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Article

Nitrogen Reduction Combined with Organic Materials Can Stabilize Crop Yield and Soil Nutrients in Winter Rapeseed and Maize Rotation in Yellow Soil

by
Quan-Quan Wei
1,2,
Jiu-Lan Gou
1,
Meng Zhang
1,*,
Bang-Xi Zhang
1,
Yong Rao
2 and
Hua-Gui Xiao
1,2,*
1
Institute of Soil and Fertilizer, Guizhou Academy of Agricultural Sciences/Guizhou Observation Experimental Station of Farmland Preservation and Agricultural Environmental Sciences, Ministry of Agriculture, Guiyang 550006, China
2
Institute of Oil Crops, Guizhou Academy of Agricultural Science, Guiyang 550006, China
*
Authors to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Sustainability 2022, 14(12), 7183; https://doi.org/10.3390/su14127183
Submission received: 6 May 2022 / Revised: 8 June 2022 / Accepted: 9 June 2022 / Published: 11 June 2022
Browse Figures
Versions Notes

Abstract

:
Objective: To investigate the effect of nitrogen reduction combined with organic materials on crop growth of winter rapeseed and maize rotation in yellow soil. Methods: A 2-year, four-season winter rapeseed and maize rotation experiment using three organic materials (biochar (B), commercial organic fertilizer (O) and straw (S), 3000 kg·hm−2) and three nitrogen application rates (100%, 85% and 70%) was carried out from 2018 to 2020 in Guizhou Province, China. By comprehensively analyzing the crop yield, biomass and nutrient absorption, soil nutrients indicators, and the efficiency of nitrogen fertilizer was calculated. Results: All organic materials could increase the yield of both crops, and 100% N + O treatment was the best, and the 2-year winter rapeseed and maize yields reached 3069 kg·hm−2, 3215 kg·hm−2 and 11,802 kg·hm−2, 11,912 kg·hm−2, respectively. When nitrogen application was reduced by 15%, the addition of the three organic materials could stabilize or increase the yield and biomass, and nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium absorption in both crops showed an increasing trend, which could improve or maintain soil nutrients. When nitrogen application was reduced by 30%, the yields of two crops with organic materials addition were lower than those of 100% N treatment. Through the interaction, it was found that nitrogen and organic material were the main reasons for the increase in yield, respectively. Conclusions: The addition of three organic materials can replace 15% of nitrogen fertilizer. It is recommended to apply 153.0 kg·hm−2 and 127.5 kg·hm−2 of nitrogen fertilizer in winter rapeseed and maize seasons, respectively, in the rotation area of Guizhou yellow soil, with the addition of 3000 kg·hm−2 organic materials, most appropriately commercial organic fertilizer.

1. Introduction

Yellow soil is widely distributed in the plateau area of Guizhou, China. It is the most widely distributed zonal soil in the karst area [1], and also the main agricultural soil type in Guizhou. Yellow soil is of low organic content, low nutrient content, heavy texture, and has weak retention capacity for fertilizer and water [2]. Therefore, yellow soil seriously restricts the high yield of crops and the improvement of soil fertility, affecting economic development. Continuous planting of crops often leads to the reduction in soil fertility. In agriculture, the problem of soil degradation is often solved by rational fertilization and crop rotation [3]. Winter rapeseed and maize are important crops worldwide [4,5], and they are also the main economic crops in Guizhou. At present, yellow soil has an impact on the yield and quality of the two crops, and nitrogen is also an important factor affecting the yield of the two crops [6,7]. Therefore, screening an efficient fertilization mode is the key to solving the problem of yellow soil quality and improving crop yield and economic benefits.
By improving the soil organic matter (carbon) levels, increasing nutrient supply, improving soil pH environment, and promoting soil microbial activity, the problem of yellow soil can be sufficiently solved. Among them, the addition of organic materials is a direct and effective treatment measure [8,9]. Researchers have found that an appropriate amount of organic nitrogen and phosphorus substitution could not only achieve high and stable yields of wheat in northwest China, but also increase the content of available nutrients in soil and improve the utilization rate of fertilizers [10]. Furthermore, the combination of 1/4 organic fertilizer and 1/4 straw pattern could significantly reduce the abundance of functional genes in the soil nitrification process, increase the abundance of functional genes of denitrification and nitrate dissimilation, promote nitrogen absorption in the tomato fruiting period, and reduce the possibility of nitrogen leaching downward [11]. The study of the wheat-maize rotation system found that organic nitrogen is the best replacement for 75% of chemical nitrogen fertilizer, which could ensure crop yield and achieve reduction in N2O emissions [12]. On the other hand, straw incorporation into the soil is another traditional treatment method, which can not only improve the carbon sequestration function of farmland soil, improve soil structure, fertilize soil and improve crop yield and quality, but also reduce environmental pollution [13,14]. Years of crop rotation experiments showed that straw incorporation into the soil, combined with a high application rate of nitrogen fertilizer, could increase wheat yield, and straw incorporation into the soil combined with a certain rate of nitrogen fertilizer was more conducive to maintaining wheat yield and protecting the ecological environment [15]. As a new material, biochar could not only directly provide nutrients, but also improve soil carbon pool, improve soil quality, and increase crop content [16,17], which has become an emerging method. Zhang et al. [18] researched yellow soil in Guizhou and reported that the application of distiller’s grains biochar in a short time could increase the nitrogen content of yellow soil, change the structure and diversity of the soil bacterial community, and could effectively control soil nitrogen by inhibiting soil ammonia oxidation and nitrification, which could reduce the risk of soil nitrogen leaching and improve nitrogen availability.
This study conducted a 2-year, 4-season crop rotation experiment in the yellow soil of Guizhou. It selected winter rapeseed and maize as the crop materials, and used different organic materials (biochar, commercial organic fertilizer and straw) and inorganic fertilizers in combination to study the effects of different organic materials and nitrogen application rates on the yield and nutrient absorption and utilization of winter rapeseed and maize rotation in yellow soil, and to investigate the scientific methods for organic materials addition in the yellow soil and high yield and quality improvement of winter rapeseed and maize, which can provide some reference insights for the fertility improvement method for yellow soil.

