130 J. Fismes et al. European Journal of Agronomy 12 2000 127–141
Table 1 Details of the cultivation of oilseed rape Brassica napus L. in the two field and the two pot experiments
Field experiments Pot experiments
1995–96 1996–97
1995 1996
Previous cropping Winter wheat
Spring wheat Cultivar
Goeland Hybridol
Tanto Sowing date
240895 190896
150395 190296
Sowing rate 65 g m−2
1 seed pot−1 Fertilizer applications except NO and SO treatment
First N dressing 50 kg ha−1, in March
Equivalent of 200 kg ha−1, at sowing Second N dressing
150 kg ha−1, in April First S dressing
10 kg ha−1, in March Equivalent of 30 or 75 kg ha−1, at sowing
Second S dressing Remainder 20 or 65 kg ha−1, in April
Plant sampling dates and corresponding growth stages of oilseed rape First sampling
25496, E 16497, E
18495, B5 02496, B5
Second sampling 21596, F2
13597, F2 19695, F2
22496, F2 Third sampling
03696, G4 09797, G4
24795, G5 27596, G5
Harvest date 19796, G5
24797, G5 24795, G5
27596, G5
replicates per treatment for pot and field trials, In 1995’s pot experiment, it is important to note
respectively were ground and total N and S that the only-N application as UR and AN caused
contents were determined by the autoanalyzer NA total pod abortions, therefore the effect of S as
1500 Carlo Erba fitted for simultaneous analysis ATS cannot be determined. In contrast, slurry
of total N and S. The GLS contents were analyzed fertilized with ATS at 75 kg S ha−1 gave a signifi-
by HPLC equipped with a pump ThermoQest cant seed yield increase compared with slurry
8800, a sampler T.S.P. 8875, a Lichrospher treatment alone +20
. In 1996, with the cultivar chromatography
column 5 mm,
125×4 mm 2
Tanto, no pod abortions have been observed with Merck and a UV detector Knauer 87000 and
AN and UR application. But the lower dose of the oil content by NMR. Both compounds were
30 kg ha−1 as ATS did not increase significantly analyzed by the approved laboratory of CETIOM
seed yields even compared with the control, except using a pooled sample representative of the repli-
the treatment AN+ATS. cates. This laboratory specializes in the GLS and
In total, the seed yields from the growing season oil content analyses according to the norm NF
1995–96 field
experiment averaged
about EN ISO 916 7-1.
3.26 t ha−1 versus 4.16 t ha−1 from 1996–97. The In consequence, except the data of oil and GLS
results showed that the fertilization either with N contents which indicated only the trends, the
alone or with N plus S increased significantly seed remaining data were subject to variance analysis
productions, but the complementary addition of S and statistically compared according to Tukey’s
had no significant influence Table 3. The yields test at the 0.05 probability level.
from the second year were higher but, in terms of responses to fertilization, slightly lower +71
than the former +82 as compared with the
3. Results
controls. 3.1. Seed yields
3.2. S influence on N uptake The seed yields obtained from the pot experi-
ment Table 2 carried out in 1995 varied between Similarly to seed yields and as expected, signifi-
1.2 and 2.4 g pot−1 versus 0.74 and 2.17 g pot−1 in 1996.
