308-1 Nitrous Oxide and Productivity Index for California Almond.



Wednesday, October 19, 2011: 10:05 AM
Henry Gonzalez Convention Center, Room 217C, Concourse Level

Daniel L. Schellenberg1, Maria M. Alsina1, Saiful Muhammad2, Jennifer M. Jenkins1, Carolina A. Almanza1, Christine M. Stockert1, Blake L. Sanden3, Patrick H. Brown2 and David R. Smart1, (1)Viticulture and Enology, University of California, Davis, CA
(2)Plant Sciences, University of California, Davis, CA
(3)Kern County Cooperative Extension, Univesity of California, Bakersfield, CA
Application of nitrogen (N) fertilizers by agriculture contributes to the increase of the greenhouse gas nitrous oxide (N2O) in the atmosphere.  In 2009-2010, an index was developed for almond [Prunus dulcis (Mill.) D.A. Webb] by taking a N2O-N:fruit-N ratio at the tree scale.  Individual trees were selected within a randomized complete block design with fertilizer treatments, urea ammonium nitrate (UAN) and calcium ammonium nitrate (CAN).  Event-related N2O emissions from fertilization and irrigation were determined for post-harvest (PH), bloom (BL), spring (SP) and summer (SU) seasons with significantly greater emissions from UAN compared to CAN in summer (p = <0.001).  Cumulative emissions for the 2009-2010 growing season for CAN were not significantly different than UAN (p = 0.21).  There were no significant differences between almond yield and fruit-N between the fertilizer treatments (p = 0.72).  The results were used to develop an index which, may be used as a metric to score temporal and spatial variability of greenhouse gas emissions and productivity across diverse landscapes of perennial crops.
See more from this Division: ASA Section: Environmental Quality
See more from this Session: Management Impact On GHG Emissions and Soil C Sequestration: II