Modified fertilization management of summer maize(Zea mays L.) in northern China improves grain yield and efficiency of nitrogen use

Improving the yield of maize grain per unit area is needed to meet the growing demand for it in China, where the availability of fertile land is very limited.Modified fertilization management and planting density are efficient methods for increasing crop yield.Field experiments were designed to investigate the influence of modified fertilization management and planting density on grain yield and nitrogen use efficiency of the popular maize variety Zhengdan 958, in four treatments including local farmer＇s practice（FP）, high-yielding and high efficiency cultivation（HH）, super high-yielding cultivation（SH）, and the control（CK）.Trials were conducted in three locations of the Huang-Huai-Hai Plain in northern China.Compared with FP, SH was clearly able to promote N absorption and dry matter accumulation in post-anthesis, and achieve high yield and N use efficiency by increasing planting density and postponing the supplementary application of fertilizers.However, with an increase in planting density, the demand of N increased along with grain yield.Due to the input of too much N fertilizer, the efficiency of N use in SH was low.Applying less total N, ameliorating cultivation and cropping management practices should be considered as priority strategies to augment production potential and finally achieve synchronization between high yield and high N efficiency in fertile soils.However, in situations where soil fertility is low, achieving high yield and high N use efficiency in maize will likely depend on increased planting density and appropriate application of supplementary fertilizers postpone to the grain-filling stage.

Integrated management strategy for improving the grain yield and nitrogen-use efficiency of winter wheat

Understanding of how combinations of agronomic options can be used to improve the grain yield and nitrogen use efficiency（NUE） of winter wheat is limited. A three-year experiment involving four integrated management strategies was conducted from 2013 to 2015 in Tai＇an, Shandong Province, China, to evaluate changes in grain yield and NUE. The integrated management treatments were as follows： current practice（T1）; improvement of current practice（T2）; high-yield management（T3）, which aimed to maximize grain yield regardless of the cost of resource inputs; and integrated soil and crop system management（T4） with a higher seeding rate, delayed sowing date, and optimized nutrient management. Seeding rates increased by 75 seeds m^-2 with each treatment from T1（225 seeds m^-2） to T4（450 seeds m^-2）. The sowing dates were delayed from T1（5 th Oct.） to T2 and T3（8 th Oct.）, and to T4 treatment（12 th Oct.）. T1, T2, T3, and T4 received 315, 210, 315, and 240 kg N ha^-1, 120, 90, 210 and 120 kg P2O5 ha^-1, 30, 75, 90, and 45 kg K2O ha^-1, respectively. The ratio of basal application to topdressing for T1, T2, T3, and T4 was 6：4, 5：5, 4：6, and 4：6, respectively, with the N topdressing applied at regreening for T1 and at jointing stage for T2, T3, and T4. The P fertilizers in all treatments were applied as basal fertilizer. The K fertilizer for T1 and T2 was applied as basal fertilizer while the ratio of basal application to topdressing（at jointing stage） of K fertilizer for both T3 and T4 was 6：4. T1, T2, T3, and T4 were irrigated five, four, four and three times, respectively. Treatment T3 produced the highest grain yield among all treatments over three years and the average yield was 9 277.96 kg ha^-1. Grain yield averaged across three years with the T4 treatment（8 892.93 kg ha^-1） was 95.85% of that with T3 and was 21.72 and 6.10% higher than that with T1（7 305.95 kg ha^-1） and T2（8 381.41 kg ha^-1）, respectively. Treatment T2 produced the highest NUE of all the integrated treatments. The NUE with T4 was 95.36% of that with T2 and was 51.91 and 25.62% higher than that with T1 and T3, respectively. The N uptake efficiency（UPE） averaged across three years with T4 was 50.75 and 16.62% higher than that with T1and T3, respectively. The N utilization efficiency（UTE） averaged across three years with T4 was 7.74% higher than that with T3. The increased UPE with T4 compared with T3 could be attributed mostly to the lower available N in T4, while the increased UTE with T4 was mainly due to the highest N harvest index and low grain N concentration, which consequently led to improved NUE. The net profit for T4 was the highest among four treatments and was 174.94, 22.27, and 28.10% higher than that for T1, T2, and T3, respectively. Therefore, the T4 treatment should be a recommendable management strategy to obtain high grain yield, high NUE, and high economic benefits in the target region, although further improvements of NUE are required.

