A Field Study on Effects of Nitrogen Fertilization Modes on Nutrient Uptake,Crop Yield and Soil Biological Properties in Rice-Wheat Rotation System

Rational application of nitrogen （N） fertilizers is an important measure to raise N fertilizer recovery rate and reduce N loss.A two-year field experiment of rice-wheat rotation was employed to study the effects of N fertilization modes including a N fertilizer reduction and an organic manure replacement on crop yield,nutrient uptake,soil enzyme activity,and number of microbes as well as diversity of microbes.The result showed that 20% reduction of traditional N fertilizer dose of local farmers did not significantly change crop yield,N uptake,soil enzyme activity,and the number of microbes （bacteria,actinomycetes,and fungi）.On the basis of 20% reduction of N fertilizer,50% replacement of N fertilizer by organic manure increased the activity of sucrose,protease,urease,and phosphatase by 46-62,27-89,33-46,and 35-74%,respectively,and the number of microbes,i.e.,bacteria,actinomycetes,and fungi by 36-150,11-153,and 43-56%,respectively.Further,organic fertilizer replacement had a Shannon＇s diversity index （H） of 2.18,which was higher than that of other modes of single N fertilizer application.The results suggested that reducing N fertilizer by 20% and applying organic manure in the experimental areas could effectively lower the production costs and significantly improve soil fertility and biological properties.

Emergence,Mating and Oviposition Behavior of the Chinese Population in Pink Bollworm,Pectinophora gossypiella (Lepidoptera:Gelechiidae)

The pink bollworm, Pectinophora gossypiella （Lepidoptera： Gelechiidae） is one of the most serious lepidopteran pests of cotton in the world. This pest invaded China at the onset of the 20th century, possibly through repeated introductions from several different locations worldwide. In this paper, we describe different behavioral parameters of this Hubei P. gossypiella strain under laboratory and field conditions. Using an infra-red video recorder, we observed （nocturnal） emergence, flight and mating activities, and oviposition patterns. Moth emergence started from 13：00 and continued up till 23：00. Under laboratory and field conditions, 2-7-d-old moths initiated flight around sunset, peaked 50 rain later and gradually declined until 04：00. Although mating started immediately after darkness （i.e., 20：00）, mating behavior was most intense from 23：00 to 03：40. Oviposition also showed distinct time-related patterns, with approx. 70% eggs laid between 20：00 and 22：00. In the studies of the relationship between flight and oviposition, the duration of flight had an effect on oviposition. The 1-d-old moths flown for 6 and 12 h began oviposition earlier than the unflown ones, and the 6-h flight had no effect on the egg production. However, the longevity of the flown moths was shortened after flight. In addition, the peaks of oviposition for the flown moths were advanced 2-3 d. The age when the moths flied affected the oviposition of adult moths. The earlier the moths started to fly after emergence, the greater the fecundity they had. The average egg production of moths flown for 24 h was less than that of non-flown moths which were of the same age. Both flight and delay in mating could advance the oviposition peak. Our study provides detailed insights in nocturnal activities and the reproductive biology of local P. gossypiella populations, which could be employed to fine-tune current pest management programs in China.

Effects of long-term straw incorporation on nematode community composition and metabolic footprint in a rice–wheat cropping system

Soil nematode communities can provide valuable information about the structure and functions of soil food webs,and are sensitive to agricultural practices,including short-term straw incorporation.However,currently,such effects under longterm straw incorporation conditions at different fertility levels are largely unknown.Thus,we conducted a 13-year ongoing experiment to evaluate the effects of long-term straw incorporation on the structure and functions of the soil food web in low and high fertility soils through analyzing its effects on nematode communities,food web indices and metabolic footprints.Four treatments were included:straw removal(–S)under non-fertilized(–NPK)or fertilized(+NPK)conditions;and straw incorporation(+S)under–NPK or+NPK conditions.Soil samples from a 0–20 cm depth layer were collected when wheat and rice were harvested.Compared with straw removal,straw incorporation increased the abundances of total nematodes,bacterivores,plant-parasites and omnivores-predators,as well the relative abundances of omnivores-predators with increases of 73.06,89.29,95.31,238.98,and 114.61%in–NPK soils and 16.23,2.23,19.01,141.38,and 90.23%in+NPK soils,respectively.Regardless of sampling times and fertilization effects,straw incorporation increased the diversity and community stability of nematodes,as indicated by the Shannon-Weaver diversity index and maturity index.Enrichment and structure index did not show significant responses to straw incorporation,but a slight increase was observed in the structure index.The analysis of nematode metabolic footprints showed that straw incorporation increased the plant-parasite footprint and structure footprint by 97.27 and 305.39%in–NPK soils and by 11.29 and 149.56%in+NPK soils,but did not significantly influence enrichment,bacterivore and fungivore footprints.In conclusion,long-term straw incorporation,particularly under a low fertility level,favored the soil nematodes and regulated the soil food web mainly via a top-down effect.

Survey on Spawning Characteristics of Rice Planthoppers in Different Rice Varieties

The fecundity and spawning locations of rice planthoppers in several rice varieties were surveyed in the test. The results showed that spawning behavior of rice planthoppers obeyed obvious niche distribution; rice planthopper preferred to lay eggs in the leaf sheath with spawning mark distance more than 20 cm, while they liked to lay eggs in the leaves with spawning mark distance of 10 - 20 cm. The average fecundity in leaf sheaths was obviously higher than that in leaves, indicating that leaf sheaths were more suitable for spawning of rice planthoppers than leaves.