cant effects of S applied as ATS on N uptake have
131 J. Fismes et al. European Journal of Agronomy 12 2000 127–141
Table 2 Seed yield, nitrogen and sulfur uptake, glucosinolate GLS and oil contents of spring oilseed rape grown in pot experiments. Means
within a column followed by the same letter are not significantly different at the 95 confidence level Tukey’s test
Treatment 1995
1996 Seed yield N
S GLS
Oil Seed yield N
S Oil
g pot−1 mg pot−1
mg pot−1 mmol g−1 DM g pot−1
mg pot−1 mg pot−1 DM
Trial with AN and UR S=0
Control ANUR
1.22 b 26.47 a
2.14 b 7.9
43.0 0.74 c
15.67 b 1.51 c
nd AN
Pod abortion 1.41 ab
29.32 ab 2.66 bc
59.9 UR
Pod abortion 1.32 ab
24.05 ab 2.14 bc
59.3 S=30 ATS-S
AN+ATS 0.98 bc
22.26 ab 2.48 bc
nd UR+ATS
1.38 ab 33.63 ab
3.76 ab nd
S=75 ATS-S AN+ATS
1.56 a 28.03 a
3.12 a 8.2
45.9 2.17 a
44.11 a 5.32 a
54.4 UR+ATS
1.74 a 34.33 a
3.76 a 8.5
47.4 1.91 ab
36.37 ab 4.44 ab
53.0 S=75 MgSO
4 -S
AN+MgSO 4
1.75 ab 35.84 ab
4.15 ab 54.1
UR+MgSO 4
1.76 ab 40.19 a
4.85 ab 56.1
Trial with SL S=0
Control SL
1.63 c∞ 31.91 b∞
2.78 b∞ 8.9
42.9 SL
2.03 b∞ 41.59 a∞
3.62 b∞ 8.9
42.3 S=75 ATS-S
SL+ATS 2.43 a∞
49.25 a∞ 5.34 a∞
13.5 40.7
Table 3 Seed yield, nitrogen and sulfur uptake, total glucosinolate tot GLS , alkenyl glucosinolate alk GLS and oil contents of field-grown
winter oilseed rape. Means within a column followed by the same letter are not significantly different at the 95 confidence level
Tukey’s test Treatment
1995–96 1996–97
Seed N
S Tot
Alk Oil
Seed N
S Tot
Alk Oil
yield kg ha−1 kg ha−1 GLS
GLS yield
kg ha−1 kg ha−1 GLS GLS
t ha−1 mmol g−1 mmol g−1 DM t ha−1
mmol g−1 mmol g−1 DM S=0
Control 1.79 b
45.7 b 2.73 a
13.3 10.8
54.0 2.43 b 66.27 b
2.81 a 16.8
13.6 52.5
AN 3.36 a
104.4 a 4.09 a
8.0 5.6
49.2 4.12 a 124.42 ab 4.82 a
10.0 7.5
50.3 UR
3.05 a 95.22 a
2.76 a 8.9
6.2 49.2 4.05 a
113.09 ab 4.21 a 11.5
8.3 50.6
S=30 ATS-S An+S
30 3.28 a
103.38 a 3.06 a 12.1
9.2 49.2 4.24 a
122.10 ab 4.39 a 14.2
11.0 50.6
UR+S 30
3.26 a 104.55 a 3.43 a
13.0 10.0
49.0 4.14 a 126.56 ab 5.07 a
14.4 10.9
50.5 S=75 ATS-S=30+MgSO
4 -S=45
AN+S 75a
3.12 a 100.74 a 6.51 a
13.2 10.3
48.6 4.21 a 131.72 a 4.99 a
16.7 13.2
50.2 UR+S
75a 3.26 a
99.58 a 3.17 a
14.2 11.1
48.5 3.82 a 110.46 ab 5.06 a
17.9 14.2
50.3 S=75 MgSO
4 -S
AN+S 75b
3.39 a 112.22 a 5.53 a
14.4 11.3
48.8 4.47 a 127.81 a 5.16 a
16.8 13.5
50.4 UR+S
75b 3.38 a
109.65 a 4.20 a 13.7
10.5 48.7 4.23 a
134.47 a 4.72 a 16.7
13.4 50.6
132 J. Fismes et al. European Journal of Agronomy 12 2000 127–141
only been observed when applied with slurry at of S. Thus, increasing values varying between 3.4
and 8.5 in 1995–96 and between 6.6 and 10.95
the rosette
stage and
maturity Table 4.
