Dataset Information

Effects of Mulching and Nitrogen on Soil Nitrate-N Distribution, Leaching and Nitrogen Use Efficiency of Maize (Zea mays L.).

ABSTRACT: Mulching and nitrogen are critical drivers of crop production for smallholders of the Loess Plateau in China. The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of mulching and nitrogen fertilizer on the soil water content, soil nitrate-N content and vertical distribution in maize root-zone. The experiment was conducted over two consecutive years and used randomly assigned field plots with three replicates. The six treatments consisted of no fertilizer without plastic film (CK), plastic film mulching with no basal fertilizer and no top dressing (MN0), basal fertilizer with no top dressing and no mulching (BN1), plastic film mulching and basal fertilizer with no top dressing (MN1), basal fertilizer and top dressing with no mulching (BN2) and plastic film mulching with basal fertilizer and top dressing (MN2). In the top soil layers, the soil water content was a little high in the plastic film mulching than that without mulching. The mean soil water content from 0 to 40 cm without mulching were 3.35% lower than those measured in the corresponding mulching treatments in 31 days after sowing in 2012. The mulching treatment increased the soil nitrate-N content was observed in the 0-40-cm soil layers. The results indicate that high contents of soil nitrate-N were mainly distributed at 0-20-cm at 31 days after sowing in 2012, and the soil nitrate-N concentration in the MN2 treatment was 1.58 times higher than that did not receive fertilizer. The MN2 treatment greatly increased the soil nitrate-N content in the upper layer of soil (0-40-cm), and the mean soil nitrate-N content was increased nearly 50 mg kg-1 at 105 days after sowing compared with CK treatment in 2012. The soil nitrate-N leaching amount in MN1 treatment was 28.61% and 39.14% lower than BN1 treatment, and the mulch effect attained to 42.55% and 65.27% in MN2 lower than BN2 in both years. The yield increased with an increase in the basal fertilizer, top dressing and plastic film mulching, and the grain yield increase ranged from 31.41% to 83.61% in two consecutive years. The MN1 and MN2 treatment is recommended because it increased the grain yield and improved the fertilizer use efficiency, compared with the no-mulching treatment.

SUBMITTER: Wang X

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4999137 | biostudies-literature | 2016

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Effects of Mulching and Nitrogen on Soil Nitrate-N Distribution, Leaching and Nitrogen Use Efficiency of Maize (Zea mays L.).

Wang Xiukang X Xing Yingying Y

PloS one 20160825 8

Mulching and nitrogen are critical drivers of crop production for smallholders of the Loess Plateau in China. The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of mulching and nitrogen fertilizer on the soil water content, soil nitrate-N content and vertical distribution in maize root-zone. The experiment was conducted over two consecutive years and used randomly assigned field plots with three replicates. The six treatments consisted of no fertilizer without plastic film (CK), plastic fil ...[more]

PMID: 27560826

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Project description:The relationship between leaf water potential, soil water potential, and transpiration depends on soil and plant hydraulics and stomata regulation. Recent concepts of stomatal response to soil drying relate stomatal regulation to plant hydraulics, neglecting the loss of soil hydraulic conductance around the roots. Our objective was to measure the effect of soil drying on the soil-plant hydraulic conductance of maize and to test whether stomatal regulation avoids a loss of soil-plant hydraulic conductance in drying soils. We combined a root pressure chamber, in which the soil-root system is pressurized to maintain the leaf xylem at atmospheric pressure, with sap flow sensors to measure transpiration rate. The method provides accurate and high temporal resolution measurements of the relationship between transpiration rate and xylem leaf water potential. A simple soil-plant hydraulic model describing the flow of water across the soil, root, and xylem was used to simulate the relationship between leaf water potential and transpiration rate. The experiments were carried out with 5-week-old maize grown in cylinders of 9 cm diameter and 30 cm height filled with silty soil. The measurements were performed at four different soil water contents (WC). The results showed that the relationship between transpiration and leaf water potential was linear in wet soils, but as the soil dried, the xylem tension increased, and nonlinearities were observed at high transpiration rates. Nonlinearity in the relationship between transpiration and leaf water potential indicated a decrease in the soil-plant hydraulic conductance, which was explained by the loss of hydraulic conductivity around the roots. The hydraulic model well reproduced the observed leaf water potential. Parallel experiments performed with plants not being pressurized showed that plants closed stomata when the soil-plant hydraulic conductance decreased, maintaining the linearity between leaf water potential and transpiration rate. We conclude that stomata closure during soil drying is caused by the loss of soil hydraulic conductivity in a predictable way.

