Effect of Nitrogen Management on Yield and Water Use Efficiency of Rainfed Wheat and Maize in Northwest China

A field experiment with four treatments and four replicates in a randomized complete block design was conducted at the Changwu Experimental Station in Changwu County, Shaanxi Province, of Northwest China from 1998 to 2002. The local cropping sequence of wheat, wheat-beans, maize, and wheat over the 4-year period was adopted. A micro-plot study using ^15N-lahelled fertilizer was carried out to determine the fate of applied N fertilizer in the first year. When N fertilizer was applied wheat （years 1, 2 and 4） and maize （year 3） grain yield increased significantly （P 〈 0.05） （〉 30%）, with no significant yield differences in normal rainfall years （Years 1, 2 and 3） for N application at the commonly application rate and at 2/3 of this rate. Grain yield of wheat varied greatly between years, mainly due to variation in annual rainfall. Results of ^15N studies on wheat showed that plants recovered 36.6%-38.4% of the N applied, the N remained in soll （0-40 cm） ranged from 29.2% to 33.6%, and unaccounted-for N was 29.5%-34.2%. The following crop （wheat） recovered 2.1%- 2.8% of the residual N from N applied to the previous wheat crop with recovery generally decreasing in the subsequent three crops （beans, maize and wheat）.

Effects of Real-Time and Site-Specific Nitrogen Managements on Rice Yield and Nitrogen Use Efficiency

Using hybrid rice Shanyou63, the agronomic and economic characters of different nitrogen(N) managements were evaluated. The results showed that the grain yield of the control(N omission plots) ranged from 6.8 to 7.4 t ha-1, indicating the high indigenous N supplyof the soil. Compared with farmers fertilizer practice (FFP, 240 kg N ha-1), the modifiedFFP (70% N of FFP), real-time N management (RTNM, applying N based on values ofchlorophyll meter) and site-specific N management (SSNM, applying nitrogen based on thetiming, amount of N and values of chlorophyll meter) increased the grain yield by 9.2-10.3%, 3.3-7.0% and 8.9-9.3%, and agronomic N efficiency (the increase in grain yieldper unit N applied) by 110.5-135.6%, 204.3-297.0% and 200.9-276.4%, respectively. Theresults suggested that RTNM and SSNM have great potential for improving N use efficiencywithout sacrificing the grain yield. In addition, RTNM and SSNM also decreased chalkygrain percentage and chalkiness to improve grain appearance quality.

Effect of Nitrogen Regimes on Grain Yield,Nitrogen Utilization,Radiation Use Efficiency,and Sheath Blight Disease Intensity in Super Hybrid Rice

Poor nitrogen use efficiency in rice production is a critical issue in China. Site-specific N managements （SSNM） such as real-time N management （RTNM） and fixed-time adjustable-dose N management （FTNM） improve fertilizer-N use efficiency of irrigated rice. This study was aimed to compare the different nitrogen （N） rates and application methods （FFP, SSNM, and RTNM methods） under with- and without-fungicide application conditions on grain yield, yield components, solar radiation use efficiency （RUE）, agronomic-nitrogen use efficiency （AEN）, and sheath blight disease intensity. Field experiments were carried out at Liuyang County, Hunan Province, China, during 2006 and 2007. A super hybrid rice Liangyou 293 （LY293） was used as experimental material. The results showed that RTNM and SSNM have great potential for improving agronomic-nitrogen use efficiency without sacrificing the grain yield. There were significant differences in light interception rate, sheath blight disease incidence （DI） and the disease index （ShBI）, and total dry matter among the different nitrogen management methods. The radiation use efficiency was increased in a certain level of applied N. But, the harvest index （HI） decreased with the increase in applied N. There is a quadratic curve relationship between grain yield and applied N rates. With the same N fertilizer rate, different fertilizer-N application methods affected the RUE and grain yield. The fungicide application not only improved the canopy light interception rate, RUE, grain filling, and harvest index, but also reduced the degree of sheath blight disease. The treatment of RTNM under the SPAD threshold value 40 obtained the highest yield. While the treatment of SSNM led to the highest nitrogen agronomic efficiency and higher rice yield, and decreased the infestation of sheath blight disease dramatically as well. Nitrogen application regimes and diseases control in rice caused obvious effects on light interception rate, RUE, and HI. Optimal N rate is helpful to get higher light interception rate, RUE, and HI. Disease control with fungicide application decreased and delayed the negative effects of the high N on rice yield formation. SSNM and RTNM under the proper SPAD threshold value obtained high-yield with high efficiency and could alleviate environmental pollution in rice production.

