INFLUENCE OF CROP RESIDUE AND FERTILIZERS ON STAND, YIELD, AND ROOT ROT OF BARLEY IN SOUTHERN ALBERTA

Abstract

The effects of nitrogen and phosphorus fertilizers and winter wheat residue on growth, yield, and common root rot (Cochliobolus sativus (Ito and Kurib.) Drechs. ex Dastur) of barley (Hordeum vulgare L.) are discussed. The deleterious effect on barley yields of incorporating large amounts of crop residue into the soil just before seeding could be partially overcome by application of nitrogen fertilizer. The amount of residue alone had little effect on root-rot severity in 2 of 3 years but severity of infection increased as the rate of applied nitrogen was increased. Applied phosphorus generally had little effect on yield or root-rot severity, although the average number of pathogens, particularly Fusaria spp., isolated from crown pieces grown under heavy residue and high rates of applied phosphorus alone was lower than that from other treatments.