2. Materials and Methods

2.1. Experimental Field and Materials

The experimental field is located in Hongshui Town, Qianxi City, Guizhou Province. The area has a subtropical monsoon climate, with an average temperature of 13.7 °C and an average rainfall of 997.3 mm from 2018 to 2020. The basic physical and chemical properties are pH 6.21, total nitrogen 1.86 g kg−1, organic matter 28.07 g kg−1, available phosphorus 9.35 mg kg−1, available potassium 126.09 mg·kg−1, available boron 0.79 mg·kg−1.
Crop varieties: winter rapeseed is “Deyou No.5” and maize is “Shengnong No.3”.
Chemical fertilizers: urea (containing N 46%), superphosphate (containing P2O5 12%), potassium sulfate (containing K2O 50%), borax (containing B 11%).
Organic materials: rice biochar (containing total nitrogen 0.659%, total phosphorus 0.268%, total potassium 0.907%), commercial organic fertilizer (containing total nitrogen 1.653%, total phosphorus 0.846%, total potassium 0.443%), corn straw (containing total nitrogen 0.940%, total phosphorus 0.048%, total potassium 1.278%) and winter rapeseed straw (containing total nitrogen 0.756%, total phosphorus 0.070%, total potassium 1.175%).
pH meter: Shanghai INESA Scientific Instrument Co., Ltd. (Shanghai, China).
AA3 flow injection analyzer: Tianjin Zhongtong Technology Development Co., Ltd. (Tianjin, China).

2.2. Field Experiment and Management

There were 11 treatments in the experiment, including: T1: 0% N (no nitrogen fertilizer), T2: 100% N (100% nitrogen fertilizer), T3: 100% N + B (100% nitrogen fertilizer and biochar addition), T4: 85% N + B (85% nitrogen fertilizer and biochar addition), T5: 70% N + B (70% nitrogen fertilizer and biochar addition), T6: 100% N + O (100% nitrogen fertilizer and commercial organic fertilizer addition), T7: 85% N + O (80% nitrogen fertilizer and commercial organic fertilizer addition), T8: 70% N + O (70% nitrogen fertilizer and commercial organic fertilizer addition), T9: 100% N + S (100% nitrogen fertilizer and straw addition), T10: 85% N + S (80% nitrogen fertilizer and straw addition) and T11: 70% N + S (70% nitrogen fertilizer and straw addition).
The area of the field experiment was 20 m2 (10 m × 2 m), with three times of repetition and arranged in random subplots. The amount of fertilizer applied is shown in Table 1. The amount of fertilizer applied (100% N) in one year was N 180.0 kg·hm−2, P2O5 90.0 kg·hm−2, K2O 120.0 kg·hm−2, and borax 15.0 kg·hm−2 for winter rapeseed, and N 150.0 kg·hm−2, P2O5 120.0 kg·hm−2 and K2O 150.0 kg·hm−2 for maize. Nitrogen fertilizer in the winter rapeseed season was applied three times according to a 6:2:2 ratio of basal fertilizer, overwintering fertilizer, and sedge fertilizer; in the maize season, nitrogen fertilizer was applied three times according to a 2:4:4 ratio of basal fertilizer, jointing fertilizer and booting fertilizer. Superphosphate, potassium sulfate and borax were all one-time basic applications. The amounts of commercial organic fertilizer, biochar and straw incorporation into the soil were all 3000 kg·hm−2, which were ploughed into the soil before planting the next crop, and then turned into the soil after spreading fertilizer.
In 2018, winter rapeseed was sown and raised on 20 September 2018, transplanted on 15 October, with a density of 1.05 × 105 plants·hm−2, and harvested on 9 May 2019; maize was planted on 1 June 2019, with a density of 5.00 × 104 plants·hm−2, and harvested on 10 October 2019.
In 2019, winter rapeseed was sown and raised on 15 September 2019, transplanted on 13 October, with a density of 1.05 × 105 plants·hm−2, and harvested on 10 May 2020; maize was planted on 27 May 2019, with a density of 5.00 × 104 plants·hm−2, and harvested on 8 October 2020.
Other field production management of the experiment adopted the recommended technology from the local agricultural department.