Compared with slurry addition alone, S from ATS have been observed for the S levels 30 and
75 kg ha−1, respectively. increased about 69
at rosette stage and 73 at
maturity. In field experiments, the total N uptake at
3.3. Glucosinolate and oil contents maturity amounted to a mean of 175 kg ha−1 in
1996–97 versus
146.6 kg ha−1 in
1995–96 In pot experiments, the contents of GLS ranged
from 7.9 to a maximum of 13.5 mmol g−1 with cow Table 5. We observed no significant effect of S
on N uptake during the growth of oilseed rape. slurry Table 2. With this latter fertilizer, a
marked increase of GLS content of about 52 Nevertheless, averaged values over different treat-
ments with and without S showed a general trend was observed when ATS-S was added. On the
contrary, this increase was not paralelled by the to an increase in N uptake with increasing doses
Table 4 N and S uptake by the whole plant at rosette, flowering and maturity, and by the vegetative parts excluding pod walls and seeds
at maturity of spring oilseed rape from pot experiments in 1995 A and 1996 B. Means within a column followed by the same letter are not significantly different at the 95
confidence level Tukey’s test Treatment
Rosette Flowering
Maturity N
S N
S N
S NS
N S
Whole plant Whole plant
Whole plant Vegetative parts
mg pot−1 mg pot−1
mg pot−1 mg pot−1
A Trial with AN and UR
S=0 Control
ANUR 11.60 c
0.52 c 18.91 b
0.57 a 35.23 b
2.72 b 13.0
6.69 b 0.38 b
AN 34.40 ab
0.92 c 30.91 a
1.71 ab 19.92 c
0.99 c 19.9
19.92 a 0.99 ab
UR 32.60 ab
0.84 c 29.22 a
0.91 b 20.28 c
0.59 c 33.8
20.28 a 0.59 b
S=75 ATS-S AN+ATS
20.18 bc 1.90 b
25.99 ab 2.87 a
40.03 ab 4.17 a
9.5 9.49 b
0.85 ab UR+ATS
46.02 a 3.30 a
30.99 a 1.79 a
48.37 a 5.44 a
9.0 1.89 b
1.53 a
Trial with SL S=0
Control SL
13.79 c∞ 0.79 b∞
18.84 a∞ 0.54 b∞
71.02 b∞ 3.06 c∞
16.1 15.49 b∞
0.21 b∞ SL
25.42 b∞ 1.38 b∞
15.92 a∞ 0.21 b∞
50.05 c∞ 4.68 b∞
15.1 25.63 ab∞
0.60 b∞ S=75 ATS-S
SL+ATS 42.98 a∞
2.97 a∞ 18.10 a∞
1.50 a∞ 86.68 a∞
8.28 a∞ 10.4
31.98 a∞ 2.34 a∞
B S=0
Control 12.93 b
1.25 a 16.52 b
0.44 a 23.51 c
2.08 c 11.2
6.01 a 0.41 a
AN 27.61 a
1.73 a 47.37 a
0.91 a 45.35 ab
3.18 bc 14.1
9.59 a 0.24 a
UR 30.28 a
2.24 a 53.55 a
0.76 a 43.25 ab
2.39 c 18.0
12.28 a 0.13 a
S=30 ATS-S AN+ATS
28.83 a 2.03 a
38.38 a 0.64 a
38.25 bc 3.26 bc
11.6 11.99 a
0.55 a UR+ATS
23.50 ab 1.26 a
42.96 a 0.83 a
51.16 ab 4.35 ab
11.9 12.08 a
0.50 a S=75 ATS-S
AN+ATS 35.85 a
2.97 a 42.90 a
0.43 a 51.67 ab
6.44 a 9.7
9.37 a 0.26 a
UR+ATS 31.66 a
2.38 a 48.43 a
0.80 a 53.57 ab
5.32 ab 10.1
9.72 a 0.40 a
S=75 MgSO 4
-S AN+MgSO
4 32.92 a
2.53 a 43.99 a
1.03 a 51.67 ab
4.83 ab 10.8
8.96 a 0.10 a
UR+MgSO 4
28.99 a 2.42 a
48.67 a 0.83 a
61.25 a 6.29 a
9.7 11.60 a
0.63 a
