NUTRIENT LEVELS FOR CORN AND BEANS Tins-is {at the Degree 6? M. S. lama-mm STATE COLLEGE Gearga Raberi’“ McQueen T949 This is to certify that the thesis entitled "Nutrient Level Studies on Corn and Beans" presented by George R. McQueen has been accepted towards fulfillment of the requirements for “0 So degree in $011 Selence (m. Mg Major professor Date December 14, 1959 NUTRIENT LEVELS FOR CORN AND BEANS BY George Robert Mcggeen A THESIS Submitted to the School of Graduate Studies of Michigan State College of Agriculture and Applied Science in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of MASTER OF SCIENCE Ibpartment of Soil Science 1949 Inuit}. A CKN OW LE DGIENT Acknowledgment is made for the assistance, guidance, and suggestions of Dr. R. L. Cook, Dr. K. Lawton, Dr. C. E. Millar, and others who aided in the securing and compilation of the material for these studies. {3529939 Introduction- - — _ _ _ Review of literature- - Procedure - - - — _ _ - Kethods of analysis Soil and green tissue— Phosphorus - - — Potassium- - - - Solutions used Beans Soil tests — Green tissue Yields ~ - - Composition- Corn Soil teSt— — Yields -- - - Composition- Results and Inseussion Beans Soil tests - Green tissue Yields - - - Composition— Corn Soil test- - Yield- - - _ Composition- Summary - — - - — - - _ Bibliography- - - _ _ _ te page number - 4 - 5 - 7 - 9 - 9 - 9 " lO - 15 - 15 - 16 - 18 - 20 - 21 - 25 - 25 _ 26 _ 27 — 55 - 55 - 55 - 58 - 40 - 42 INTRODUCTION In recent years farmers have been using ever increasing amounts of commercial fertilizers in an effort to increase yields. In some instances, where very high applications have been made, yields have not held up to expectations. This has resulted in a question as to why one quantity of fertilizer should cause a great increase in yield while a larger quantity of the same fertilizer resulted in no increase or even a decrease. Numerous experiments have indicated that improperly balanced nutrition may result in depressed yields. This study was conducted with the View of determining the most desirable levels of the three main fertilizer constituents, N, P, K, in the soil for two common Michigan crops, field beans and corn. The crops were grown in Oshtemo sandy soil be- cause of its very low nutrient content. REVIEW OF LITERATURE Liebig in 1840 introduced his "law of minimum" which stated that the absence of any one essential element causes a soil to be barren. This was followed in 1907 by Osterhout (5) who believed that protective salts could be used to prevent other salts from becoming toxic. Then came the recent period with the nutrient balance theories of Beeson (2), Shear and Crane (7), Pierre and Bower (6), and Shear, Crane and Nyers (8). In the balance theories it was pointed out that maximum growth was achieved only when the fertilizer constituents were in a certain balanced ratio. A wide divergence from the ratio may cause a "luxury" intake of one element in an attempt on the part of the plant to compensate for insufficient quanfities of other plant nutrients. Shear, Crane, and Myers (8) stated it as follows: "All other factors being constant, plant growth is a function of nutritional intensity and balance. At any given level of nutritional intensity a multiplicity of ratios may exist between these elements. Hanimum.growth and yield occur only upon the coincidence of optimum intensity and balance." "As any element decreases or increases sub- stantially from its concentration at optimum intensity, C11 the maximum growth possible within the new limits of supply of that element can result only when the con- centrations of all elements have been brought into bal- ance at the new level of intensity determined by that element." PROCEDURE Oshtemo