Short Response of Spring Wheat to Tillage, Residue Management and Split Nitrogen Application in a Rice-Wheat System

A ifeld experiment was conducted to study the impact of tillage, crop residue management and nitrogen （N） splitting on spring wheat （Triticum aestivum L.） yield over 2 yr （2010-2012） in a rice （Oryza sativa L.）-wheat system in northwestern Pakistan. The experiment was conducted as split plot arranged in randomized complete blocks design with three replications. Treatments comprised six tillage and residue managements：zero tillage straw retained （ZTsr）, zero tillage straw burnt （ZTsb）, reduced tillage straw incorporated （RTsi）, reduced tillage straw burnt （RTsb）, conventional tillage straw incorporated （CTsi）, and conventional tillage straw burnt （CTsb） as main plots and N （200 kg ha-1） was applied as split form viz., control （no nitrogen＆no splitting, N0S0）;2 splits of total N, half at sowing and half at the 1st irrigation （i.e., 20 d after sowing （DAS）） （NS1）;3 splits of total N, 1/3 at sowing, 1/3 at the 1st irrigation, and 1/3 at the 2nd irrigation （NS2）;4 splits of total N, 1/4 at sowing, 1/4 at the 1st irrigation, 1/4 at the 2nd irrigation （45 DAS）, and 1/4 at the 3rd irrigation （70 DAS） （NS3）;and 4 splits of total N, 1/4 at the 1st irrigation, 1/4 at the 2nd irrigation, 1/4 at the 3rd irrigation, and 1/4 at the 4th irrigation （95DAS） （NS4） as sub plots. The results showed that the most pikes m-2, grains/spike, 1 000-grain weight, grain yield, and N use efifciency （NUE） were obtained at zero tillage, straw retained and 4 splits application of total N （i.e., at sowing 20, 45 and 70 d after sowing）. The results indicated that ZTsr with application of 200 kg N ha-1 in 4 equal splits viz. at sowing 20, 45 and 70 d after sowing is an appropriate strategy that enhanced wheat yield （7 436-7 634 kg ha-1） and N efifciency （28.6-29.5 kg kg-1） in rice-wheat system.

The effects of aeration and irrigation regimes on soil CO_2 and N_2O emissions in a greenhouse tomato production system

Aerated irrigation has been proven to increase crop production and quality, but studies on its environmental impacts are sparse. The effects of aeration and irrigation regimes on soil CO2 and N2O emissions in two consecutive greenhouse tomato rotation cycles in Northwest China were studied via the static closed chamber and gas chromatography technique. Four treatments, aerated deficit irrigation（AI1）, non-aerated deficit irrigation（CK1）, aerated full irrigation（AI2） and non-aerated full irrigation（CK2）, were performed. The results showed that the tomato yield under aeration of each irrigation regime increased by 18.8% on average compared to non-aeration, and the difference was significant under full irrigation（P〈0.05）. Full irrigation significantly increased the tomato yield by 23.9% on average in comparison to deficit irrigation. Moreover, aeration increased the cumulative CO2 emissions compared to non-aeration, and treatment effects were significant in the autumn-winter season（P〈0.05）. A slight increase of CO2 emissions in the two seasons was observed under full irrigation（P〉0.05）. There was no significant difference between aeration and non-aeration in soil N2O emissions in the spring-summer season, whereas aeration enhanced N2O emissions significantly in the autumn-winter season. Furthermore, full irrigation over the two seasons greatly increased soil N2O emissions compared to the deficit irrigation treatment（P〈0.05）. Correlation analysis indicated that soil temperature was the primary factor influencing CO2 fluxes. Soil temperature, soil moisture and NO3^- were the primary factors influencing N2O fluxes. Irrigation coupled with particular soil aeration practices may allow for a balance between crop production yield and greenhouse gas mitigation in greenhouse vegetable fields.