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How Weather and Fertilization Affected Grain Yield and Stability of Winter Wheat in a Long-Term Trial in the South Moravian Region, Czech Republic
We evaluated the impact of weather and fertilization treatments (Control, PK, NPK1, NPK2, and NPK3) on winter wheat grain yields in a long-term trial in Ivanovice, Czech Republic, established in 1956. A total of 15 seasons were evaluated. The mean, maximal, and minimal temperatures in Ivanovice have been significantly increasing since 1961, with annual increases of 0.04 °C, 0.03 °C, and 0.05 °C, respectively. Precipitation has been decreasing annually by −0.54 mm (trend is insignificant). Four significant correlations between weather and grain yield were recorded. There were positive correlations between mean (r = 0.7) and minimal (r = 0.5) temperatures in November and negative correlations between mean temperatures in May (r = −0.6) and June (r = −0.6). The combination of naturally fertile chernozem soil and a beneficial preceding crop (alfalfa) enables sustainable cultivation of wheat, even without mineral fertilizers. The application of mineral nitrogen (N) significantly increases wheat grain yield and yield stability. Without mineral N or with high doses of mineral N, yield stability decreases. According to two response models (quadratic and quadratic-plateau), a reasonable dose of fertilizer is 107 kg ha−1 N for modern wheat varieties, corresponding to a yield of 8.1 t ha−1.
Response of Wheat and Sugar Beet to Different Mineral–Organic Fertilization in a Long-Term Experiment
The effect of cyclic pig slurry (PS) application in long-term crop rotations with alfalfa is poorly recognized, particularly with regard to nitrogen use efficiency (NUE) in crops requiring relatively high nitrogen (N) inputs. A long-term field experiment was established in Prague-Ruzyně, Czechia, in 1955. The experiment evaluated the effects of eight fertilization combinations, involving PS application and various N, phosphorus (P) and potassium (K) rates (N0P0K0; N1P1K1; N3P2K2; and N4P2K2). The effect of fertilization was evaluated in a 9-year crop rotation, in which PS was applied only three times under root crops. Long-term different mineral fertilization treatments and the application of PS significantly affected the yield of the tested crops: winter wheat and sugar beet. The highest wheat yield (8.34 t ha−1) was observed in the PS+N3P2K2 treatment, while the highest beet yield (86.1 t ha−1) was recorded in the PS+N4P2K2 treatment. The differences compared with the absolute control (N0P0K0) were 62.3% and 40.5%, respectively. However, statistically significant differences between treatments with different NPK rates were recorded only in plots without PS. With increasing NPK fertilizer rates, the uptake of macronutrients by plants also increased. The only exception was calcium in sugar beet in PS plots. The total N accumulation in plants was proportionally related to the total N input to the soil–plant system (Nin). For winter wheat, this trend was beneficial, as it resulted in higher protein yield, whereas in beet, the sugar yield did not increase significantly when Nin exceeded 250 kg N ha−1. The obtained results indicate that, in the soil conditions of this experiment, N rates should be primarily balanced with appropriate rates of phosphorus.