Effects of direct drilling and shallow cultivation on the nutrient content of shoots of winter wheat and spring barley on clay soils during an unusually dry season

The uptake of phosphorus, potassium and nitrogen by winter wheat and spring barley grown after direct drilling, tine cultivation and ploughing on three clay soils has been examined during the driest season since meteorological records commenced in England. The concentrations of phosphorus and potassium in shoots were little affected by the method of cultivation, in spite of the concentration of these nutrients in the surface layers of the soil following direct drilling. The nitrogen concentration was lower in the early stages of growth of winter wheat after direct drilling or shallow cultivation, but not subsequently nor at any stage in spring barley.