Effects of Growing of Different Types of Crops on Constitution of Soil Available Nitrogen and Conversion and Utilization of Nitrogen Fertilizer

The soybean, cotton, maize and sorghum were planted in pot under low nitrogen, high nitrogen treatments, the soil available nitrogen constitution and con- version and utilization of nitrogen fertilizer were determined, so as to provide techni- cal guidance for reasonable use and improving use efficiency of nitrogen fertilizer for different types of crops. Compared with the control with nitrogen but unplanted crop, growing soybean, cotton, maize, sorghum significantly decreased the soil available N contents by 53. 48%, 51.54%, 33.10%, 55.03%,and influenced the constitution of soil available N. Thereinto, growing soybean, cotton, maize and sorghum significantly decreased soil inorganic N contents by 85.41%, 83.09%, 70.89% and 83.35%,but increased soil hydrolysable organic N contents by 1.41, 1.53, 2.11 and 1.28 times, respectively; growing soybean, cotton, maize and sorghum significantly decreased the rate of soil inorganic N to available N by 68.61%, 65.09%, 56.47% and 63.00%, but increased the rate of soil hydrolysable organic N to available N by 4.18, 4.21, 3.66 and 4.08 times, respectively. Compared with the control, growing soybean, cotton, maize and sorghum significantly increased the transform rate of ammonium nitrogen fertilizer by 93.66%, 38.19%, 32.58% and 38.31% respectively, and growing soybean treatment had the highest increasing range; the nitrification rates of ammo- nium nitrogen fertilizer of growing soybean, cotton, maize and sorghum treatments were negative values, and growing soybean treatment had the highest decreasing amplitude. The ammonium nitrogen fertilizer use efficiency of growing soybean, cot- ton, maize and sorghum treatments were 52.01%, 28.31%, 24.16% and 28.40% re- spectively and growing soybean treatment had the highest value. In conclusion, growing crops suppressed the soil nitrification and accelerated the development of soil hydrolysable organic nitrogen by the utilization of soil available nitrogen and the alteration of soil environment, and hence impacted the constitution of soil available nitrogen and the transform and use of ammonium nitrogen applied in soil. Legumi- nous crops had stronger ability of suppressing nitrification, making use of ammonium compared with non-Leguminous crops.

Characterization of Soil Available Nitrogen in the Major Vegetable Production Areas of Pearl River Delta,China

A macro scale survey was performed to investigate the content of soil available nitrogen (N) and its spatial distribution in the main vegetable production areas of the Pearl River Delta.Preliminary enrichment-deficient index of available N was then developed,which was a base for increasing fertilizer application efficiency and vegetable yield as well as for constructing soil testing and fertilizing formula.In general,most of the vegetable growth areas in Pearl River Delta were N-deficient or medium-N-deficient.There was 30%-62% increase in yield of Chinese cabbage on the N-deficient soil after application of N; when soil available N content was less than 145 mg/kg,the yield increased with application of N fertilizer at a rate of 60-70 kg/hm2.

Effects of Increased Planting Density with ReducedNitrogen Application on Yield Formation and NitrogenUtilization of Autumn Maize

With the change of cropping system in the middle reaches of the Yangtze River,the planting area of autumn maize is gradually increasing.However,the cultivation techniques are still under improvement for higher yield and nitrogen efficiency of autumn maize.Increase in planting density with reduced nitrogen fertilizer application is one of the important paths to achieve high yield and high nitrogen utilization efficiency.Meanwhile,the effect needs to be verified for autumn maize.The semi-compact autumn maize variety Qinyu 58 was planted under different planting densities and nitrogen fertilizer amounts with the split plot design.Different nitrogen application rates were arranged in the main plots,including the conventional nitrogen application(N300,300 kg/hm^2),30%reduction from the conventional treatment(N210,210 kg/hm^2)and no nitrogen application(N0).Different planting densities were arranged in the sub-split plots,including the conventional planting density(D60,60000 plants/hm2),medium density(D78,78000 plants/hm^2)and high density(D93,93000 plants/hm2).The effects of nitrogen fertilizer,planting density and their interaction effects on canopy structure,dry matter accumulation,yield and nitrogen use efficiency of autumn maize were studied.The nitrogen application rate and planting density had obvious interaction effects on the yield formation of autumn maize.Compared with the conventional cultivation(N300D60),increasing the planting density with 30%reduction in nitrogen application(N210)can obviously increase the canopy light interception rate,LAI,dry matter accumulation and yield.However,there was no significant change in canopy light interception rate,LAI,dry matter accumulation,grain weight and yield between D93 and D78.Compared with N300D60,nitrogen translocation efficiency and nitrogen contribution proportion to grain nitrogen did not change significantly in autumn maize grown under N210 and D78 treatments,whereas nitrogen partial productivity,nitrogen agronomic efficiency and recovery and utilization efficiency of nitrogen fertilizer increased significantly.Moreover,high density(D93)planting at N210 plots significantly improved nitrogen transport efficiency and utilization efficiency in autumn maize.Therefore,the suitable planting density of the autumn maize variety Qinyu 58 in Hubei Province is recommended a value of 78000 plants/hm^2,with the nitrogen application rate of 210 kg/hm2,which can achieve the target of higher yield by increasing density and reducing nitrogen.

Comparative effects of nitrogen application on growth and nitrogen use in a winter wheat/summer maize rotation system

The application of fertilizer in agricultural production has become universally common for achieving high crop yields and economic benefits, but it has potential impacts on food safety, energy crisis and environmental pollution. Optimal management of fertilization is thus necessary for maintaining sustainable agriculture. Two-year（2013–2015） field experiment was conducted, in Yangling（108°24′E, 34°20′N, and 521 m a.s.l.）, Shaanxi Province, China, to explore the effects of different nitrogen（N） applications on biomass accumulation, crop N uptake, nitrate N（NO_3~–-N） distribution, yield, and N use with a winter wheat/summer maize rotation system. The N applications consisted of conventional urea（U）（at 80（U80）, 160（U160）, and 240（U240） kg N ha^（–1）; 40% applied as a basal fertilizer and 60% top-dressed at jointing stage） and controlled-release urea（CRU）（at 60（C60）, 120（C120）, 180（C180）, and 240（C240） kg N ha~（^（–1））; all applied as a basal fertilizer） with no N application as a control（CK）. The continuous release of N from CRU matched well with the N demands of crop throughout entire growing stages. Soil NO_3~–-N content varied less and peaked shallower in CRU than that in urea treatments. The differences, however, were smaller in winter wheat than that in summer maize seasons. The average yield of summer maize was the highest in C120 in CRU treatments and in U160 in urea treatments, and apparent N use efficiency（NUE） and N agronomic efficiency（NAE） were higher in C120 than in U160 by averages of 22.67 and 41.91%, respectively. The average yield of winter wheat was the highest in C180 in CRU treatments and in U240 in urea treatments with C180 increasing NUE and NAE by averages of 14.89 and 35.62% over U240, respectively. The annual yields under the two N fertilizers were the highest in C120 and U160. The results suggested that CRU as a basal fertilizer once could be a promising alternative of urea as split application in semiarid areas.