1. Do Soil Nitrogen Tests Relate to Nitrogen Mineralization in First-year Corn Following Alfalfa?

Corn (Zea mays L.) is the most frequent first-year crop grown following alfalfa (Medicago sativa L.) in the Upper Midwest. In the majority of cases, first-year corn does not respond to fertilizer N, but sometimes large amounts are needed to optimize yield. The pre-sidedress and Illinois soil N tests (PSNT and ISNT, respectively) are early-season tests used to predict corn yield response to fertilizer N. These tests measure specific fractions of soil N and define a critical concentration to separate...