Department of Soil Science, College of Agriculture, University of Agricultural Sciences, Bangalore, Karnataka
A study was conducted to assess the possible leaching losses of N from five N sources with three split applications, in a red sandy loam of Bangalore with ragi as the cover crop. Irrespective of splits, the percentage N lost due to leaching was 19.5, 9.7, 9.4, 7.7 and 7.4 from ammonium nitrate, ammonium sulphate nitrate, calcium ammonium nitrate, ammonium sulphate and urea, respectively. The loss of N at the initial stages of plant growth was higher from nitrate containing fertilizers. Based on N losses and crop growth response, N use efficiency under different sources of N has been discussed.
N sources, split application, protective irrigation, N use efficiency