133 J. Fismes et al. European Journal of Agronomy 12 2000 127–141
Table 5 N and S uptake by the whole plant excluding roots at green bud, flowering and maturity, and by the vegetative parts at maturity
of field-grown winter oilseed rape in 1995–96 A and 1996–97 B. Means within a column followed by the same letter are not significantly different at the 95
confidence level Tukey’s test Treatment
Rosette Flowering
Maturity N
S N
S N
S NS
N S
Whole plant kg ha−1 Whole plant kg ha−1
Whole plant kg ha−1 Vegetative parts kg ha−1
A S=0
Control 26.86 b
2.16 c 38.48 c
1.04 a 66.89 b
7.09 ab 9.4
6.19 b 0.60 c
AN 42.00 ab
4.85 a 110.95 a
4.06 a 160.45 a
6.82 ab 23.5
19.79 a 1.04 ab
UR 37.80 ab
3.92 ab 73.92 b
2.93 a 140.15 a
5.25 b 26.6
17.53 a 0.95 bc
S=30 ATS-S AN+S
30 53.11 a
4.85 a 97.14 ab
3.53 a 163.09 a
7.44 ab 21.9
19.88 a 1.25 ab
UR+S 30
51.21 a 4.26 ab
85.99 ab 3.62 a
147.92 a 7.12 ab
20.8 15.48 a
0.95 bc S=75 ATS-S=30+MgSO
4 -S=45
AN+S 75a
39.97 ab 3.18 bc
88.35 ab 2.19 a
162.22 a 11.33 ab
14.3 21.37 a
1.05 ab UR+S
75a 41.70 ab
3.15 bc 94.88 ab
3.09 a 151.03 a
9.16 ab 16.5
16.38 a 1.31 ab
S=75 MgSO 4
-S AN+S
75b 42.53 ab
2.64 c 85.30 ab
3.80 a 166.67 a
12.98 a 12.8
21.09 a 1.61 a
UR+S 75b
41.14 ab 2.69 c
86.91 ab 2.46 a
159.42 a 10.59 ab
15.0 20.51 a
1.08 ab B
S=0 Control
37.17 b 5.42 a
31.45 b 1.53 b
90.53 c 7.55 a
12.0 9.08 b
3.22 a AN
80.69 a 9.81 a
78.21 a 5.68 ab
178.42 ab 9.15 a
9.5 20.16 ab
2.28 a UR
59.90 ab 6.39 a
73.13 a 4.43 ab
168.62 ab 8.40 a
20.1 16.28 ab
1.63 a S=30 ATS-S
AN+S 30
59.91 ab 7.49 a
81.31 a 8.54 a
178.33 ab 9.44 a
18.9 22.29 a
3.42 a UR+S
30 69.19 ab
9.38 a 84.73 a
6.64 a 191.90 ab
9.78 a 19.6
18.82 ab 1.97 a
S=75 ATS-S=30+MgSO 4
-S=45 AN+S
75a 65.70 ab
8.15 a 76.84 a
5.91 ab 209.69 a
11.82 a 17.7
22.61 a 3.84 a
UR+S 75a
47.43 ab 7.27 a
73.51 a 3.54 ab
172.61 ab 13.75 a
12.5 16.78 ab
6.17 a S=75 MgSO
4 -S
AN+S 75b
71.14 ab 9.31 a
85.62 a 7.08 a
187.91 ab 13.40 a
14.0 21.56 a
5.84 a UR+S
75b 64.60 ab
8.11 a 77.96 a
4.79 ab 197.15 ab
12.95 a 15.2
20.25 ab 5.35 a
oil, of which the content was slightly decreased by 1996–97 when compared with the control and the
treatments with S application. Fertilization of S 4
. Unfortunately, in the second pot experiment, the GLS contents were not determined due to
increased the GLS contents but had no influence on oil contents Table 3. The results suggest a
insufficient seed samples. For this experiment, S applications at 75 kg ha−1 led to a decrease of oil
higher responsiveness of GLS than oil to the S fertilization.
content of about 10 when the soil was jointly
fertilized with ATS-S and MgSO 4
-S and about 7.5
with MgSO 4
-S exclusively. In field experiments, the average content of
4. Discussion
