Effect of nitrogen mineralization of four soil-applied chemicals used in tobacco production

Abstract

Three pot trials were conducted during the 1973-74 season to assess whether four soil-applied chemicals used in the commercial production of flue-cured tobacco affected the process of nitrogen mineralization. Two nematocides, EDB and fenamiphos, and two herbicides, benfluralin and nitralin, were studied. The chemicals were applied at rates equivalent to those recommended for field use. Field incorporation techniques were simulated. EDB was the only chemical to exert an inhibitory effect on nitrogen mineralization. The process was inhibited at the first stage of nitrification, causing ammonium to accumulate.