Elsevier

Pedosphere

Volume 16, Issue 6, December 2006, Pages 806-812
Pedosphere

Effect of N Fertilization on Grain Yield of Winter Wheat and Apparent N Losses1

https://doi.org/10.1016/S1002-0160(06)60117-3Get rights and content

ABSTRACT

Excessive nitrogen (N) fertilizer application to winter wheat is a common problem on the North China Plain. To determine the optimum fertilizer N rate for winter wheat production while minimizing N losses, field experiments were conducted for two growing seasons at eight sites, in Huimin County, Shandong Province, from 2001 to 2003. The optimum N rate for maximum grain yield was inversely related to the initial soil mineral N content (Nmin) in the top 90 cm of the soil profile before sowing. There was no yield response to the applied N at the three sites with high initial soil mineral N levels (average 212 kg N ha−1). The average optimum N rate was 96 kg N ha−1 for the five sites with low initial soil Nmin (average 155 kg N ha−1) before sowing. Residual nitrate N in the top 90 cm of the soil profile after harvest increased with increasing fertilizer N application rate. The apparent N losses during the wheat-growing season also increased with increasing N application rate. The average apparent N losses with the optimum N rates were less than 15 kg N ha−1, whereas the farmers' conventional N application rate resulted in losses of more than 100 kg N ha−1. Therefore, optimizing N use for winter wheat considerably reduced N losses to the environment without compromising crop yields.

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Cited by (50)

  • Management of nitrogen fertilization to balance reducing lodging risk and increasing yield and protein content in spring wheat

    2019, Field Crops Research
    Citation Excerpt :

    Among these strategies, the method of applying N fertilizer is generally the most effective input for increasing grain yield and protein (%) in wheat production (Zebarth et al., 2007; Nakano et al., 2008). However, overestimation of the benefit of N fertilizer on yield and the misunderstanding of their relationship have often led farmers to over–use N fertilizer in China and other countries (Cui et al., 2006; Ma et al., 2010; Wu and Ma, 2015; Ma et al., 2017). For instance, approximately 370 kg N ha–1 have been reported on winter wheat production in China (Cui et al., 2006).

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Project supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Nos. 30390084 and 30270772) and the Natural Science Foundation of Beijing (No. 6010001).

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