2.3. Sample Analysis

2.3.1. Determination of Biological Yield

When winter rapeseed and maize were harvested, the crop yields in each subplot were actually harvested. The crops were air-dried to a constant weight, calculating water content, and then the total weight was recorded.

2.3.2. Determination of Biomass

At the maturity stage of winter rapeseed and maize, six representative plants with the same growth conditions were selected from each subplot. The plants were fixed at 105 °C for 30 min and dried in an oven at 60 °C to a constant weight. Then, the dry weight was recorded, and the aboveground biomass was converted in turn.

2.3.3. Determination of Nutrients

Representative plants in the above stage were obtained and fixed at 105 °C for 30 min, dried in an oven at 60 °C to a constant weight, divided into different parts and ground, digested with concentrated H2SO4- H2O2, and diluted; then, an AA3 flow injection analyzer was used to determine the contents of N, P and K.

2.3.4. Determination of Soil Nutrients

Soil samples were collected before crop planting and after harvesting. According to the “S” type soil sampling method, soil samples of 0–20 cm soil layer were air-dried, ground and sieved; then, the pH, organic matter, total nitrogen, available phosphorus and available potassium of the soil were measured, respectively.

2.4. Calculation Formula and Data Processing

Nitrogen agronomic efficiency NAE (kg·kg−1) = (yield in nitrogen application area—yield in control area)/nitrogen application rate [19,20].
Nitrogen retention efficiency NRE (%) = (total nitrogen absorption in nitrogen application area—total nitrogen absorption in control area) / nitrogen application rate × 100% [19,20].
Nitrogen partial factor productivity NPEP (kg·kg−1) = yield in nitrogen application area/nitrogen application rate [19,20].
All data were first processed using Excel 2019 and then analyzed for significance using the LSD method with a significance standard of 0.05. All tables were generated with Origin 8.5.

3. Results

3.1. Yield of Winter Rapeseed and Maize

For the yield data of the winter rapeseed and maize for two consecutive years, it was found that the time difference was not obvious; nitrogen application could significantly increase the yield of the two crops, and timely supplementation of organic fertilizers (biochar, commercial organic fertilizer and straw) could also promote a significant increase in yield (Table 2).
Compared with CK (0% N), the yield of winter rapeseed was significantly increased after the application of nitrogen fertilizer (p < 0.05) and, generally, with the increase in nitrogen application, the yield of winter rapeseed showed a positive proportional increase trend. On the basis of 100% N, comparing the addition of different types of organic materials, it could be found that T6 (100% N + O) promoted the largest increase in yield, and the winter rapeseed yield in 2019 and 2020 reached 3069 kg·hm−2 and 3215 kg·hm−2, respectively. When the nitrogen application rate was reduced by 15%, the yield of winter rapeseed with organic materials addition was better than that of 100% N treatment. Among them, the yield of winter rapeseed with 85% N + O treatment was the best, which was higher than 95 kg·hm−2 and 172 kg·hm−2, 235 kg·hm−2 and 292 kg·hm−2, 188 kg·hm−2 and 187 kg·hm−2 of 100% N, 85% N + B, and 85% N + S treatments in 2019 and 2020, respectively. When the nitrogen application rate was reduced by 30%, the yield of winter rapeseed with organic materials addition was lower than that of the 100% N treatment group.
Compared with CK (0% N), the yield of maize was significantly increased after the addition of organic materials. When the nitrogen application rate was not reduced, the addition of organic materials could improve the maize yield, among which the 100% N + O treatment was the best (p < 0.05), reaching 11802 kg·hm−2 and 11912 kg·hm−2 in 2019 and 2020, respectively. When the nitrogen application rate was reduced by 15%, the yield of maize with organic materials addition was better than that of 100% N treatment. Among them, the 85% N + O treatment had the highest maize yield, which was higher than 211 kg·hm−2 and 184 kg·hm−2, 271 kg·hm−2 and 429 kg·hm−2, 194 kg·hm−2 and 280 kg·hm−2 of 100% N, 85% N + B, and 85% N + S treatments in 2019 and 2020, respectively.
The analysis of total yield found that the yield of both crops in the experimental group increased; the difference between before and after the rotation was compared, and there was no significant change. Through the interaction (Table 3), it was found that the F value of nitrogen application and organic material addition had a very significant effect on the increase in yield, respectively, indicating that nitrogen application and organic material addition have a crucial interaction between the two crops, respectively, and the F value of nitrogen application is higher than that of organic material addition and implementation years, indicating that the contribution of nitrogen application to the yield of the two crops is greater than that of organic material addition and implementation years. At the same time, the F value of the implementation period in 2020 had a very significant effect on the increase in the yield of the two crops, indicating that its contribution becomes more and more obvious with the increase in the experimental period.
Therefore, we infer that the application of nitrogen fertilizer and the addition of organic materials are the main reasons for the yield increase in the two products, and the rotation period is also one of the important reasons.

