Originally Published: 1997; Revised / 5 pp. / Foreign sudangrass hay buyers want dust-free hay with a bleached light green color and a stem diameter less than one quarter of an inch. Two types of sudangrass hybrids are currently grown in the United States: true sudangrass hybrids and sorghum-sudan hybrids. Sudangrass and related hybrids are annual warm season grasses grown for pasture, green chop, silage, and hay. Sudangrass produces well on all soil types, however best yields are obtained on well-drained, deep loam soils that have a high capacity to absorb and hold water. Sufficient nitrogen should be applied at planting to ensure establishment of the crop and hasten development. Typically, 40 to 80 pounds of actual nitrogen per acre are suggested at planting, based on results from a preplant nitrate-nitrogen soil test. This should be followed by split applications of 60 to 120 pounds actual nitrogen per acre in irrigation water following each cutting. Harvest sudangrass when it is at least 18 to 24 inches tall at the first cutting. Nitrates present in hay crops are considered toxic to many classes of livestock. Most cases of hydrocyanic or prussic acid poisoning are caused by the ingestion of plants that contain cyanogenetic glucosides. Cyanogenetic glucoside itself is non-toxic but hydrocyanic acid.

Nitrate is a common groundwater contaminant. Due to adverse health effects, waters above the Maximum Contaminant Level (MCL) of 10 mg NO3-N/L or 0.71 mmols/L, are banned from domestic consumption by the EPA. Studies have measured elevated nitrate concentrations in arid land soils and groundwater around the world. These elevated concentrations could be detrimental to the environment and to human health. Thus, it is important to consider the different sources and processes affecting nitrate concentrations Here, a novel triple isotope system approach was employed, coupling δ17O with δ18O and δ15N of nitrate to determine the sources (atmospheric, terrestrial, fertilizer, wastewater) and removal processes influencing nitrate concentrations in the Tucson basin groundwater system. Results show low groundwater nitrate concentrations (0.2 mmols/L) where wastewater was not a predominant source of water, versus high concentrations (1 mmols/L) above the MCL in groundwaters where wastewater was the dominant water source. Furthermore, groundwater up to 1.6 Km away from the wastewater stream was contaminated with effluent recharge waters. In addition, denitrification was inferred from δ18O and δ15N data with this inference reinforced by δ17O data and δ15N enrichments up to 26. Finally, low atmospheric nitrate was measured in groundwater, representing up to 6% of total nitrate. The triple isotope approach studied here is ideal for determining the proportion of atmospheric nitrate versus other terrestrial nitrate sources and the significance of nitrate removal processes.

Azotobacter vinelandii is a free-living diazotroph. This bacterium fixes atmospheric nitrogen in different environments using three genetically distinct nitrogenases. A. vinelandii is also capable of utilizing nitrate and nitrite from the environment. Nitrate is reduced sequentially into nitrite and ammonia. The assimilatory nitrate reductase and nitrite reductase are encoded by the nasAB operon. Previous genetic studies identified a number of factors that influence nasAB expression. However, the molecular mechanisms controlling the expression of nasAB are unclear.The current study was initiated to characterize the region preceding the nasAB operon which was previously implicated in its regulation and to further study the molecular mechanisms of nasAB regulation. The results confirm that nasAB is subject to multiple layers of regulation. The operon is under the control of an NtrC-dependent promoter; nitrate/nitrite induction occurs at the post-transcriptional level via antitermination within the nasAB leader region; and nitrate/nitrite induction is mediated by NasS/NasT, a sensor-antiterminator two-component regulatory system.Together, these data suggest a model for the regulation of the assimilatory nitrate reductase operon in A. vinelandii.