Static and Dynamic Properties of Soil Food Web Structure in a Greenhouse Environment

Soil food web structure is fundamental to ecosystem process and function; most studies on soil food web structure have focused on agro-ecosystems under different management practices and natural terrestrial ecosystems,but seldom on greenhouses. This study explored the static and temporal variability of soil food structure in two greenhouses of Shandong Province,North China over a two-year period. The static properties were measured directly by surveying functional group composition and a series of parameters portraying the species properties,link properties,chain properties and omnivory properties of the web,as well as indirectly through calculation of nematode indices,enrichment index(EI),structure index(SI),and channel index(CI). The dynamic variability of greenhouse soil food structure was described by the dynamics of functional groups,Bray-Curtis(BC) similarity and cluster analysis. The results showed that the greenhouse soil food web contained 14 functional groups,with microbes having the highest mean biomass,followed by protozoa. Of the three functional groups of protozoa,flagellates were the dominant group on most sampling dates,amoebae only became the dominant group during the summer,while ciliates were the least prevalent group. All nematodes were assigned into one of the four functional groups,bacterivorous,fungivorous,herbivorous and omnivorous,and the fungivorous nematodes had the lowest mean biomass. Mites were assigned into three functional groups and the omnivorous noncryptostigmatic mites were the dominant group. All the functional groups showed significant seasonal changes. The soil food web connectance was 0.15,the maximum food chain length was 5,and the average food chain length was 3.6. The profiles of the EI and SI showed that the food web was resourcedepleted with minimal structure. The results of CI indicated that the bacterial decomposition pathway was the dominant pathway in the food web of the greenhouse soils studied and the results of BC similarity showed that the soil food web had higher variability and instability over time. The cluster analysis showed that the functional groups located at high trophic levels with low biomass were in a cluster,whereas those at low trophic levels with high biomass were closer. Compared with the food web structure of agroecosystem and natural terrestrial ecosystem soils,the structure of greenhouse soil food web was simple and unstable,which was likely driven by high agricultural intensification,particularly over application of fertilizers.

Optimizing agronomic practices for closing rapeseed yield gaps under intensive cropping systems in China

A yield gap analysis for rapeseed(Brassica napus L.) is critical to meeting the oil demand by identifying yield potential and yield constraints. In this study, potential yield(Y_p), attainable yield(Y_(att)), and actual yield(Y_(act)) for winter rapeseed were determined in five different zones of China. A boundary line approach was adopted to calculate Y_p, based on a large-scale field experimental database. A meta-analysis was conducted on the data obtained from 118 published studies to evaluate the effects of agronomic factors on rapeseed yield. The main results indicated that farmers only achieved 37–56% of the yield potential across the zones. The low altitude areas(L-URY) and lower reaches(LRY) of the Yangtze River Basin(YRB), China had high yield levels. The total yield gap was 1 893 kg ha^(–1), due to the agronomic management factors, environmental factors, and socioeconomic factors. The meta-analysis showed that weed control and drainage were the best management practices to improve yields(45.6 and 35.3%, respectively), and other practices improved yields by 17.1–21.6%. Consequently, to narrow the yield gap over the short term, the study could focus on techniques that are easily implemented to farmers.

Co-composting of Chinese milk vetch with rice straw and using the compost as a peat substitute of seeding substrate of vegetables

Chinese milk vetch(Astragalussinicus L.)is an environment-friendly green manure used for rice with low carbon/nitrogen(C/N)ratio and high moisture.To improve the added values of milk vetch,the feasibility of co-composting of milk vetch with rice straw was evaluated.The probability of using the milk vetch-based compost as a peat substitute in seeding substrate of vegetable was further tested.The changes in physicochemical properties during co-composting of milk vetch and rice straw were evaluated,depending on three treatments:(1)milk vetch alone(MV),(2)co-composting of milk vetch and rice straws with 4:1 ration(w/w)(MV+S)and(3)MV+S with the addition of 3%(w/w)microbial inoculation(MV+S+M).The entire composting durations were 15 d,24 d,and 24 d in MV,MV+S,MV+S+M composts.Compare to MV compost,both the MV+S,MV+S+M composts increased the temperature,pH,organic C,total nitrogen(N),total potassium(K)and the germination index(GI)(over 100)during the cooling/mature phase,and decreased total N loss,and generally,the improvements or reductions were greater in the MV+S+M compost than in the MV+S compost.Additionally,the MV+S+M compost was added at a peat substitute rates of 0%,20%,40%,80%and 100%in a pot experiment to testify the utilization of milk vetch-based compost in substrates.The results showed that the substrate with 40%substitute rate increased the cabbage seeding growth,and that the electrical conductivity was the limiting factor of preventing the substitute rate increase.Another pot experiment demonstrated that the substrate with 40%peat substitute increased the cucumber growth as compared to the substrate without compost.In conclusion,the co-composting milk vetch with rice straw was feasible and quick,and microbial inoculation accelerated the composting process and improved the compost quality.The milk vetch-based composts were nutrient-rich and safe,and thus,can replace part of peat in vegetable seeding substrate.