3.2. Biomass of Winter Rapeseed and Maize

Figure 1A showed that the biomass of winter rapeseed under 100% N + O treatment was the highest, reaching 9513 kg·hm−2 and 9993 kg·hm−2 in 2019 and 2020, respectively. Under the same nitrogen conditions, different organic fertilizers had no significant effect on the biomass of winter rapeseed. In the treatment group (15% reduction in nitrogen application rate), the biomass of winter rapeseed with organic materials addition in 2019 was lower than that of the 100% N treatment. Compared with biomass of 100% N treatment, those of the 85% N + B, 85% N + O and 85% N + S treatments were lowered by 428 kg·hm−2, 247 kg·hm−2 and 494 kg·hm−2, respectively. In 2020, the biomass of winter rapeseed with organic materials addition increased significantly. Compared with the biomass of 100% N treatment, those of the 85% N + B, 85% N + O and 85% N + S treatments were exceeded by 77 kg·hm−2, 267 kg·hm−2 and 253 kg·hm−2, respectively.
Figure 1B showed that compared with CK, the biomass of maize under other treatments was significantly increased (p < 0.05). Among them, the biomass of maize treated with 100% N + O was the highest, reaching 22,814 kg·hm−2 and 24 120 kg·hm−2 in 2019 and 2020, respectively. In the treatment group (15% reduction in nitrogen application rate), the biomass of maize with organic materials addition was higher than that of the 100% N treatment. Among them, the 85% N + O treatment had the highest, which was increased by 931 kg·hm−2 and 272 kg·hm−2, 929 kg·hm−2 and 403 kg·hm−2, 300 kg·hm−2 and 116 kg·hm−2 compared with 100% N, 85% N + B and 85% N + S treatments in 2019 and 2020, respectively.

3.3. Determination of Nitrogen, Phosphorus and Potassium Nutrient Accumulation in Winter Rapeseed and Maize

Nutrient accumulation of nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium of the collected samples were measured, and the results are shown in Figure 2. It showed that compared with CK, nitrogen, nutrient accumulation of phosphorus and potassium in winter rapeseed and maize were increased.
This study found that the experimental group (100% N + O treatment) had the highest nitrogen nutrient accumulation in winter rapeseed in 2019 and 2020 (Figure 2A), reaching 164.68 kg·hm−2 and 169.76 kg·hm−2, respectively, which were higher than other treatments by 9.11–66.20 kg·hm−2 and 4.51–79.88 kg·hm−2. Figure 2C showed that the experimental group (100% N + O) also had a higher accumulation of phosphorus nutrients, reaching 58.10 kg·hm−2 and 60.65 kg·hm−2 in 2019 and 2020, respectively. The rule of nutrients accumulation was highly consistent. Figure 2E showed that the peak of potassium nutrient accumulation in 2019 and 2020 both appeared in the 100% N + O group, which were 143.06 kg·hm−2 and 149.74 kg·hm−2, respectively. At the same time, under the condition of reducing the nitrogen application rate, the nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium nutrients required for crop growth could be quickly supplemented by organic materials.
Figure 2B,D,F showed that the nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium nutrient accumulation of maize in 2019 and 2020 all reached their peaks in the 100% N + O group, and the nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium nutrient accumulation of maize were 187.55 kg·hm−2, 94.91 kg·hm−2 and 205.17 kg·hm−2, respectively, in 2019, and 187.78 kg·hm−2, 104.08 kg·hm−2 and 209.83 kg·hm−2, respectively, in 2020. Comparison of data in the two years found no significant difference (p > 0.05). It was found that when the nitrogen application rate was reduced by 15%, the addition of organic materials could supplement the absorption requirements of nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium.
In summary, the addition of organic materials increased the nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium nutrient accumulation in winter rapeseed and maize. Through the experiments on reducing the nitrogen application rate, it was found that organic materials could replace 15% of nitrogen fertilizer.