The export of nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P) from agricultural catchments is a major problem worldwide. The export of these nutrients is largely driven by storm events, and the hydrologic response of catchments varies within and between storm events. Antecedent soil moisture and rainfall rates have both been shown to affect the discharge and nutrient export from agricultural catchments, but their relationship to nutrient export is not fully understood. Currently, there are no studies that examine the leaching of both nitrate and phosphate from soil pools under the combined influence of differences in soil moisture and rainfall rates. The objectives of this study were to examine the combined effect of antecedent soil moisture and rainfall rates on the hydrologic response of soil and the export of nitrate and phosphate from the soil. The approach used intact soil monoliths in two experiments to first characterize the hydrologic response of the soil, and secondly to assess how the hydrologic response of the soil affects the leaching of nitrate and phosphate from soil pools. Differences in antecedent soil moisture and rainfall rates influenced both the amount of discharge and the hydrologic flow paths in the soil. As was expected, antecedent soil moisture governed the depth of discharge, with more discharge (runoff ratios= 0.89 to 0.91) produced by wet soil and the least runoff produced by dry soil (runoff ratios= 0.08 to 0.14) although this was not affected by the rainfall rate. Instead, rainfall rates predominantly affected hydrologic flow paths in the soil, with preferential flow at the beginning of the leaching period under high intensity rainfall (especially in wet soil), and predominantly matrix flow occurring under low intensity rainfall. The rainfall intensity did not appear to affect discharge volume. The mass of both nitrate and phosphate exported was higher under low intensity rainfall, ranging from 11.2 to 60.1mg/mU+00B2 and 77 to 4980μg/mU+00B2, respectively and from 0.9 to 34.4mg/mU+00B2 and 18.4 to 732μg/mU+00B2, respectively under high intensity rainfall. Antecedent soil moisture was significantly positively correlated with the depth of discharge produced, which also had a significant positive relationship with the mass of nitrate and phosphate exported (Spearman’s ρ= 0.75 to 0.81, p= <0.001), with greater masses of both nutrients exported from wet soil than dry soil. Soil moisture had contrasting influences on the nitrate concentrations in leachate, where nitrate concentrations and soil moisture were negatively related under low intensity rainfall and positively related under high intensity rainfall. Concentrations of phosphate in leachate were more variable, with no clear relationship to soil moisture, discharge, rainfall rate or soil phosphate pools. Antecedent soil moisture and the rainfall rate have a combined influence on the concentration of nitrate in leachate and an influence on the mass of both nitrate and phosphate exported. Although different hydrologic flow paths (matrix, preferential) were observed under the variable antecedent conditions and rainfall rates, this did not appear to affect nutrient fluxes from soil. This may be related to available nutrient pools and distributions in the soil in the current study. Understanding of the influence of flow types on the export of soil nutrient pools requires further study in a lab and a comparison of the breakthrough of nitrate and phosphate from soil pools with that of a conservative tracer (chloride). Nutrient and tracer breakthrough could then be compared to the hydraulic conductivity of the soil and the progression of the wetting front to fully understand the flow paths occurring and their effect on nutrient leaching.

A wastewater treatment and reuse system consisting of a tile drainage system, a constructed treatment wetland (CTW), a reservoir, and an irrigation system was established. The system supplied 780 mm of irrigation water for the 1.8 ha of drained land for the 2008 growing season. A hydraulic tracer study conducted in the CTW supported the use of a length to width ratio of 10:1. During 2008, annual nitrate-nitrogen (NO3--N) and Escherichia coli (E. coli) mass reductions were 67.6 and 63.3%, respectively. Elevated E. coli levels were observed in the reservoir during the warm season. Therefore, water may not be safe for irrigating crops consumed raw. The mean first-order areal uptake rate constants generated for NO3--N and E. coli were 8.0 and 6.4 m y-1, respectively, and are recommended for similar CTWs. A wetland area to drainage area ratio of 4.5% is recommended to achieve ? 70 % mass reduction of NO3--N and E. coli

In response to environmental concerns about NO3- leaching research has shifted toward the increased incorporation of nitrogen-fixing legumes, such as red clover, into agroecosystems to promote tighter cycling of nitrogen (N). Although more sustainable than fertilized systems, red clover still has the potential to contribute to leaching. The objective of this study was to ascertain the contribution of red clover to soil NO3- when grown in mixture with bluegrass. Soil solute samples were collected at 15 and 45 cm depth using ceramic suction lysimeters from two experimental pastures in Nova Scotia in 2009. The concentration of NO3--N in the soil solute of bluegrass-red clover mixtures was 10 to 25 times higher in Truro, and 5 to 16 times greater in Nappan, compared to the corresponding unfertilized pure bluegrass stand. Neither sub-surface irrigation nor two distinct red clover cultivar mixtures were found to significantly alter NO3- leaching patterns.

Nitrate, arsenic and vanadium are all potential groundwater contaminants. Traditional physical/chemical methodologies are often too technical or expensive for rural environments. Biofiltration has been shown to remove a wide range of contaminants depending on the operating parameters. This research examined the possibility of using the denitrifying bacteria, Paracoccus denitrificans, to remove nitrate, arsenic and vanadium simultaneously from groundwater with varying iron concentrations. During bench-scale testing nitrate concentrations were reduced by up to 73%, even with the metals present. Without iron, arsenic and vanadium removal was insignificant. Removal increased when iron was added as it was found that arsenic and vanadium could be removed adsorptively by iron hydroxides. With 1 mg/L of iron present, removal rates of 67% and 91% were achieved for arsenic and vanadium, respectively. When the iron was increased to 2 mg/L, the removal rates increased to 85% and 96%, respectively.

This research examined field measurements and the HYDRUS 1-D (version 4.12) model to quantify annual movement of NO3-N through two soils of different HSG groups (B and C) using a Cl tracer and examine leaching losses attributed to the winter months (November 2007 – April 2008). Field and model data confirmed potential leaching losses ~ 72% (Cl mass recovery) over these months. Differences in Cl and nitrate-N mass recovery indicated potential N losses via other processes such as denitrification and/or immobilization. The 200 kg N ha-1 treatment was most indicative; site’s B and C had 1% and 9% losses, respectively. Both sites exhibited ~ 96-99 % loss of soil nitrate-N and Cl of the fall-applied N and Cl by September 2008. Monthly crop sampling demonstrated ~ 1% soil mineral-N remained at harvest (November 2008). These findings further support the effectiveness of applying N in the spring than the fall. / M.Sc. Thesis / Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, Ontario Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs and the Canadian Water Network

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