sandy soil was weighed to 8000 grams and placed in two gallon, glazed jars. Oshtemo was used because of its lack of bases which could interfere with nutrient relations in the soil or plant. The soil was taken from the Rose Lake Experimental station, sifted through a quarter inch.mesh screen, and air dried. The amounts of each fertilizer element needed to establish certain levels in the soil were determined by Watson (11). He did this by allowing some soil to come to equilibrium after adding nutrients in varying amounts, after which he tested the samples by the Spurway'method. Calcium phosphate, due to its low solubility, was added dry and mixed into the soil. All nitrogen, potassium, and minor nutrients were added in solution and washed into the soil. The rates of application of each are given in Table l and the desired nutrient levels are indicated in Table 2. An examination of this table shows that all combinations of 4 nitrate levels, 5 phosphorus levels and 4 potassium levels are included. The design, then, is factorial in nature, 4x5x4, making a total of 48 treatments. Each treatment was duplicated. The soils were thoroughly mixed after the fer- tilizer nutrients were added to them. Early hybrid no. 11 field corn and Michelite white field beans were planted on June 7 and were up by June 11. Due to poor seedling survival, however, beans were replanted July 6 and were up July 9. The corn was thinned to four plants per pot and the beans to eight. In tissue testing one entire bean plant was removed from each pot. Not all of the bean plants survived to the time they were harvested. The corn, because of its height, was grown entirely in the greenhouse on benches which were turned regularly to equalize locational variations. The beans were moved out- side immediately after sprouting and remained there through- out the experiment. The plants were watered with distilled water in quantities sufficient to prevent wilting, although some wilting did occur during the very hot weather. The corn was harvested at silking time and the beans as they started to bloom. They were harvested at the soil level, and ground to pass a 40 mesh screen. Phosphorus 'was determined by the method used by Ulrich (10) while potassium was determined by the flame photo- meter method described by Attoe(l). The tissue tests and soil tests were made with the Spurway soil testing kit by the method suggested by Cook et al (4). METHODS OF ANALYSIS Total phosphorus was determined as suggested by Ulrich (10) by treating a 0.5 gm sample of dry plant material with 5 cc of’a 1.0 molar ammonium.nitrate and 0.2 molar magnesium.nitrate solution,dehydrating, follow- ed by ashing in an electric furnace at 550°C for 3 hours. The ash was taken up in 200 cc of 2% acetic acid and 10 cc of this was diluted to 95 cc with distilled water. The phOSphate concentration of the extract was determined by developing the phosphomolybdate blue color through the addition, in rapid succession, of 4 ml of molybdic acid (3) and 6 draps of stannous chloride reagent (9) then diluting to 100 cc. The amount of blue coloration formed "after standing for exactly 8 minutes was read with a Lumetron photoelectric colorimeter using the green filter. Potassium was determined in the plant material by the flame photometer method used by Attoe (1). In the procedure, a sample of .5 gm.of dry plant material, ground to pass a 40 mesh screen in a Wiley mill, was placed in a flask.and 100 ml of extracting solution was added. The flask was steppered and shaken intermittently by hand for one hour. The suspension was filtered through 5 Whatman No. 2 filter paper. The photometer was standardized with a series of standard solutions containing 0, 10, 20, 40, 70, 100, and 150 ppm