3.4. Dynamic Changes of Soil Nutrients

In order to conduct an in-depth analysis of the external factors affecting crop growth, the nutrient contents of organic matter, total nitrogen, available phosphorus and available potassium in the soil were dynamically measured. The results are shown in Figure 3. It was found that the addition of organic materials was beneficial to the increase in soil nutrients.
Taking the base soil as the control, Figure 3A found that no addition or only the application of nitrogen fertilizer was not conducive to the retention of soil organic matter, which showed a decreasing trend with the increase in years, while the addition of organic materials increased the enrichment of soil organic matter, with 70% N + O treatment group (35.65 g·kg−1) being the most significant at (p < 0.05). Total nitrogen analysis (Figure 3B) showed that the application of nitrogen fertilizer could increase the total nitrogen content of the soil, but the addition of organic materials could significantly increase the total nitrogen content of the soil (p < 0.05). When the nitrogen application rate was reduced by 15%, the total nitrogen content of the soil with the addition of organic materials was still the same as that of the 100% N treatment, and there was no significant difference between the two treatments (p > 0.05), indicating that the addition of organic materials could replace the effect of 15% nitrogen. Soil available phosphorus analysis (Figure 3C) found that the available phosphorus increased in all treatment groups and was increased with years. After the addition of organic materials, the content of soil available phosphorus showed an increasing trend with the decrease in nitrogen application rate. The results of the available potassium content (Figure 3D) showed that except for the 100% N treatment, in which the soil available potassium decreased slightly, the other treatment groups showed an increasing trend, and the 0% N treatment group increased the most, reaching 134.11 mg·kg−1. Meanwhile, after the addition of organic materials, the content of available potassium in the soils of both crops showed a trend of slowing growth.
In summary, it was found that increasing the addition of organic materials could improve or maintain soil nutrients, and after the nitrogen application rate was reduced by 15%, the nutrients in the soil added with organic materials were equivalent to those treated with 100% N.

3.5. Fertilizer Efficiency

In Figure 4A,B, through the evaluation of nitrogen agronomic efficiency (NAE), it was found that the optimal fertilization treatments for winter rapeseed and maize were 100% N + O and 85% N + O, respectively, and the difference in NAE of winter rapeseed was the most obvious (p < 0.05). Under the 100% N + O treatment, the NAE of 2019 and 2020 were 7.98 kg·kg−1 and 9.48 kg·kg−1, respectively. While under the treatments of 85% N + B, 85% N + O and 85% N + S, in which the nitrogen application rate was reduced by 15%, the NAEs of winter rapeseed were all higher than that of 100% N treatment. However, when the nitrogen application rate was reduced by 30%, the NAEs of winter rapeseed were lower than that of the 100% N treatment. In Figure 4C,D, through the analysis of nitrogen retention efficiency (NRE), the optimal treatment of winter rapeseed and maize was both 100% N + O, while the NRE of maize in both years exceeded 40%, i.e., 42.03% and 45.50%, respectively. Meanwhile, this study found that the addition of organic materials could further increase the nitrogen absorption rate of winter rapeseed and maize. Contrary with the changing trends of NAE and NRE, the nitrogen partial factor productivity (NPFP) of the two crops increased with the decrease in nitrogen application rate after the addition of organic materials (Figure 4E,F), with the 75% N treatment group being the most. Among them, with the addition of commercial organic fertilizer (O), it was found that the NPFP corresponding to the two crops reached the maximum value, which were 20.21 kg·kg−1, 19.75 kg·kg−1 for winter rapeseed, and 102.31 kg·kg−1, 101.67 kg·kg−1 for maize, respectively.

