<b>Assessing nitrogen flow in production and utilization cycle of wheat and maize as a tool to monitor N loss in Iran</b> - doi: 10.4025/actascibiolsci.v35i3.16039

• Main Authors: Rooholla Moradi, Mehdi Nassiri Mahallati, Hamed Mansoori, Alireza Koocheki
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: Universidade Estadual de Maringá 2013-08-01
• Series: Acta Scientiarum : Biological Sciences
• Subjects: N use efficiency; N loss; nutrient management; fertilizer
• Online Access: http://www.periodicos.uem.br/ojs/index.php/ActaSciBiolSci/article/view/16039

<p>Increasing resource use efficiency is crucial for enhancement of agricultural productions and reducing environmental hazards. For this purpose, improvement of Nitrogen use efficiency is an effective approach. Not only N loss occurs in field but also in processing course of food utilization. The objective of this study was to evaluate N loss and efficiency from production to consumption for wheat and maize. For this purpose, data for the amount of applied nitrogen, acreage, yields, amount of returned residue were collected and a proportion of N allocated to different source of food or feed was also traced. Results showed that total N harvested by wheat and maize were 387 and 81.7 kt and N use efficiency for the same crops were 25 and 60%, respectively. Efficiency of N harvested by the crops was different based on the path used. Total N use efficiency in food production cycle for wheat and maize were 14.2 and 7.6%, respectively. Higher efficiency of N was observed in plant food production compared with animal feed. In general, N use efficiency in plant food production system was about 13 times higher than that of feed. For decreasing N loss in food production system, efficiency should be increased in the field and processing courses.</p> <p class="apalavrachave"> </p><br />