of potassium and another series of O, 100, 200, 500, and 400 ppm of potassium to take care of the higher concentrations. The extracting solution was 2N with respect to ammonium acetate and 0.2N with respect to magnesium acetate. It was prepared by diluting a stock solution with equal parts of distilled water. The stock solution was 4N with respect to ammonium acetate and 0.4N with respect to magnesium acetate. It was prepared by diluting 228 ml of glacial acetic acid with 500 ml of distilled water and then adding with agitation 270 m1 of concentrated ammonium hydroxide. To this was added 42.8 gms of Mg (02H502)2-4H20. The solution was adjusted to pH6.9 with ammonium hydroxide or acetic acid. 10 Table 1. Application rates of the various fertilizer nutrients per pot (11) and the equivalent rates on an acre basis. P - as mono-calcium phosphate ppm in gm applied pounds extract per pot per acre 0 0 0 5 5.8 1450 10 8.8 2200 K as K01 0 0 0 15 4.22 1055 50 8.54 2085 60 15.11 5777.5 K05 as NPéNOB 0 O 0 12.5 0.72 180 25 1.44 560 50 2.88 720 N05 as NahOs 0 0 0 12.5 1.52 580 25 5.04 760 50 6.08 1520 Ca as Ca005 4000 Mn as IInSOA 25 Kg as HgSOé 200 Cu as CuSGA 25 8% as NazBéov 2.5 wPorax applied on corn only 11 Table 2. Nutrient levels stated as parts per million in the soil extract using Spurway active test. P-0 P-5 P-1o K K K o o o NOS-0 15 15 15 so so so so so so 0 o o 15 15 . 15 NOS-25 so so so so so so 0 o o 15 15 15 so so 5 N03-50 so so so 0 o o 15 15 15 so so so NOS-100 so ‘ so so 12 Table 5. Actual soil tests in parts per million at the time the green bean tissue tests were made which was after 20 days of bean growth at the nutrient levels indicated. P-0% - P-s P-lO N P K N P K N P K 0 tr 0 o 5 o o 10 o 0 tr 15 o 5 15 0- 10 15 NOS-0 o tr~ so 0 5 so 0 10 so 0 ' tr so 5 5 so 0 10 so tr tr 0 o 5 o o 10 0 tr tr 15 o 5 15 o 10 15 NOS-25 15 tr so 0 5 so 0 10 so 20 tr so 20 5 so 20 10 so 25 tr 0 25 5 o 25 10 o 25 tr 15 o 5 15 20 10 15 NOS-50 20 tr so 0 5 so 5 10 so 10 tr so so 5 so 0 10 so 85 tr 0 so 5 o 50 10 o 75 tr 15 so 5 15 so 10 15 Ko5-1oo 55 tr so so 5 so 50 10 so 75 tr so 70 5 so so 10 so *Columns divided on basis of desired phOSphorUtr levels. Rows divided on basis of desired nitrate levels. Within each'NOS-P group are the four deSired levels of K-0, 15, 50, and 60 ppm. 15 Table 4. Actual soil tests in parts per million after 50 days of bean growth and 52 days after the fertilizer applications for the nutrient levels indicated. P-0 P-5 P-lO 1:05 -0 lTié I? lieéei IT 1? Ti ll l? l{ 0 tr 0 O 5 O O 10 O 0 tr 15 O 5 15 O 10 15 0 tr 50 2-0 5 50 0-2 10 50 0 tr 60 5-0 5 60 O 10 60 ROS-25 25 tr 0 10-20 5 0 20-40 10 O 20 tr 15 20-15 5 15 20-2 10 15 25-20 tr 5O 25 5 50 15-10 10 50 20-25 tr 60 15-25 5 60 25-10 10 6O NOB-5O 20-25 tr 0 15 5 O 25 10 0 25-20 tr 15 25—10 5 15 20 10 15 25-20 tr 50 50-25 5 5O 20 10 50 25-55 ' tr 60 50-25 5 60 25-15 10 60 5O tr 0 75-50 5 0 25-55 10 O 50 tr 15 40-15 5 15 55-25 10 15 50-40 tr 50 50-50 5 50 40-20 10 50 60-50 tr 60 60-40 5 60 40-05 10 60 *Two figures indicate a difference in duplicate treatments. **Columns divided on basis of desired phosphorus levels Rows divided on basis of desired nitrate levels. Within each NO -P group are the four desired levels of K-0, 15, 50, and 60 ppm. Table 5. Green tissue tests on beans twenty days after planting as affected by the nutrient levels indicated ( 4 ). P-0 P-5 NQ5-O N P Kan N P tr* lo tr tr med hi lo 10 m hi med med lo hi m hi med hi 10 v hi m.hi hi NOS-25 hi lo 10 hi med hi 10 hi hi med hi 10 hi hi m 10 hi 10 v hi hi lo NQS‘5O hi 10 10 hi med hi lo hi hi med hi 10 v hi hi med hi 10 hi hi m 10 NOS-100 v hi 10 lo hi med v hi lo 10 hi med v hi 10 hi hi med v hi 10 hi hi med *tr - trace m 10 - medium low m hi - medium high K <