From: Dr. Camberato

Dear Faculty and students:\

I intend to teach this course in March 2011 although I have not yet submitted it for approval through the department. Assuming it will go through I hope to arrange 10 75 minute lectures in March with spillover into early April if needed.  Feel free to pass this on to other students who may have interest.

Agronomy 59x, Nitrogen Bioavailability

Spring Semester 2011

Course Objective: Understand the major nitrogen transformations that occur in soil, the impact of nitrogen on the environment, and basic properties of nitrogen fertilizers.

Professor

James J. Camberato                        Office: Lilly Hall 3-365

                                                                Office and mobile phone: (765) 496-9338

                                                                Email: jcambera@purdue.edu

Text: None.

Prerequisites: None, but basic soils, soil fertility, and/or plant nutrition will be helpful.

Assignments: By arrangement-10 75-minute lectures to be arranged in the month of March. Attendance and class participation is required unless ill.

Grading:	% of grade
Exam 1 (after and outside of the 4^th class period)	30%
Exam 2 (after and outside of the10^th class period, 2/3 new material and 1/3 from first 4 classes)	40%
2 Problem sets	15%
Case study group (2-3 person) presentation (classes 5 and 6)	15%

Learning objectives

1) Understand the soil and environmental factors affecting the major N transformations in soil.

2) Comprehend the impact of N on environmental quality.

3) Be able to design and evaluate the strengths and weaknesses of an N balance study or N fertilization experiment.

4) Be able to evaluate crop production problems related to N management.

(approximate # of lectures) Topic

(1.0) Organic N

Forms and composition

Soil

Green manures

Residue

By-products/manures

Mineralization of organic N

(1.25) Ammonium and nitrate transformations

Nitrification

                                Nitrification inhibitors

Denitrification

Leaching (NH₄, NO₃, and urea)

(1.0) Ammonia, ammonium and urea transformations

Ammonium Fixation

Urea Hydrolysis

Ammonia Volatilization

                                Urease inhibitors

(0.75) Nitrogen fixation

(1.5) Environmental Consequences of N Loss

Water quality

Air quality – NOx, N₂O, NH₃

Biodiversity

(2.0) Nitrogen balance studies

Student presentation of case studies from the literature

(1.0) Fertilizer Materials Characteristics

Compostion

Acidity

Salt Index

Micro-site Reactions

Slow-release forms

Placement & Timing Options

(1.5) Nitrogen Management Tools

Soil Testing

Nitrate

Organic N estimations

Tissue testing

Plant sensing

James J. Camberato

Associate Professor & Extension Specialist

Agronomy Department

Purdue University

915 W. State Street

W. Lafayette, IN 47907

Office and Cell Phone: (765) 496-9338

FAX: (765) 496-2926