Tao Yu, Zhang Dehai, Xing Zhipeng, Ni Chuan, Ye Miao, Zhang Zujian
College of Agriculture, Yangzhou University, Yangzhou, China.
State Key Laboratory of Crop Genetics and Physiology of Jiangsu Province, Yangzhou University, Yangzhou, China.
Front Plant Sci. 2025 Jun 26;16:1576049. doi: 10.3389/fpls.2025.1576049. eCollection 2025.
Excessive nitrogen fertilization poses a threat to agricultural sustainability. Achieving high crop yield while improving soil health under reduced nitrogen (N) input is a global concern. This two-year rice-wheat rotation study was designed with two N fertilizer levels (conventional N level and reduced N level) and four controlled-release urea (CRU) application modes, along with a control CK (farmer's conventional fertilization mode). Effects on yield, nitrogen use efficiency (NUE), and soil fertility were compared. Polymer-coated urea (PCU) was employed as the CRU material in this study. Significantly lower annual yields were observed under sole PCU. The PCU + U treatments increased yields by 9.16-15.00% over CK. The highest rice-wheat yield and nitrogen recovery efficiency occurred with 40% PCU + 30% U basal fertilizer + 30% U panicle fertilizer application mode. Nitrogen reduction decreased yield and plant nitrogen but improved nitrogen recovery efficiency. However, the RN-PCU + U mode achieved yields comparable to CK. RN-PCU + U treatments provided stable yields and higher economic benefits, with the latter increasing by 6.3-35.7% compared to CK. Soil nutrient content varied significantly among PCU application modes. The RN 70% PCU + 30% U basal fertilizer showed the best performance on soil fertility: organic matter content was 2.9% higher than CK, and total nitrogen was 9.3% higher than CK after two rice-wheat rotations. Panicle fertilizer enhanced nutrient uptake and reduced residual soil nutrient levels. Correlation analysis indicated that increased plant N and soil available phosphorus were associated with higher yields, whereas elevated soil alkali-hydrolyzed N content promoted organic matter accumulation. PCU + U application can compensate for the decrease of rice-wheat yield under nitrogen reduction and improve the activity of soil nutrients. Our results suggest that the 70% PCU + 30% U basal application mode optimizes nitrogen efficiency, sustains rice-wheat yields, and enhances soil fertility under reduced nitrogen input. These findings could inform future sustainable agricultural practices designed to reduce nitrogen use while maintaining crop yield.
过量施氮对农业可持续性构成威胁。在减少氮素投入的情况下实现高产并改善土壤健康状况是全球关注的问题。这项为期两年的稻麦轮作研究设置了两个氮肥水平（常规施氮水平和减氮水平）和四种控释尿素（CRU）施用模式，并设一个对照CK（农民常规施肥模式）。比较了对产量、氮素利用效率（NUE）和土壤肥力的影响。本研究采用聚合物包膜尿素（PCU）作为控释尿素材料。单独施用PCU时，年平均产量显著较低。PCU+尿素处理比CK增产9.16%-15.00%。稻麦产量和氮素回收效率最高的是40%PCU+30%尿素基肥+30%尿素穗肥施用模式。减氮降低了产量和植株氮素含量，但提高了氮素回收效率。然而，减氮PCU+尿素模式的产量与CK相当。减氮PCU+尿素处理提供了稳定的产量和更高的经济效益，后者比CK增加了6.3%-35.7%。不同PCU施用模式下土壤养分含量差异显著。减氮70%PCU+30%尿素基肥处理对土壤肥力表现最佳：经过两轮稻麦轮作后，有机质含量比CK高2.9%，全氮比CK高9.3%。穗肥提高了养分吸收并降低了土壤残留养分水平。相关分析表明，植株氮素增加和土壤有效磷升高与较高产量相关联，而土壤碱解氮含量升高促进了有机质积累。PCU+尿素施用可以弥补减氮条件下稻麦产量的下降，并提高土壤养分活性。我们的结果表明，70%PCU+30%尿素基肥施用模式在减氮投入下优化了氮素效率，维持了稻麦产量，并提高了土壤肥力。这些发现可为未来旨在减少氮素使用同时维持作物产量的可持续农业实践提供参考依据
