N Uptake and Corn Yield as Affected by Applications of Nitrapyrin with Anhydrous Ammonia

The use of nitrapyrin as a nitrification inhibitor of ammonium fertilizers applied to corn (Zea mays L.) has gained widespread interest. Even though initial nitrification rates are usually decreased by nitrapyrin, its use does not always result in increased grain yield. To evaluate the effects of nitrapyrin applied with anhydrous ammonia on yield and N uptake of corn grown on poorly drained soils, field studies were conducted in Illinois at Urbana, Brownstown, and DeKalb. The soil at Urbana and DeKalb was Typic Haplaquoll and Mollic Albaqualf at Brownstown. Anhydrous ammonia was applied with and without nitrapyrin in the fall and spring. Nitrapyrin and N rates ranged from 0 to 1.12 and 0 to 268 kg/ha, respectively. The addition of nitrapyrin had varied effects on N concentration in the plant tissue and on grain and total dry matter yield; however, these effects were not consistent among N rates, locations, or years. At Urbana, the addition of nitrapyrin increased the N concentration in the plant tissue at the fifth-leaf growth stage in 1975 by as much as 7% and in the ear leaf at silk in 1976 by as much as 6%, when comparing within N rates and seasons of application. The N concentration in the grain and stover was reduced by as much as 8 and 27%, respectively, by the addition of nitrapyrin at low rates of N. At DeKalb in 1975, nitrapyrin did not affect N in the plant tissue. In 1976, applications of nitrapyrin with fall-applied N increased N in the ear leaf up to 20% over fall-applied N without nitrapyrin, and increased it up to the concentration found for spring-N applications with or without nitrapyrin. At Brownstown in 1975, plants did not respond either to applied N or nitrapyrin. In 1976, plants responded to nitrapyrin, but adverse weather resulted in data that did not follow expected trends. Grain and stover-yield increases could not be attributed to applied nitrapyrin when N was applied at levels required for maximum economical yield. Soil moisture during both years was not favorable, however, for N losses that would occur normally through leaching and denitrification.