Assessing the Potential for Ion Selective Electrodes and Dual Wavelength UV Spectroscopy as a Rapid on-Farm Measurement of Soil Nitrate Concentration

Rory Shaw, A. Prysor Williams, Anthony Miller and Davey L. Jones
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Rory Shaw: School of Environment, Natural Resources and Geography, Bangor University, Gwynedd, LL57 2UW, UK
A. Prysor Williams: School of Environment, Natural Resources and Geography, Bangor University, Gwynedd, LL57 2UW, UK
Anthony Miller: John Innes Centre, Norwich Research Park, Norwich, NR4 7UH, UK
Davey L. Jones: School of Environment, Natural Resources and Geography, Bangor University, Gwynedd, LL57 2UW, UK

Agriculture, 2013, vol. 3, issue 3, 1-15

Abstract: Current fertiliser recommendations for nitrogen are limited in their accuracy and may be improved by the use of simple on-farm soil rapid tests. This paper investigates the potential for using nitrate (NO 3 − ) ion selective electrodes (ISEs) and dual wavelength UV spectroscopy as part of a rapid soil NO 3 − diagnostic test. Three soil types, representing the major soil types for agriculture in the western UK, were tested. For the three soils, the ISE rapid test procedure gave a near 1:1 response ( r 2 = 0.978, 0.968, 0.989) compared to the internationally-approved standard laboratory method. However, the accuracy of the ISE rapid test was reduced at low soil NO 3 − concentrations (<10 mg NO 3 − L −1 ). We also show that NO 3 − analysis of H 2 O soil extracts by dual wavelength UV spectroscopy was also highly correlated ( r 2 = 0.978, 0.983, 0.991) to the standard laboratory method. We conclude that both ISE and dual wavelength UV spectroscopy have clear potential to be used for the rapid on-farm determination of soil NO 3 − concentration. Barriers to use of these field-based assessment tools include, farmer perception of cost-benefit, general attitude to new technologies and the ability to generate useful fertiliser use strategies from soil NO 3 − measurements.

Keywords: crop nutrients; fertiliser management; nitrogen use efficiency; soil analysis (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: Q1 Q10 Q11 Q12 Q13 Q14 Q15 Q16 Q17 Q18 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2013
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