Nitrogen Nutrition Index and Its Relationship with N Use Efficiency, Tuber Yield, Radiation Use Effi ciency, and Leaf Parameters in Potatoes

Knowledge about crop growth processes in relation to N limitation is necessary to optimize N management in farming system. Plant-based diagnostic method, for instance nitrogen nutrition index （NNI） were used to determine the crop nitrogen status. This study determines the relationship of NNI with agronomic nitrogen use efficiency （AEN）, tuber yield, radiation use efficiency （RUE） and leaf parameters including leaf area index （LAI）, areal leaf N content （NJ and leaf N concentration （N0. Potatoes were grown in field at three N levels： no N （N 1）, 150 kg N ha^-1 （N2）, 300 kg N ha^-1 （N3）. N deficiency was quantified by NNI and RUE was generally calculated by estimating of the light absorbance on leaf area. NNI was used to evaluate the N effect on tuber yield, RUE, LAI, NAL, and NL. The results showed that NNI was negatively correlated with AEN, N deficiencies （NNI〈 1） which occurred for N 1 and N2 significantly reduced LAI, NL and tuber yield; whereas the N deficiencies had a relative small effect on NAL and RUE. To remove any effect other than N on these parameters, the actual ratio to maximum values were calculated for each developmental linear relationships were obtained between NNI and tuber RUE to NNI. stage of potatoes. When the NNI ranged from 0.4 to 1, positive yield, LAI, NL, while a nonlinear regression fitted the response of

Effect of land use on microbial biomass－C, －N and －P in red soils

Eleven red soils varying in land use and fertility status were used to examine the effect of land use on microbial biomass C, N and P. Microbial biomass C in the red soils ranged from about 68 mg C/kg to 225 mg C/kg, which is generally lower than that reported from other types of soil, probably because of low organic matter and high acidity in the red soils. Land use had considerable effects on the amounts of soil C mic . The C mic was the lowest in eroded fallow land, followed by woodland, tea garden, citrus grove and fallow grassland, and the highest in vegetable and paddy fields. There was significant correlation between C mic and organic matter content, suggesting that the influence of land use on C mic is mainly related to the input and accumulation of organic matter. Microbial biomass N in the soils ranged from 12.1 Nmg/kg to 31.7 Nmg/kg and was also affected by land use. The change of N mic with land use was similar to that of C mic . The microbial C/N ratio ranged from 5.2 to 9.9 and averaged 7.6. The N mic was significantly correlated with soil total N and available N. Microbial biomass P in the soils ranged from 4.5 mg P/kg to 52.3 mg P/kg. The microbial C/P ratio was in the range of 4-23. The P mic was relatively less affected by land use due to differences in fertilization practices for various land use systems.

Research Progress on Nitrogen Use and Plant Growth

The application of nitrogen （N） fertilizers in agriculture has been increasing dramatically since 1970s. However, the over-fertilization causes could cause environmental problems, as well as low N use efficiency （NUE）. Promoting NUE in plants and minimizing the environmental impacts of N fertilizers had been the focus of the current research. We reviewed the importance of N, N metabolism and plant growth, plant N physiology and the molecular aspect of N metabolism in this paper. The future development of N use and NUE of plants was also discussed.