Project description:Background and aimsShoot-borne roots contribute to most of the nutrient uptake throughout the life cycle of maize (Zea mays). Compared with numerous studies with embryonic roots, detailed information on the phenotypic plasticity of shoot-borne roots in response to a heterogeneous nitrogen supply is scarce. The present study therefore provides a comprehensive profile of fine-scale plastic responses of distinct root types to localized high nitrate supply.MethodsSeedlings of the maize inbred line B73 were grown in split-root systems. The anatomy and morphological plasticity of the primary root and the roots initiated from the 2nd, 5th and 7th shoot nodes, and their lateral roots, were studied in response to local high nitrate supply to one side of the root system.Key resultsIn contrast to the insensitivity of axial roots, local high nitrate supply increased the length of 1st-order lateral roots on the primary root and the three whorls of shoot-borne roots at different growth stages, and increased the density of 1st-order lateral roots on the 7th shoot-borne root after silking. The length and density of 2nd-order lateral roots on the three whorls of shoot-borne roots displayed a more flexible response to local high nitrate than 1st-order lateral roots. Root diameter and number, and total area and diameter of metaxylem vessels increased from the primary root to early and then later developed shoot-borne roots, which showed a positive relationship with shoot growth and N accumulation.ConclusionsMaize axial roots and lateral roots responded differently to local high nitrate, and this was related to their function. The extent of morphological plasticity of lateral roots in response to local high nitrate depended on the initiation time of the shoot-borne roots on which the lateral roots developed. Morphological plasticity was higher on 2nd-order than on 1st-order lateral roots. The results suggest that higher order lateral root branching might be a potential target for genetic improvement in future maize breeding.

Project description:The demand for increased grain production to support population and consumption growth has led to increased interest in field management approaches that incorporate plastic mulching and fertilization management. The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of plastic mulching and basal nitrogen (N)-fertilizer application depth on N balance estimations, N use efficiency (NUE) and maize yield. The experiment was conducted in 2014 and 2015 with six treatments: no N fertilizer and no mulching (CK), traditional broadcast N fertilizer with mulching (T0), basal N-fertilizer application at a depth of 6 cm with no mulching (T1), basal N-fertilizer application at a depth of 6 cm with plastic mulching (T2), basal N-fertilizer application at a depth of 12 cm with no mulching (T3) and basal N-fertilizer application at a depth of 12 cm with plastic mulching (T4). Mulching and basal N-fertilizer application depth each had significant effects on grain yield, but there were no significant interactions between them. The highest grain yield was observed in the T2 treatment and was 89.1% and 99.8% higher than the grain yield in the CK treatment in 2014 and 2015, respectively. The N uptake in T2 was 21.3% and 25.3% higher than that in the T0 treatment in 2014 and 2015, respectively. Relative to the value in the T0 treatment, the mean N loss over the 2 years was reduced by 34.6% in T2 and by 39.8% in T4. The basal N-fertilizer application depth of 12 cm yielded an obvious increase in NUE, but a high N residual remained below 50 cm after harvest, indicating the higher potential for N losses. In addition, the field application of this type of fertilizer management would require more labor in the absence of the implementation of mechanization. Based on the results, basal N-fertilizer application a depth of 6 cm without plastic mulching is recommended because it significantly increased grain yield and NUE, reduced N loss and requires no investment in plastic film, which are conducive to food security and environmental conservation.

Dataset Information

Effects of Mulching and Nitrogen on Soil Nitrate-N Distribution, Leaching and Nitrogen Use Efficiency of Maize (Zea mays L.).

Publications

Effects of Mulching and Nitrogen on Soil Nitrate-N Distribution, Leaching and Nitrogen Use Efficiency of Maize (Zea mays L.).

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