Deck 13: Practical Nutrient Management

Question 1

Concentrated animal production as is practiced in modern industrial agriculture usually results in ______.

A) nutrient excesses in the area of the livestock operation
B) depletion of nutrients from the soils in the vicinity
C) insufficient manure production to properly fertilize cropland on the livestock farm
D) nutrient exports from the operation that exceed imports
E) both C and D

Answer 1

A

Question 2

Perforation placement is usually used to fertilize _____.

A) row crops
B) turfgrass
C) landscape trees
D) forests

Answer 2

C

Question 3

Buffer strips principally function in nutrient management to _______.

A) recycle non-renewable nutrients
B) enrich the soil with nutrients that are needed for optimum plant growth
C) prevent the transport of nutrients from fields to streams
D) slow the movement of potential pollutants to the groundwater
E) all of the above

Answer 3

C

Question 4

Fertilization to supply the nutrient element potassium is often accomplished by which type of application?

A) injection of a gas into the soil
B) broadcast of a chloride salt
C) broadcast of the nearly pure element as a solid
D) incorporation of powdered limestone rock
E) application of a chelate to the soil

Question 5

Fertilization to supply the nutrient element sulfur is often accomplished by which type of application?

A) injection of a gas into the soil
B) broadcast of a chloride salt
C) broadcast of the nearly pure element as a solid
D) incorporation of powdered limestone rock
E) application of a chelate to the soil

Question 6

To monitor the effects of management on soil fertility, it is best to sample the soils in an area _______.

A) every one to three years
B) at the same season every time
C) from the same depth every time
D) all of the above
E) none of the above

Question 7

The place where the manure pile was stored last year, a narrow strip that used to be a limestone gravel farm road, and the spot where fertilizer is usually transferred from a nurse truck to the tractor spreader are all examples of parts of a 25 hectare field that should be treated as follows when sampling soil for the soil test lab.

A) included, like all other areas, in the sample sent in for analysis
B) carefully avoided while sampling
C) more intensively sampled (more cores per hectare) than other areas
D) sampled more deeply than other areas
E) sampled and sent in separately

Question 8

Fertilization to supply the nutrient element nitrogen is often accomplished by which type of application?

A) injection of a gas into the soil
B) broadcast of a chloride salt
C) broadcast of the nearly pure element as a solid
D) incorporation of powdered limestone rock
E) application of a chelate to the soil

Question 9

The PSNT nitrogen soil test is designed to be used in growing _____.

A) corn
B) turfgrass
C) alfalfa
D) fruit trees
E) any of the above

Question 10

A cover crop is usually grown for the purpose of _________.

A) improving soil quality
B) saving or recycling nutrients
C) covering expenses for pollution control measures
D) A and B
E) all of the above

Question 11

A grass cover crop grown on cropland over the winter season in a humid temperate region can be expected to ______

A) increase nutrient concentrations in runoff water
B) significantly reduce the amount of water percolating to the water Table
C) significantly reduce the amount of nitrogen fertilizer that will be needed to grow the following crop
D) reduce the amount of nutrients leached to the groundwater
E) all of the above

Question 12

The nutrient element magnesium is often supplied by which type of application?

A) injection of a gas into the soil
B) broadcast of a chloride salt
C) broadcast of the nearly pure element as a solid
D) incorporation of powdered limestone rock
E) application of a chelate to the soil

Question 13

Of the macronutrients, which can be most correctly said to be a renewable resource?

A) potassium
B) nitrogen
C) phosphorus
D) calcium
E) iron

Question 14

If soil test results for P are available, the optimum amount of P fertilizer to apply to a crop can be best recommended by __________.

A) comparing the cost of P fertilizer to the yield responses measured in the past when P was applied to similar soils with similar soil test P levels
B) subtracting the available soil test P from the total P uptake for the desired yield goal
C) subtracting the soil test P level measured from the soil test P level considered to be on the border of "high" and "very high"
D) calculating the amount of P needed to bring the ratios of soil test P to N, P to K, and P to
E) these days, all four of the above a done, in order, by a computer program

Question 15

Within the technical capabilities of the particular lab, most soil test results can be best interpreted as indicating the _______________________.

A) total amount of each nutrient in the soil
B) amount (lbs or kg ) of nutrient present in plant available forms
C) amount or concentration of nutrient in the soil solution
D) probability (likelihood) that nutrient application will improve plant growth
E) amount of nutrient needed to achieve balanced soil fertility

Question 16

Well-vegetated buffer strips 10 to 20 meters wide can be expected to reduce the total N content of runoff water by about ______.

