The Effect of Subsurface Placement of Mineral Fertilizer on Some Soil Properties under Reduced Tillage Soybean Cultivation

One of the adverse effects of no-tillage is the accumulation of nutrients (in particular P and K) in the top soil layer. The subsurface application of mineral fertilizers at a depth of 10–30 cm can reduce this phenomenon and at the same time provide a relatively uniform access to soil nutrients for plant roots. Such a method of mineral fertilizer application can additionally decrease the environmental risk associated with water eutrophication because the water runoff from fields, where the soil P content is high, is reduced. The aim of this research was to evaluate the effect of the subsurface application of different rates of a compound mineral fertilizer on the content of some macronutrients, soil organic carbon content (SOC), and soil pH in a field after the harvest of soybean grown under reduced tillage conditions. The field experiment was conducted during the growing seasons of 2014/2015–2016/2017 in the village of Rogów, Zamość County, Poland. It was set up as a split-plot design in four replicates. The first experimental factor included two methods of mineral fertilization application: fertilizer broadcast over the soil surface (S); fertilizer applied deep (subsurface placed) using a specially designed cultivator (Sub-S). The other factor was the rates of the mineral fertilizer (NPKS): 85 kg∙ha⁻¹ (F85) and 170 kg∙ha⁻¹ (F170). Over the successive years of the study, the SOC content was found to increase. However, neither the fertilization rate nor the method of fertilizer application caused any significant difference in organic carbon. Under subsurface fertilizer application conditions, a higher soil pH was found in treatment F85, however, when the fertilizer was surface-applied, the soil in treatment F170 had a higher pH value. During the three-year study period, the P and K content in the 0–30 cm soil layer was higher than in the 30–60 cm and 60–90 cm layers. In turn, the highest Mg content was determined in the 30–60 cm layer. In the case of both mineral fertilizer application methods, a higher P content was determined in the soil fertilized at a rate of 170 kg NPKS, compared with a rate of 85 kg∙ha⁻¹. The surface application of the higher rate of mineral fertilization resulted in an increase in the soil K content. On the other hand, when the mineral fertilizer was subsurface-applied, a higher soil K was determined in the treatments with lower mineral fertilization.