4. Discussion

Yellow soil has low content of organic matter and nutrients, is heavy in texture, and has relatively poor ability to retain water and fertilizer. Increasing the yield of crops is the focus in agricultural production, and excessive nitrogen fertilizers are often used to increase crop yields, which has led to a reduction in soil organic matter content, soil compaction, environmental pollution, reduced crop yield and quality, and reduced fertilizer utilization [21,22,23,24]. The rational use of nutrient resources is an important way to promote the sustainable development of agriculture in yellow soil. Commercial organic fertilizer, biochar and straw are not only rich in nutrients such as nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium, but also provide a carbon source for soil microorganisms. They can improve the microbial activity of soil, enrich bacterial diversity, accelerate the cyclic transformation of nutrients, reduce soil bulk density, increase the porosity and content of soil macro-aggregates, and promote nutrient absorption of the crops [25]. Incorporating some chemical fertilizers into the soil can effectively coordinate the supply of the rapid release of inorganic nutrients and the slow release of organic nutrients, reflecting the rapid release of nutrients from inorganic fertilizers and the slow release of nutrients from organic fertilizers, thus meeting the nutrient requirements of crop growth, improving crop yield and nutrient efficiency [26], and reducing fertilizer loss. Furthermore, it can also prevent environmental pollution caused by the excessive application of chemical fertilizers [27]. This study systematically studied the crop yield, biomass, crop nutrients (nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium), soil nutrients and fertilizer efficiency in two main economic crops, winter rapeseed and maize, in the yellow soil of Guizhou, China.
The study found that the addition of organic materials, such as biochar, commercial organic fertilizer and straw, could all increase the yield and biomass of winter rapeseed and maize, among which 100% N + O treatment was the best and was higher than other treatments. When the nitrogen application rate was reduced by 15%, the addition of the three organic materials could all stabilize or slightly increase the yield; among them, the commercial organic fertilizer was better than biochar and straw, indicating that the organic material could replace 15% nitrogen fertilizer. This is consistent with previous research results on different types of soil such as black soil, purple soil, and gray desert soil, indicating that the addition of organic materials has the effect of replacing part of the nitrogen fertilizer [28,29]. However, this does not mean that the more organic materials, the better. In this study, when the nitrogen application rate was reduced by 30%, the yield of winter rapeseed and maize decreased, which might be caused by the lack of nutrients required for the growth of crops and the slow release of organic materials. Especially in the first year of the study in 2019: when the nitrogen application rate was reduced by 15%, the yield of winter rapeseed and maize with the addition of organic materials was just comparable to that of 100% N treatment, only achieving the purpose of stable yield. In 2020, when the nitrogen application rate was reduced by 15%, the yield of winter rapeseed and maize with addition of organic materials was higher than that of 100% N treatment. This might be due to the long and slow release of nutrients from organic materials, resulting in low fertilizer efficiency [30,31]. Compared with CK (0% N), nitrogen application could significantly increase the biomass of winter rapeseed and maize. Under the same nitrogen level, the addition of organic materials could also increase the biomass of winter rapeseed and maize. The high consistency of biomass and yield also explained the uniformity of economic parts and plant shapes of winter rapeseed and maize.
Through the interaction, it was found that nitrogen application and organic materials addition were the important factors affecting the growth and yield of winter rapeseed and maize, respectively, and the F value of nitrogen application was higher than that of organic materials addition, indicating that the contribution of nitrogen application was higher than that of organic materials addition. Meanwhile, it is also possible that the combined application of different fertilizers improved the soil mineralization process, released soil nutrients smoothly, reduced nutrient loss, and provided continuous and balanced nutrients for the growth of winter rapeseed and maize, thus increasing the yield and biomass of winter rapeseed and maize. Additionally, with the increase in rotation years, its contribution (F value) will become more and more obvious. The determination of nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium accumulation in winter rapeseed and maize is helpful to understand the transfer rule of the corresponding elements in fertilizers. This study has briefly described the accumulation rule and found that the addition of organic materials could effectively increase the content of the corresponding elements, providing a reference for replacing chemical fertilizers with organic materials. However, the promotion effect of organic materials on crop yield depends on the property, application amount and application years of the organic materials. Therefore, in-depth research on soil improvement should be conducted in the future.
Nutrient supply capacity of soil is an important indicator for evaluating soil fertility and crop yield, and the content soil nutrients is an important basis for soil fertility [32]. Long-term high-intensity and extensive production of farmlands lead to unbalanced soil physicochemical properties and soil structure, and the problem of soil degradation has become more and more serious. Organic fertilizer is one of the important agronomic measures to improve soil fertility, ensure the stable increase in crop yield, and sustainable utilization of soil resources [33,34]. This study conducted a 2-year, four-season crop rotation, and the results showed that increasing the application of organic materials could improve or maintain the contents of soil organic matter, total nitrogen, available phosphorus and available potassium, indicating that after the incorporation of organic materials into soil, the soil fertility could be increased by the release of nutrients such as organic carbon, nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium; on the other hand, the addition of organic materials could also improve the physical, chemical and microbial characteristics, as well as the buffer ability of soil, increase the content of organic colloids in soil, make soil particles form a stable aggregate structure [35], improve the holding capacity of nutrients in soil, reduce losses, and thus enhance the water and fertilizer retention capacity of soil [36,37]. It is worth noting that phosphorus continued to increase in all treatments, indicating that the amount of phosphorus absorption by crops was less than the amount of phosphorus fertilizer application, and there was a slight surplus of phosphorus in soil. Although phosphorus is one of the critical limiting nutrients for crop growth [38,39,40], there was no lack of phosphorus in this study, indicating that there was excessive accumulation of phosphorus in the soil, and the application of organic materials and phosphorus fertilizers could meet the needs of crop growth. Therefore, in future experiments, the application of phosphorus fertilizers can be appropriately reduced. In addition, the study found that the nutrient accumulation of soil increased when the nitrogen application rate was reduced by 15%; while when the nitrogen application rate was reduced by 30%, the nutrient accumulation of soil remained unchanged or was slightly decreased, which might be related to basic soil fertility, the unique properties of yellow soil and the experimental time. The related mechanism has not been elucidated, and this will be the focus of our future studies.
Fertilizer efficiency is the main indicator reflecting the crop’s absorption and utilization of fertilizers. Agronomic efficiency, absorption and utilization efficiency and partial productivity are commonly used indicators to express fertilizer efficiency, which are most closely related to yield, fertilization application and soil fertility [41,42]. In a modern crop production system, the NAE, NRE and NPFP can reach 20–35 kg/kg, 30–50% and 40–70 kg/kg, respectively. In this study, after the addition of organic materials, the nitrogen absorption of winter rapeseed and maize showed an increasing trend; when the nitrogen application rate was reduced by 15%, and the nitrogen absorption of winter rapeseed with organic materials addition was comparable to that of 100% N treatment for 2 years. The NAE, NRE and NPFP of winter rapeseed treated with 100% N were lower than the standards of modern crop systems, which proved that winter rapeseed is a low nitrogen utilization efficiency crop [43]; but after the addition of organic materials, the NRE of winter rapeseed treated with 100% N and 85% N exceeded the standard of a modern crop system, and the NPFP was also close to the standard of a modern crop system, indicating that the addition of organic materials has an obvious effect on improving the nitrogen utilization efficiency of winter rapeseed. In this study, the nitrogen absorption and utilization efficiency of winter rapeseed and maize in 2020 was higher than that in 2019, indicating that with the increase in the experimental period, the effect of substituting organic materials for nitrogen fertilizer was more obvious, but the synergistic effect of organic materials on nitrogen utilization efficiency was affected by the amount of fertilization, soil conditions, crop types and application years. Thus, the substitution effect of organic materials can only be accurately determined through years of positioning experiments. At the same time, this study also has some limitations: although the weather of the test site for two years is very suitable, this study does not record the weather conditions of the test, so it is impossible to analyze the relationship between nitrogen and weather. The availability and absorption of nitrogen depend on the existing weather conditions, such as severe weather conditions. For example, rainfall will lead to waterlogging in the field, which will reduce the absorption of nitrogen by crops, and then reduce crop yield and nitrogen use efficiency [44], and droughts will lead to the disorder of crop cell environment, unable to grow normally, and eventually lead to crop yield reduction [45]. Therefore, in future research, a weather station should be used to record the weather conditions over time, allowing the rain waterlogging or drought and other weather conditions to be prevented in advance by increasing the application of nitrogen fertilizer [46], applying soil conditioner [47], reasonable irrigation and changing the sowing time [48], so as to avoid crop yield reduction.