A) 10%
B) 20%
C) 40%
D) 60%
E) 90%

Question 17

Fertilization to supply the nutrient element iron is often accomplished by which type of application?

A) injection of a gas into the soil
B) broadcast of a chloride salt
C) broadcast of the nearly pure element as a solid
D) incorporation of powdered limestone rock
E) application of a chelate to the soil

Question 18

In recent years, a soil test for nitrogen has been developed and widely used in humid regions in predicting how much nitrogen will need to be applied to supplement natural mineralization in the soil. This test is called the _______.

A) Mehlich II nitrogen test
B) Differential Nitrate Extraction Test (DNET)
C) diagnosis and recommendation integrated system (DRIS)
D) pre-sidedress nitrate test (PSNT)
E) soil nitrogen partial analysis (SNPA)

Question 19

Modern nutrient management is designed to _____________.

A) cost-effectively produce quality plants
B) protect or improve environmental quality
C) protect or improve soil quality
D) conserve nutrient resources
E) all of the above

Question 20

For a year or so after clear-cut (even-aged) harvesting large areas of mature forest, the streams draining the watershed can be expected to carry ______ than before the harvest.

A) much less water
B) a much greater total nitrate load
C) much less calcium and other cations
D) away enough pollutants to reduce the toxic load to levels lower
E) all of the above

Question 21

For most soils, even if they test "high" in a nutrient such as potassium or nitrogen, it is necessary to apply at least as much of each nutrient as is removed in the harvest, if the soil is not to eventually become infertile and unproductive.

Question 22

Many years of research have confirmed that the quadratic (parabolic curve) model is the best method of making fertilizer recommendations based on response curves, especially if environmental quality is a high priority.

Question 23

Soil test interpretations have been developed so that for most fields testing "high" in a nutrient, addition of that nutrient will not increase yield enough to more than pay for the cost of applying the nutrient.

Question 24

The primary means to avoid non-point source nitrogen and phosphorus pollution in agricultural watersheds is to avoid applications that bring the available supply of these nutrients in soils to amounts higher that can be used by crop plants.

Question 25

For most plants the relationship between plant tissue concentration of a nutrient and the dry matter production of the plant is linear until toxicity begins to have an effect.

Question 26

To enable the most consistent and appropriate interpretations, all soil samples submitted to a particular soil test lab should be taken from the same soil depth, regardless of differences in the type of tillage used or plants grown.

Question 27

Soil test interpretations have been developed so that for most fields testing "low" in a nutrient, addition of that nutrient will increase yield enough to more than pay for the cost of applying the fertilizer.

Question 28

Integrated nutrient management seeks to apply, as fertilizer, enough of each nutrient to replace that removed from the soil by plant uptake.

Question 29

Routine soil testing on a regular basis allows landowners to monitor most changes in soil quality.

Question 30

Based on the data given in the Table, if the revegetation site were limed and fertilized with nitrogen, would you also recommend the addition of P fertilizer to improve tree growth?

A) no
B) yes
C) no basis to judge
Average height of 10 trees planted on reclaimed, mined-over land.
Growth factor added Nothing added 100 kg/ha N 50 kg/ha P 2 cm / wk water
No lime 56 45 63 50
Lime added 85 170 84 80
True or False Questions
(Write T or F after each question.)

Question 31

Consider the data in the accompanying Table giving the average height of 10 trees planted in order to revegetate a disturbed soil. What was the most limiting factor for tree growth on this soil?

A) water
B) soil pH
C) nitrogen
D) phosphorus

Question 32

Buffer strips are usually a last-resort mechanism of pollution control because of their expense and unfavorable side-effects.

Question 33

The cost of fertilizer is the main consideration of nutrient management for most ornamental landscaping applications.

Question 34

Most research has shown that at both high and low fertilization levels, about 15 to 20% of the nitrogen applied as fertilizer will be lost by leaching from medium textured soils growing corn.

Question 35

Most synthetic chemical fertilizers are inorganic salts.

Question 36

When banding fertilizer, the material should be placed about 1 or 2 cm below the seed being planted.

Question 37

As runoff water flows across a grassed buffer strip, the concentrations of N and P in the water decrease slowly at first, but if the buffer strip is sufficiently wide, major reductions in these concentrations will occur just before the water leaves the buffer.

Question 38

Land application of treated sewage sludge is an effective means of recycling nutrients back to the soil from which they were originally taken.

Question 39

Broadcast application usually requires less fertilizer to achieve a given level of plant response than does banding.

Question 40

The forestry industry uses fertilizers most often to treat old growth stands that will produce valuable lumber