Effects of nitrogen fertilization strategies on nitrogen use efficiency in physiology, recovery, and agronomy and redistribution of dry matter accumulation and nitrogen accumulation in two typical rice cultivars in Zhejiang, China

Field experiments were conducted in farmers’ rice fields in 2001 and 2002 to study the effects of nitrogen (N) man-agement strategies on N use efficiency in recovery (RE), agronomy (AE) and physiology (PE) and redistribution of dry matter accumulation (DMA) and nitrogen accumulation (NA) in two typical rice cultivars in Jinhua, Zhejiang Province. This study aimed mainly at identifying the possible causes of poor fertilizer N use efficiency (NUE) of rice in Zhejiang by comparing farmers’ fertilizer practice (FFP) with advanced site-specific nutrient management (SSNM) and real-time N management (RTNM). The results showed that compared to FFP, SSNM and RTNM reduced DMA and NA before panicle initiation and increased DMA and NA at post-flowering. There is no significant difference between SSNM and FFP in post-flowering dry matter redistribution (post-DMR) and post-flowering nitrogen redistribution (post-NR). These results suggest that high input rate of fertilizer N and improper fertilizer N timing are the main factors causing low NUE of irrigated rice in the farmer’s routine practice of Zhejiang. With SSNM, about 15% of the current total N input in direct-seeding early rice and 45% in single rice could be reduced without yield loss in Zhejiang, China.

Deep placement of nitrogen fertilizer increases rice yield and nitrogen use efficiency with fewer greenhouse gas emissions in a mechanical direct-seeded cropping system

Deep placement of nitrogen fertilizer is a key strategy for improving nitrogen use efficiency. A two-year field experiment was conducted during the early rice growing seasons(March–July) of 2016 and 2017.The experimental treatments comprised two rice cultivars: Wufengyou 615(WFY 615) and Yuxiangyouzhan(YXYZ), and three N treatments: mechanical deep placement of all fertilizers as basal dose at 10 cm soil depth(one-time deep-placement fertilization, namely OTDP fertilization);manual surface broadcast(the common farmer practice) of 40% N fertilizer at one day before sowing(basal fertilizer)followed by broadcast application of 30% each at tillering and panicle initiation stages;and no fertilizer application at any growth stage as a control. One-time deep-placement fertilization increased grain yield of both rice cultivars by 11.8%–19.6%, total nitrogen accumulation by 10.3%–13.1%, nitrogen grain production efficiency by 29.7%–31.5%, nitrogen harvest index by 27.8%–30.0%, nitrogen agronomic efficiency by 71.3%–77.2%, and nitrogen recovery efficiency by 42.4%–56.7% for both rice cultivars, compared with the multiple-broadcast treatment. One-time deep-placement fertilization reduced CH4-induced global warming potential(GWP) by 20.7%–25.3%, N2O-induced GWP by 7.2%–12.3%, and total GWP by 14.7%–22.9% for both rice cultivars relative to the multiple-broadcast treatment. The activities of glutamine synthetase and nitrate reductase were increased at both panicle-initiation and heading stages in both rice cultivars following one-time deep-placement fertilization treatment. Larger leaf area index at heading stage and more favorable root morphological traits expressed as larger total root length, mean root diameter, and total root volume per hill were also observed. One-time deep-placement fertilization could be an effective strategy for increasing grain yield and nitrogen use efficiency and lowering greenhouse-gas emissions under mechanical direct-seeded cropping systems.

Bed planting of wheat(Triticum aestivum L.)improves nitrogen use efficiency and grain yield compared to flat planting

Conventional flat planting is commonly used for growing wheat in Pakistan and the crop is irrigated by flood irrigation, but it leads to ineffective use of applied nitrogen owing to poor aeration and leaching and volatilization losses. The practice also results in greater crop lodging, lower water use efficiency, and crusting of the soil surface. In contrast, bed planting of wheat not only saves water but improves fertilizer use efficiency and grain yield. Three years of pooled data from the present study showed that wheat planting on beds and nitrogen application at 120 kg ha-1produced 15.06% higher grain yield than flat planting at the same nitrogen rate. Similarly, 25.04%, 15.02%, 14.59%, and 29.83% higher nitrogen uptake, nitrogen use, and agronomic and recovery efficiencies, respectively, were recorded for bed compared to flat planting. Wheat planting on beds with a nitrogen application of80 kg ha-1gave a yield similar to that of flat planting with 120 kg ha-1nitrogen. However,the economic return was 29% higher in bed planting as compared to flat planting, when nitrogen was applied at 120 kg ha-1.

