K 200 mg/1. Phosphorus potassium fertilization corresponds to 500 kg/ha compound fertilizer (15—25— 10). Fertilizers given 15 October 1966 through drilling, 24 May 1967 through broadcasting before tillage. Test made with Svenno wheat. Size of test plot 5 X 50 m. 3 replicates. Test in 1967—68. Soil type silty sandy clay. Soil analysis in 1967: pH 5.9, Ca 3150, P 2.3 and K 215 mg/1. Fertilization 1200 kg/ha compound fertilizer (15 —20—15). Fertilizers 20 September 1967 through drilling, 31 May 1968 through broadcasting before tillage. Test made with Otra barley. Size of test plot 10 X 50 m.4 replicates. Test in 1968—69. Soil type silty clay. Soil analysis in 1967: pH 5.8, Ca 2500, P 5.6 and K 340 mg/1. Fertilization 800 kg/ha PK-fertilizer (2— 17— 15). Fertilizers 8 October 1968 through drilling, 7 May 1969 through broadcasting before tillage. Test made with Porno barley. Size of test plot 5 X 50 m.4 replicates. The following table of experiments conforms with the year 1969. In 1967 the amount of nitrogen given to the cropwas 150 kg N, ha, in 1968 the figure was 180 kg N/ha. Grain yield Lodging-% Hl-weight 1000 g.w. Protein % Treatment barley + wheat barley + kg g barley + average wheat wheat kg/ha rel. average barley wheat barley wheat average 1. PK-fertilizer (2—l7 —15) in autumn + 156 kg N/ha calcium ammonium nitrate inspring 3 510 100 26 68.183.7 37.936.2 12.52 2. » + 78 kg N/ha in ammonia, autumn + 78 kg N/ha in calc. amm.nitr. in spring 3 800 108 28 68.883.9 37.235.7 11.85 3. » + 78 kg N/ha in ammonia, autumn + 78 kg N/ha in ammonia, spring 3 870 110 25 68.8 83.8 41.234.6 11.82 4. » + 156 kg N/ha in ammonia, autumn 3 860 110 28 70.5 84.1 42.0 35.7 11.15 5. » + 156 kg N/ha in calc. amm.nitr. in autumn 3 590 102 22 69.684.5 41.336.0 11.07 F-value (Grain yield) = 0.82 sx = 4.96 % that of calcium ammonium nitrate or even better, similarly on spring wheat and barley (Table 3). No differences can be seen in the hl-weights, in the 1 000 grain weights or in the crude protein. When comparing ammonia, calcium ammonium nitrate and urea 216 Table 4. Comparison between anhydrous ammonia, calcium ammonium nitrate and ureaon spring cereals in 1966 —69. Wheat: Soil type sandy clay. Soil analysis in 1967: pH 5.9, Ca 2400, P 4.0 and K 190 mg/1. Fertilization in spring with PK-fertilizer (2—17—10) 800 kg/ha, nitrogen in different forms in 1966 75 kg/ha (calcium ammonium nitrate 2 % and urea6 % too large compared with ammonia), 1967 137 kg/ha, 1969 90 kg/ha, 1969 87 kg/ha. Test made with Svenno. Size of test plot 10 x 120 m. 2 replicates. Barley: Soil type silty clay. Soil analysis in 1967: pH 5.8, Ca 2300, P 3.0 and K 215 mg/1. Fertilization in spring PK-fertilizer (2—17—15) 800 kg/ha, nitrogen in different forms in 1966—67 100 kg/ha and in 1968 95 kg/ha. Test made in 1966 — 67 with Balder and in 1968 Otra barley. Size of test plot 7.5 X 65 m. 2 replicates. Grain yield Treatment 1966 1967 1968 1969 Average kg/ha rel. kg/ha rel. kg/ha rel. kg/ha rel. kg/ha rel. Wheat 1. No nitrogen 2 000 100 2 160 100 1300 100 1470 100 1730 100 2. Ammonia, drilling 2 250 113 3 540 164 2 960 228 2 540 172 2 820 163 3. Calcium ammonium nitrate, drilling 2 410 121 3 590 166 3 250 250 2 610 177 2 970 172 4. Urea, drilling 1790 90 3 490 162 3 110 239 2 190 149 2 650 153 Barley 1. No nitrogen 300 100 1520 100 1110 100 980 100 2. Ammonia, drilling 2 200 733 3 030 199 3 120 280 2 780 284 3. Calcium ammonium nitrate, drilling 2 000 667 2 670 176 2 830 255 2 500 255 4. Urea, drilling 1060 353 2 320 153 3 010 271 2 130 217 5. Calcium ammonium nitrate, broadcast 1510 503 2 400 158 2 990 269 2 300 234 In 1966 In 1967 In 1968 In 1969 Grain yields, wheat: F = 2.50 F =11.62** F =46.B3*** F =20.75* sx = 8.38% sx = 6.36% sx = 5.00% sx = 5.18% Grain yields, barley: F = 53.30** F = 6.57 F = 0.62 (Treatments 2— 5) sx = 4.14% Sx = 4.80% Sx = 5.10% trIE6 > < (Tables 4 and 5) on wheat, ammonia gave a 5 % and urea an 11 % lower yield than calcium ammonium nitrate. On barley