Pedosphere 24(1): 76--83, 2014
ISSN 1002-0160/CN 32-1315/P
©2014 Soil Science Society of China
Published by Elsevier B.V. and Science Press
| Validation of a critical nitrogen curve for summer maize in the North China Plain |
YUE Shan-Chao1,2, SUN Fu-Lai3, MENG Qing-Feng1, ZHAO Rong-Fang1,4, LI Fei11,5, CHEN Xin-Ping1, ZHANG Fu-Suo1 and CUI Zhen-Ling1 |
1College of Resources and Environmental Sciences, China Agricultural University, Beijing 100193 (China)
2State Key Laboratory of Soil Erosion and Dryland Farming on the Loess Plateau, Northwest A&F University, Yangling 712100 (China)
3Agriculture Bureau of Binzhou, Binzhou 256600 (China)
4College of Environmental Science and Engineering, Zhongkai University of Agriculture and Engineering, Guangzhou 510225 (China)
5College of Ecology and Environmental Science, Inner Mongolia Agricultural University, Hohhot 010019 (China) |
| ABSTRACT |
| The concept of critical N concentration (Nc) has been widely used in agronomy as the basis for diagnosis of crop N status, and allows discrimination between field situations of sub-optimal and supra-optimal N supply. A critical N dilution curve of Nc = 34.0W-0.37, where W is the aboveground biomass (Mg DM ha-1) and Nc the critical N concentration in aboveground dry matter (g kg-1 DM), was developed for spring maize in Europe. Our objectives were to validate whether this European critical N dilution curve was appropriate for summer maize production in the North China Plain (NCP) and to develop a critical N dilution curve especially for summer maize production in this region. In total 231 data points from all the 16 experiments were used to test the European critical N dilution curve. These observations showed that the European critical N dilution curve was unsuitable for summer maize in the NCP, especially at the early growth stage. From the data obtained, a critical N dilution curve for summer maize in the NCP was described by the equation of Nc = 27.2W-0.27, when aboveground biomass was between 0.64 and 11.17 Mg DM ha-1. Based on this curve, more than 90% of the data for the N deficiency supply treatments had an N nutrition index (NNI) < 1 and 92% of the data for the N excess supply treatments had an NNI > 1. |
| Key Words: critical N dilution curve, N nutrition index, optimal N management, plant-based N diagnostic indicator |
| Citation: Yue, S. C., Sun, F. L., Meng, Q. F., Zhao, R. F., Li, F., Chen, X. P., Zhang, F. S. and Cui, Z. L. 2014. Validation of a critical nitrogen curve for summer maize in the North China Plain. Pedosphere. 24(1): 76-83. |
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