Distribution, and uptake by rice plants of 15N-labeled ammonium applied in mudballs in paddy soils

A 1974 field experiment determined the distribution, and uptake by rice plants, of ammonium fertilizer at 60 kg N/ha applied in mudballs into the reduced layer of paddy soil. The fertilizer-carrying mudballs were placed at the center of four hills. At the center of the plot, one 15N-labeled mudball was applied and the 15N content of the plants surrounding the site of placement were determined. For comparison, labeled ammonium fertilizer was basally incorporated with the entire puddled layer and a topdress application was made 39 days before heading. There was little movement of the ammonium nitrogen horizontally from the site of placement so that the distribution of 15N was restricted to the four adjacent plant hills. The distribution of incorporated ammonium fertilizer with the puddled layer was likewise restricted to the four adjacent rice plants but topdressing, with the unavoidable disturbance of the floodwater, resulted to a wide distribution of the 15N-labeled fertilizer. In all the methods of application, there was an uneven uptake of 15N among four plants adjacent to the site of placement. An increase of at least 10% in the efficiency of ammonium fertilizer was obtained by the deep placement of ammoniated mudballs as compared to the common practice of incorporating the fertilizer with the puddled soil layer. Topdressing at 39 days before heading, however, was as efficient as mudballs applied at the same stage of growth. There was no significant increase in grain yield by deep placement of fertilizer because of the high initial nitrogen content of the soil. (author)