Effects of plant density and nitrogen rate on cotton yield and nitrogen use in cotton stubble retaining fields

Increasing nitrogen(N)rate could accelerate the decomposition of crop residues,and then improve crop yield by increasing N availability of soil and N uptake of crops.However,it is not clear whether N rate and plant density should be modified after a long period of cotton stubble return with high N rate.This study seeks to assess the effects of N rate and plant density on cotton yield,N use efficiency,leaf senescence,soil inorganic N,and apparent N balance in cotton stubble return fields in Liaocheng,China,in 2016 and 2017.Three plant densities 5.25(D_(5.25)),6.75(D_(6.75))and 8.25(D_(8.25))plants m^(-2) and five N rates 0(N_(0)),105(N_(105)),210(N_(210)),315(N315),and 420(N420)kg ha^(-1) were investigated.Compared to the combination used by local farmers(D_(5.25)N_(315)),a 33.3%N reduction and a 28.6%increase in plant density(D_(6.75)N_(210))can maintain high cotton yield,while a 66.7%N reduction at 6.75 plants m^(-2)(D_(6.75)N_(105))can only achieve high yield in the first year.Biological yield increased with the increase of N rate and plant density,and the highest yield was obtained under 420 kg N ha^(-1) at 8.25 plants m^(-2)(D_(8.25)N_(420))across the two years under investigation.Compared to D5.25N315,N agronomic efficiency(NAE)and N recovery efficiency(NRE)in D_(6.75)N_(210) increased by 30.2 and 54.1%,respectively,and NAE and NRE in D6.75N105 increased by 104.8 and 88.1%,respectively.Soil inorganic N decreased sharply under 105 kg N ha^(-1),but no change was found under 210 kg N ha^(-1) at 6.75 plants m^(-2).N deficit occurred under 105 kg N ha^(-1),but it did not occurr under 210 kg N ha^(-1) at 6.75 plants m^(-2).Net photosynthetic rate and N concentration of leaves under N rate ranging from 210 to 420 kg ha^(-1) were higher than those under N rate of 0 or 105 kg N ha^(-1) at all three densities.The findings suggest that D6.75N210 is a superior combination in cotton stubble retaining fields in the Yellow River Valley and other areas with similar ecologies.

Profile Distribution and Storage of Soil Organic Carbon in an Aquic BrownSoil as Affected by Land Use

Many attempts have been made to estimate the soil organic carbon (SOC) storage under different land uses, especiallyfrom the conversion of forest land or grassland into cultivated field, but limited reports were found on the estimation ofthis storage after cultivated field converted into woodland or grassland, especially in small scales. This study is aimed toinvestigate the dynamics of SOC concentration, its storage and carbon /nitrogen (C/N) ratio in an aquic brown soil at theShenyang Experimental Station of Ecology, Chinese Academy of Sciences under four land use patterns over 14 years. Thefour land use patterns were paddy field (PF), maize field (MF), fallow field (FF) and woodland (WL). In each pedon at 0-150cm depth, soil samples were collected from ten layers. The results showed that the profile distribution of SOC was differentunder different land uses, indicating the effect of land use on SOC. Soil organic carbon was significantly related with soiltotal N, and the correlation was slightly closer in nature ecosystems (with R2=0.990 and P<0.001 in both WL and FF, n=30)than in agroecosystems (with R2=0.976 and P<0.001 in PF, and R2=0.980 and P<0.001 in MF, n=30). The C/N ratio in theprofiles decreased generally with depth under the four land use patterns, and was comparatively higher in WL and lowerin PF. The C/N ratio of the FF was closer to that in the same soil depths of MF than to that of PF. Within 100 cm depth, theannual sequestration of SOC was 4.25, 2.87, and 4.48 t ha-1 more in WL than in PF, MF and FF, the annual SOC increasingrate being 6.15, 3.26, and 5.09 % higher, respectively. As a result, the SOC storage was significantly greater in WL than inany of the other three land use patterns, P=0.001, 0.008, and 0.008 as compared with PF, MF, and FF, respectively, whilethere was no significant difference among the other three land uses. It is suggested that woodland has the potential tomake a significant contribution to C storage and environmental quality.

