Some Fertility Characteristics and Fertilizer Requirements of a Newly Reclaimed Upland Red Soil Derived from Quaternary Red Clay

A series of field experiments from 1990 to 1994 in Yingtan, Jiangxi Province, were conducted on an upland red soil derived from Quaternary red clay which had been reclaimed three years before the experiments, in order to study the fertility characteristics and fertilizer requirements of the newly reclaimed soil. The field experiments included that on nutrient characteristics and fertilizer effect, that on K-supplying potential and K-Mg relationship, that on fertilization rates of K and N, etc. The newly reclaimed upland soil was low in both N and P, and its responses to nitrogen and phosphate application were very significant. The K-supplying potential was also low, so the soil was highly responsive to K fertilizer. The effect of Ca and Mg fertilizers was not so great for the reason that certain amounts of Ca and Mg were incorporated into the soil through application of calcium magnesium phosphate during land leveling before the experiments. Among the four micronutrients, B, Mo, Zn and Cu, B had the greatest effect on the soil. The fertilizer requirements of the soil were in an order of P and N > K > lime and B > Mg > Mo, Zn and Cu. Eight crops tested had different fertilizer-requiring characteristics. Rapeseed was very sensitive to P and B fertilizers. Barely was especially sensitive to P and lime and it also responded to B, Mo, Zn and Cu. And sweet potato was especially sensitive to K.

Characteristics and Evaluation of Soil Fertility in Sugarcane-producing Areas in Guangxi

[Objective] Soil fertility in Guangxi sugarcane-growing areas was evaluated to provide theoretical reference for sugarcane scientific planting and fertilization and further optimize evaluation system for soil fertility in Guangxi sugarcane-growing ar- eas. [Method] Nutrients of soil samples in 3 006 plots were measured, and fertility characters were evaluated based on the improved Nemerow composite index method. [Result] Soil in Guangxi sugarcane-growing area was sticky and acidic with an average pH value of 4.94. Available B was insufficient with an average content of 0.24 mg/kg. Exchangeable Mg was low with an average content of 62.34 mg/kg. Organic matter content was moderate. The contents of alkali N, rapidly available P, rapidly available K, available Cu, available Zn, available Mn and available Ca were moderate. However, unlike the soil in high-yield areas, there was unbalanced nutri- tion distribution. According to Nemerow integrated index method, soil fertility in sug- arcane-growing areas was grade lU, namely low fertility. The integrated fertility index was 0.56. Individual fertility indexes including rapid available Cu, rapidly available Zn, exchangeable Mg, available Mn, rapidly available manganese Mn and alkali N were at poor level. Other indexes were at medium or high level. [Conclusion] It could be concluded that soil fertility in Guangxi sugarcane-growing area was gener- ally low, The above-mentioned evaluation method could help to build a quantified and scientific soil fertility evaluation system and reduce the impacts of subjective factors during evaluation process.

Properties, Formation and Fertility of Vertisols in Fujian Province

The zonal soils in the south subtropical zone of Fujian are lateritic red soils. A type of dark clayeysoils, which was historically defined as lateritic red soils, derived from weathering products of the basalts wasindicated by the investigation results to be markedly different from lateritic red soils and could be classifiedas Typical Hapluderts. They are distributed as complex zones with the lateritic red soils. The vertisolsin this region were considered as a type of lithogenic soils and the vertic chararteristics delay and inhibitthe soils from allitic processes and then formed an independent soil type. The vertisols have higher fertilityand better agricultural production characters than the lateritic red soils. The different ways in utilizing andmanaging these soils arcording to their properties and fertility are also suggested.

Effects of different types of slow-and controlled-release fertilizers on rice yield

This experiment explored the effects of single application of seven types of slow-and controlled-release fertilizers on rice yield and various population characteristics.Based on a study of the nitrogen(N)release characteristics of these fertilizers,pot experiments were conducted in 2018 and 2019 with split fertilization(CK,urea applied split equally at basal and panicle initiation stages,respectively)as control,which assessed the effects on SPAD value,yield and yield components,dynamic changes of rice tillers and dry matter accumulation.The results showed that the N release characteristics of different types of slow-and controlled-release fertilizers were significantly different.Polymer-coated urea(PCU)showed a controlledrelease mode and provided sustained release throughout the whole growth stages.Sulfur-coated urea(SCU)exhibited a slow-release mode,providing insufficient release at the middle and late stages.Urease inhibitor urea(AHA)and ureaformaldehyde(UF)yielded a rapid-release mode,with an explosive N release at the early stage and no release at the middle and late stages.These results showed that PCU delayed the peak seedling stage.Compared with CK,dry matter accumulation and SPAD showed no significant differences,and due to the continuous release of N throughout the growth stages,rice yield,spikelets per panicle,seed setting rate,and 1000-grain weight were all increased.Owing to the lack of N supply at the late stage and the low number of spikelets,SCU led to a reduction of rice yield,which is nevertheless not statistically significant.AHA and UF were susceptible to environmental factors and had varying effects on rice yield.The results of this experiment indicated that given a fixed amount of N applied in a pot,the stronger the N supply capacity and the longer the effective duration time of the fertilizer,the higher the dry matter accumulation at the late growth stage,and the higher the rice yield.