Elsevier

Pedosphere

Volume 21, Issue 6, December 2011, Pages 763-772
Pedosphere

Recovery and Leaching of 15N-Labeled Coated Urea in a Lysimeter System in the North China Plain

https://doi.org/10.1016/S1002-0160(11)60180-XGet rights and content

Abstract

The effectiveness of polyolefin-coated urea (Meister-5 and Meister-10; CU) in a wheat (Triticum aestivum L.)-maize (Zea mays L.) rotation system was studied in lysimeter plots located in the North China Plain for three consecutive maize-wheat-maize cropping seasons. An isotopic method was used to compare the fate of CU to that of non-coated urea (NCU), and N application rates of 0, 100, 150 and 225 kg N ha−1 were evaluated. The results showed that the nitrogen use efficiency (15NUE) of CU was 13.3%–21.4% greater than that of NCU for the first crop. Alternatively, when the difference method was applied (apparent NUE), no significant variations were observed among treatments in all three seasons. Although inorganic N leached from the 1.3 m layer was less than 1% of the total applied N, unidentified losses of 15N (losses of 15N = 15N applied as fertilizer –15N absorbed by crops –15N remaining in the 0–0.2 m layer –15N leached from the 1.3 m layer) in CU-treated plots were 24.2%–26.5% lower than those of NCU-treated plots. The nitrate concentration in the 0–1.3 m layer of CU plots at the end of the experiment was 53% lower than that of NCU-treated plots. Thus, CU increased crop N uptake from fertilizer and reduced unidentified losses of applied N, which can reduce the risk of groundwater pollution.

References (51)

  • F.E. Broadbent

    Effect of fertilizer nitrogen on the release of soil nitrogen

    Soil Sei. Soc. Am. Proc.

    (1965)
  • F.E. Broadbent

    Residual effects of labeled N in field trials

    Agron. J.

    (1980)
  • S. Cahill et al.

    Winter wheat and maize response to urea ammonium nitrate and a new urea formaldehyde polymer fertilizer

    Agron. J.

    (2007)
  • G.X. Cai

    Ammonium volatilization

  • G.X. Cai et al.

    Nitrogen losses from fertilizers applied to maize, wheat and rice in the North China Plain

    Nutr. Cycl. Agroecosys.

    (2002)
  • D.L. Chen et al.

    Evaluation of a polyolefin coated urea (Meister) as a fertilizer for irrigated cotton

    Nutr. Cycl. Agroecosys.

    (2008)
  • Z.M. Chen et al.

    Effect of fertilizer N movement and environment quality

  • X. Fan et al.

    Fertilization with a new type of coated urea: Evaluation for nitrogen efficiency and yield in winter wheat

    J. Plant Nutr.

    (2004)
  • Q.X. Fang et al.

    Soil nitrate accumulation, leaching and crop nitrogen use as influenced by fertilization and irrigation in an intensive wheat-maize double cropping system in the North China Plain

    Plant Soil.

    (2006)
  • G.M. Fu et al.

    Downward movement and leaching of NO3-N from nitrogen-fertilized corn on dryland soil

    Pedo-sphere.

    (1998)
  • T. Fujita et al.

    Kinds and properties of Meister

  • F. Gastal et al.

    N uptake and distribution in crops: an agronomical and ecophysiological perspective

    J. Exp. Bot.

    (2002)
  • A.D.M. Glass et al.

    The regulation of nitrate and ammonium transport systems in plants

    J. Exp. Bot.

    (2002)
  • D.Z. Habash et al.

    The genetics of nitrogen use on hexaploid wheat: N utilization, development and yield

    Theor. Appl. Genet.

    (2006)
  • P.B.S. Hart et al.

    Influence of pool substitution on the interpretation of fertilizer experiments with isotopic N

    J. Soil Sei.

    (1986)
  • Cited by (15)

    • Earthworms promote the transfer of <sup>15</sup>N-urea to lettuce while limit appreciably increase <sup>15</sup>N losing to environment

      2022, Environmental Research
      Citation Excerpt :

      Seminar results was also reported by Wu et al. (2015a), who found both earthworm's ecosystem service (increased crop yields) and dis-service (increased cumulative N2O emissions) in an N-enriched agroecosystem. Although urea-N lost from soil by denitrification, ammonia volatilization, and leaching is a non-point source of environmental pollution (Abail and Whalen, 2021; Li et al., 2011), the minor difference (1.34%) of urea-N losses between the Soil and Soil + Earthworm treatments in this experiment are not cause for concern. However, many aspects of this controlled experiment are unrealistic, such as the fixed number of earthworms and constant incubation conditions (temperature, moisture and etc.).

    View all citing articles on Scopus

    Supported by the National Basic Research Program (973 Program) of China (No. 2007CB109302), the Special Fund for Agro-Scientific Research in the Public Interest, China (No. 201103007) and the Japan-China Co-operation Project.

    View full text