ammonia gave an 11 % higher yield than calcium ammonium nitrate and urea a 15 % weaker yield than calcium ammonium nitrate. Especially in 1966 urea gave a poor yield. As to the components, such as falling number 217 Table 5. Comparison between effects of anhydrous ammonia, calcium ammonium nitrate and ureaon spring cereals in 1966 —69. The results are averagevalues: wheat 4 years (years 1966 —69), barley 3 years (years 1966 —68). Treatment Grain yield Lodging Hl-weight 1000 g.w. Falling Protein pH kg/ha rel. % kg g number») %**) 1966 1969 Wheat 1. No nitrogen 1730 100 0 79.234.4 248 11.47 5.60 5.90 2. Ammonia, drilling 2 820 163 30.578.4 36.3 243 12.97 5.65 5.85 3. Calcium ammonium nitrate, drilling 2 970 172 31.2 78.1 36.5 278 13.85 5.80 5.95 4. Urea, drilling 2 650 153 26.278.9 36.0 271 13.72 5.80 5.85 Barley 1. No nitrogen 980 100 0 63 38.011.50 2. Ammonia, drilling 2 780 284 20.0 63.2 40.010.70 3. Calcium ammonium nitrate, drilling 2 500 255 12.562.6 39.710.40 4. Urea, placement 2 130 217 7.562.8 38.611.25 5. Calcium ammonium nitrate, broadcas 2 300 234 6.761.7 38.111.10 *) years 1968—69 **) only in 1968 and protein content, having an effect on the crop quality there are no differences between different fertilizers, nor are there any differences in the changes of the soil pH. The crop yields obtained with pea-oats shown in Table 6 are the same in the cases of ammonia and compound fertilizer and additional nitrogen given in spring. 218 219 Table 6. Experiment with anhydrous ammonia on pea-oats mixture. Soil type clayey sand and silt. Soil analysis in 1967; pH 6.4, Ca 1 600, P 24.0 and K 470 mg/1. In spring 500 kg compound fertilizer (15—25 10) by drilling -|- 200 kg/ha calcium nitrate by broadcasting on shoots. Test made with pea- oats mixture (Pendek Kalle). Size of test plot 5 X 30 m. 4 replicates. Treatment Grain yield Lodging kg/ha rel. % 3 059 100 95 3 037 99 95 1. 75 kg N/ha as NH 3 previous autumn 2. Only spring fertilization Test plot was so heavily fertilized in spring (500 kg/ha compound fertilizer (15—20—15) -f- 200 kg/ha calcium nitrate) that ammonia used in autumn did not have an increasing effect on the crop. F-value = 0.05 Sx = 9.70% REFERENCES Anon. 1968. Review of Liquid Nitrogen Fertilizer Developments and Usage. Nitrogen No. 44, 15—20, 36. London. Anon. 1969. Fra forsogene med flygende ammoniak 1961—68. Gadningen No. 2: 27—32. Kobenhavn. Buchner, A. 1966. Die Aussichten der Anwendung von wasserfreien Ammoniak im Bundesgebiet. Land- wirtsch. Forsch. 19; 185—195. van Burg, P. F. J. 1966. Versuchsergebnisse der Dungung von Acker und Grilnland mit fliissigem Am- moniak. Ibrd. 19; 163—184. — » — von Brakel, G. D. & Schepers, J. H. 1967a. The agricultural value of anhydrous ammonia on grassland: experiments 1963—65. Netherlands nitrogen technical bulletin No. 2: I—3l. —»— 1967b. The agricultural value of anhydrous ammonia on arable land: experiments 1963—66. Ibrd. No. 3: 1—39. —»— 1969. The Agronomic Value of Anhydrous Ammonia in Western Europe. Outlook Agr. 6: 55—9. Cooke, G. W. 1968. Rothamsted experimental station. Report for 1968, part 1: 38—62. Jansson, L. S. 1966. Aktuella synpunkter p& flytande ammoniak som kvävegödselmedel. Växt-närings- nytt 4: I—B. Salonen, M. 1967. Ammoniakki typpilannoitteena. Koetoim. ja Käyt. 24: 5, 7. SELOSTUS NESTEMÄISEN AMMONIAKIN LANNOITUSKOKEIDEN TULOKSIA Yrjö Pessi, Jorma Syvälahti, Auvo Leskelä ja Mikko Ylänen Rikkihappo Oy, Helsinki Kevätviljojen lannoituksessa sekä syysviljojen kylvömuokkauksen yhteydessä annettavassa lannoi- tuksessa on nestemäinen ammoniakki osoittautunut Rikkihappo Oy:n Kotkaniemen koetilalla vaiku- tukseltaan kalkkiammonsalpietarin veroiseksi. Viitenä vuotena on järjestetty sijoituslannoitusta käyttäen 16 koetta maalajin ollessa useimmissa kokeissa hiesusavea. Eroavuutta ei ole esiintynyt jyväsadon määrässä, 1000-jyvän ja hehtolitran painossa eikä jyväsadon valkuaispitoisuudessa. Urea osoittautui vaikutukseltaan molempia lannoitteita huonommaksi.