Determining N supplied sources and N use efficiency for peanut under applications of four forms of N fertilizers labeled by isotope^15N

Rational application of different forms of nitrogen（N） fertilizer for peanut（Arachis hypogaea L.） requires tracking the N supplied sources which are commonly not available in the differences among the three sources：root nodule,soil and fertilizer.In this study,two kinds of peanut plants（nodulated variety（Huayu 22） and non-nodulated variety（NN-1）） were choosed and four kinds of N fertilizers：urea-N（CONH_2-N）,ammonium-N（NH_4~＋-N）,nitrate-N（NO_3^--N） and NH_4~＋ ＋NO_3^--N labeled by^（15）N isotope were applied in the field barrel experiment in Chengyang Experimental Station,Shandong Province,China,to determine the N supplied sources and N use efficiency over peanut growing stages.The results showed that intensities and amounts of N supply from the three sources were all higher at middle growing stages（pegging phase and podding phase）.The accumulated amounts of N supply from root nodule,soil and fertilizer over the growing stages were 8.3,5.3 and 3.8g m^（-2） in CONH_2-N treatment,which are all significantly higher than in the other three treatments.At seedling phase,soil supplied the most N for peanut growth,then root nodule controlled the N supply at pegging phase and podding phase,but soil mainly provided N again at the last stage（pod filling phase）.For the whole growing stages,root nodule supplied the most N（47.8 and 43.0%） in CONH_2-N and NH_4~＋-N treatments,whereas soil supplied the most N（41.7 and 40.9%） in NH_4~＋ ＋NO_3^--N and NO_3^--N treatments.The N use efficiency was higher at pegging phase and podding phase,while accumulated N use efficiency over the growing stages was higher in CONH_2-N treatment（42.2%） than in other three treatments（30.4%in NH_4~＋-N treatment,29.4%in NO_3^--N treatment,29.4%in NH_4~＋ ＋NO_3^--N treatment）.In peanut growing field,application of CONH_2-N is a better way to increase the supply of N from root nodule and improve the N use efficiency.

Wet reclamation of sodium silicate used sand and biological treatment of its wastewater by Nitzschia palea

The massive amount of sodium silicate in the used sand was a pollution source, especially in the waste water from the wet reclamation of used sand. A new process of wet reclamation by biologically treating the waste water produced during the wet reclamation process of used sand was studied in the paper. In the work, the precultivation of N. palea was performed firstly, and three different scrubbing solutions： （1） tap water, （2） modified medium for N. palea, and （3） filtrate of the broth treated by N. palea for 15 days, were used. The results of the primary investigation show that a de-skinning ratio of 90% is obtained when using the scrubbing solution containing modified medium for N. palea at the ratio 1：2 of sand and scrubbing solution, and the maximal concentrations of Na^＋ and SiO3^2- are 1.49 g.L-1 and 0.51 g.L-1, respectively. The results of the optimal biomass, pH value decrease and Na^＋ and SiO32 consumption indicate the optimal incubation conditions are at the irradiance of 5,000 lux and 25 ℃. Using the filtrate of the broth treated by N. palea for 15 days as the scrubbing solution directly, a de-skinning ratio of 93% is the highest compared to the results of the tap water and the modified medium for N. palea. In the biological process using N. palea, less water is used and little wastewater is produced, which is advantageous to the purpose of green manufacturing and environmental protection.

Impact of land-use management on nitrogen transformation in a mountain forest ecosystem in the north of Iran

Soil inorganic N is one of the most important soil quality indexes, which may be influenced by land-use change. The historical conversion of land-use from native vegetation to agriculture resulted in sharp declines in soil N dynamics. This study was conducted to determine the soil inorganic N concentrations and net N mineralization rate in four common types of land-uses in the mountain forest area in the north of Iran, namely arable land, pine plantation, ash plantation, and beech stand. The soil samples were taken from top mineral soil layer （5 cm） in each site randomly （n=6） during August- September 2010. Beech stand and ash plantation showed significantly higher total nitrogen compared with arable land and pine plantation, while extractable NH4 ＋-N concentration was significantly greater in Beech stand compare to arable soils （p〈0.05）. No significantly difference was found in Net N mineralization, net nitrification and net ammonification rates among different land-uses. Results showed that net N mineralization and ammonification were occurred just in the soil of Ash plantation during the incubation time. Our findings suggested that conversion of Hyrcanian forests areas to pine plantation and agricultural land can disrupt soil natural activities and affect extremely soil quality.