5. Conclusions

In this study, experiments on chemical fertilizer combined with organic materials (biochar, commercial organic fertilizer and straw) for winter rapeseed and maize planted in the yellow soil of Guizhou, China were conducted. First, it was found that after nitrogen fertilizer was applied in yellow soil, there was a surplus of phosphorus, indicating that the amount of phosphorus absorbed was lower than the that of the applied, and the amount of phosphorus application can be appropriately reduced. Second, by reducing the nitrogen application rate and combining with organic fertilizer, it was found that nitrogen application and organic material addition are the main reasons for the yield increase in the two crops, and the rotation period is also one of the important reasons; the optimal nitrogen application for winter rapeseed and maize was 153.0 kg·hm−2 and 127.5 kg·hm−2, respectively, and 3000 kg·hm−2 for organic fertilizer. In addition, this study did not find crop rotation to greatly improve soil elements, but it did demonstrate significant economic benefits. Thus, land rotation is still a favorable choice for planting crops on yellow soil. This study provides a reference for the property improvement of yellow soil, and also guidance in field management for increasing the yield and quality of winter rapeseed and maize.

Author Contributions

Conceptualization, H.-G.X. and Q.-Q.W.; methodology, Q.-Q.W.; software, Q.-Q.W.; validation, M.Z. and B.-X.Z.; formal analysis, Q.-Q.W. and J.-L.G.; investigation, H.-G.X. and Q.-Q.W.; resources, H.-G.X. and Q.-Q.W.; data curation, H.-G.X. and Q.-Q.W.; writing—original draft preparation, Q.-Q.W. and H.-G.X.; writing—review and editing, Q.-Q.W. and H.-G.X.; visualization, M.Z. and H.-G.X.; supervision, J.-L.G. and Y.R.; project administration, H.-G.X. and Q.-Q.W.; funding acquisition, H.-G.X. and Q.-Q.W. All authors have read and agreed to the published version of the manuscript.