Nutrient Use Efficiency of Three Fast Growing Hardwood Species across a Resource Gradient

Attitudes regarding traditional energy sources have shifted toward renewable resources. Specifically, short-rotation woody crop supply systems have become more prevalent for biomass and biofuel production. However, a number of factors such as environmental and inherent resource availability can limit tree production. Given the intensified demand for wood biomass production, forest and plantation management practices are focusing on increasing productivity. Fertilizer application, while generally one of the least expensive silvicultural tools, can become costly if application rates exceed nutrient uptake or demand of the trees especially if it does not result in additional biomass production. We investigated the effect of water and varying levels of nitrogen application (56, 112, and 224 kg&#183N&#183ha&#451&#183yr&#451) on nutrient content, resorption efficiency and proficiency, N:P and the relationship with ANPP, as well as leaf- and canopy-level nutrient use efficiency of nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium for Populus deltoides, Quercus pagoda, and Platanus occidentalis. P. deltoides and P. occidentalis reached their maximum nitrogen budget with the application of water suggesting old agricultural fields may have sufficient nutrient levels to sustain short-rotation woody crops negating the application of additional nitrogen for these two species. Additionally, for P. deltoides and Q. pagoda application of nitrogen appeared to increase the uptake of phosphorus however, resorption efficiency for these two species were more similar to studies conducted on nutrient poor sites. Nutrient resorption proficiency for all three nutrients and all three species were at levels below the highest rates of nitrogen application. These findings suggest maximum biomass production may not necessarily be tied to maximum nutrient application.

Soil Carbon Sequestration,Water Use Efficiency(WUE) and Biological Nitrogen Fixation(BNF) Under Conservation Agriculture in Rain-fed Dry Area of North-west Pakistan

Land degradation,unbalanced nutrition,change in climate and its extreme variability are the factors affecting the sustainability of agriculture and food security.In North-west Pakistan,more than 50%of the cultivated area is rain-fed and the crop productivity is low.Conservation agriculture reduces greenhouse gas emissions by enhancing soil carbon sequestration and then improved soil fertility,WUE and crop productivity.A field experiment

Effects of Different Nitrogen Treatments on N use Efficiency and Grain Yield of Mechanically-transplanted Hybrid Rice

In order to investigate effects of topdressing on grain yield and N use efficiency of mechanically-transplanted hybrid rice, this experiment was conducted with 2-line hybrid rice cultivars, Quaniiangyou 1 and Quanliangyou 681 with 3 application levels of N fertilizer, No, N1, N2, respectively. The results showed that there were no significant differences in grain yields of the 2 varieties between treatments N1 and N2. It was indicated that N is not the factor which could limit grain yield within limited application levels of N fertilizer. High N fertilizer treatment could contribute to the formation of effective panicles and spikelets per panicle, but it could also lead to the decline in grain filling rate. It was suggested that lowering the amount of Nfertilizer could facilitate improvement of N-use efficiency.

Effects of Postponing N Application on Metabolism,Absorption and Utilization of Nitrogen of Summer Maize in SuperHigh Yield Region

[Objective] The aim was to explore effects of application postponing of N fertilizer and the mechanism of yield increase in order to provide references for N fertilizer application in a rational way. [Method] In a super-high yielded region of summer maize, field experiment was conducted to research effects of N fertilizer postponing on key enzymes of N metabolism, yield of maize and N fertilizer use. [Result] After application of N fertilizer was postponed, NR, SPS and GS activities of ear-leaf of summer maize increased by 11.99%-34.87%, 8.25%-10.64% and 10.00%- 16.81% on the 28^th d of silking; content of soluble sugar in leaves enhanced signifi- cantly and accumulated nitrogen increased by 5.00%-9.74% in mature stage. The postponing fertilization of ＂30% of fertilizer in seedling stage＋30% of fertilizer in flare- opening stage＋40% of fertilizer in silking stage meets N demands of summer maize in late growth period. Compared with conventional fertilization, the maize yield, agro- nomic efficiency and use of N fertilizer all improved by 5.05%, 1.75 kg/kg and 6.87%, respectively, after application postponed. [Conclusion] Application postponing of N fertilizer maintains activity of NR, GS and SPS higher and coordinates metabolism of C and N in late growth period, to further improve yield of maize.

Effects of Nitrogen Fertilizer Reduction and Application of Nitrogen Fertilizer as Base Fertilizer on Rapeseed Yield and Nitrogen Absorption

[Objective] The aim was to research effects of N fertilizer reduction and application of N fertilizer （as base fertilizer） on rapeseed yield and N absorption. [Method] Based on Ganyouza No.5, the ratio of N, P2O5 andK2O was set at 1：0.5：0.5; N fertilizers were set involving reduced quantity at 150 kg/hm2 and preferred quantity at 180 kg/hm2; 100%, 80% and 60% of N fertilizers were applied as base fertilizers in the test respectively. In general, field tests were conducted to explore effects of reduced N fertilizer and application of N fertilizer as base fertilizer on rapeseed yield and N absorption. [Resalt] When applied N fertilizer as base fertilizer was the same, plant height, stem diameter, length of major inflorescence, number of effective branch, pod number per plant, seed number per pod, and biomass yield in group with preferred N quantity were significantly higher than those in group with reduced N fertilizer. Rapeseed yield and profits in group with preferred N quantity were signifi- cantly higher than those in group with reduced N fertilizer in field with moderate fertili- ty. In fields with higher fertility, however, the two factors were just a little higher. In group with reduced N fertilizer, use efficiency of N fertilizer, N uptake efficiency, par- tial factor productivity and harvest index of N were all significantly higher than those in group with preferred N fertilizer. Agronomic nitrogen use efficiency in group with preferred N fertilizer was significantly higher than that in group with reduced N fertiliz- er in field with moderate fertility and was significantly lower in field with high yield. With amounts of N, P and K fertilizers fixed, economic characters, yield constitution, yield, profits and N absorption in group, where 60% of N fertilizers were applied as base fertilizer, were significantly higher than those in groups with 80% or 100% of base fertilizer （N fertilizers）. These indicated that rational fertilization would maintain rapeseed yield high and reduce N input to improve use efficiency of N fertilizer. On the other hand, it is effective to improve rapeseed yield.＇to reduce N fertilizer to 150 kg/hm2, and application of 60%. of N fertilizers as base fertilizer is still proved optimal at present. [Conclusion] The research provides.theoretioal and technical references for improvement of yield of rapeseed and efficiency of N fertilizer.

Increased plant density and reduced N rate lead to more grain yield and higher resource utilization in summer maize

Planting at an optimum density and supplying adequate nitrogen（N） to achieve higher yields is a common practice in crop production, especially for maize（Zea mays L.）; however, excessive N fertilizer supply in maize production results in reduced N use efficiency（NUE） and severe negative impacts on the environment. This research was conducted to determine the effects of increased plant density and reduced N rate on grain yield, total N uptake, NUE, leaf area index（LAI）, intercepted photosynthetically active radiation（IPAR）, and resource use efficiency in maize. Field experiments were conducted using a popular maize hybrid Zhengdan 958（ZD958） under different combinations of plant densities and N rates to determine an effective approach for maize production with high yield and high resource use efficiency. Increasing plant density was clearly able to promote N absorption and LAI during the entire growth stage, which allowed high total N uptake and interception of radiation to achieve high dry matter accumulation（DMA）, grain yield, NUE, and radiation use efficiency（RUE）. However, with an increase in plant density, the demand of N increased along with grain yield. Increasing N rate can significantly increase the DMA, grain yield, LAI, IPAR, and RUE. However, this increase was non-linear and due to the input of too much N fertilizers, the efficiency of N use at NCK（320 kg ha^（–1）） was low. An appropriate reduction in N rate can therefore lead to higher NUE despite a slight loss in grain production. Taking into account both the need for high grain yield and resource use efficiency, a 30% reduction in N supply, and an increase in plant density of 3 plants m^（–2）, compared to LD（5.25 plants m^（–2））, would lead to an optimal balance between yield and resource use efficiency.