Funding

National key R&D Program of China: “Establishment and demonstration of chemical fertilizer and pesticide reduction technology model for winter rapeseed in the upper reaches of the Yangtze River” (2018YFD0200903); National Rapeseed Industry Technology System (CARS-12); Guizhou Talent Base Construction Project: “Guizhou Featured Plant Germplasm Resource Utilization and Development Innovative Talent Base” (RCJD2018-14).

Institutional Review Board Statement

Not applicable.

Informed Consent Statement

Not applicable.

Data Availability Statement

The datasets generated during and/or analyzed during the current study are available from the corresponding author on reasonable request.

Conflicts of Interest

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

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Figure 1. Winter rapeseed and maize biomass under different treatments (kg·hm−2). Note: Different lowercase letters in the figure indicate a high level of difference reaching 5%. The left side of the bar graph represents 2019, and the right side represents 2020. (A) Biomass yield of winter rapeseed under different treatments; (B) Biomass yield of maize under different treatments.
Figure 1. Winter rapeseed and maize biomass under different treatments (kg·hm−2). Note: Different lowercase letters in the figure indicate a high level of difference reaching 5%. The left side of the bar graph represents 2019, and the right side represents 2020. (A) Biomass yield of winter rapeseed under different treatments; (B) Biomass yield of maize under different treatments.
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Figure 2. Winter rapeseed and maize nutrient accumulation under different treatments (kg·hm−2). Note: Different lowercase letters in the figure indicate a high level of difference reaching 5%. The left side of the bar graph represents 2019, and the right side represents 2020. (A) Nitrogen nutrient accumulation in winter rapeseed under different treatments; (B) Nitrogen nutrient accumulation in maize under different treatments; (C) Phosphorus nutrient accumulation in winter rapeseed under different treatments; (D) Phosphorus nutrient accumulation in maize under different treatments; (E) Potassium nutrient accumulation in winter rapeseed under different treatments; (F) Potassium nutrient accumulation in maize under different treatments.
Figure 2. Winter rapeseed and maize nutrient accumulation under different treatments (kg·hm−2). Note: Different lowercase letters in the figure indicate a high level of difference reaching 5%. The left side of the bar graph represents 2019, and the right side represents 2020. (A) Nitrogen nutrient accumulation in winter rapeseed under different treatments; (B) Nitrogen nutrient accumulation in maize under different treatments; (C) Phosphorus nutrient accumulation in winter rapeseed under different treatments; (D) Phosphorus nutrient accumulation in maize under different treatments; (E) Potassium nutrient accumulation in winter rapeseed under different treatments; (F) Potassium nutrient accumulation in maize under different treatments.
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Figure 3. Changes of soil nutrient contents under different treatments. Note: (A) Soil organic matter contents under different treatments; (B) Soil total nitrogen contents under different treatments; (C) Soil available phosphorus contents under different treatments; (D) Soil available potassium contents under different treatments.
Figure 3. Changes of soil nutrient contents under different treatments. Note: (A) Soil organic matter contents under different treatments; (B) Soil total nitrogen contents under different treatments; (C) Soil available phosphorus contents under different treatments; (D) Soil available potassium contents under different treatments.
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Figure 4. Winter rapeseed and maize nutrient utilization efficiency under different treatments. Note: Different lowercase letters in the figure indicate a high level of difference reaching 5%. The left side of the bar graph represents 2019, and the right side represents 2020. (A) Nitrogen agronomic efficiency (NAE) of winter rapeseed under different treatments; (B) NAE of maize under different treatments; (C) Nitrogen retention efficiency (NRE) of winter rapeseed under different treatments; (D) NRE of maize under different treatments; (E) Nitrogen partial factor productivity (NPFP) of winter rapeseed under different treatments; (F) NPFP of maize under different treatments.
Figure 4. Winter rapeseed and maize nutrient utilization efficiency under different treatments. Note: Different lowercase letters in the figure indicate a high level of difference reaching 5%. The left side of the bar graph represents 2019, and the right side represents 2020. (A) Nitrogen agronomic efficiency (NAE) of winter rapeseed under different treatments; (B) NAE of maize under different treatments; (C) Nitrogen retention efficiency (NRE) of winter rapeseed under different treatments; (D) NRE of maize under different treatments; (E) Nitrogen partial factor productivity (NPFP) of winter rapeseed under different treatments; (F) NPFP of maize under different treatments.
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Table
Table 1. Application rates of nitrogen (N), phosphorus (P2O5) and potassium (K2O) with different treatments (kg·hm−2).
Table 1. Application rates of nitrogen (N), phosphorus (P2O5) and potassium (K2O) with different treatments (kg·hm−2).
TreatmentsWinter RapeseedMaizeTotal
NP2O5K2ONP2O5K2ONP2O5K2O
T1: 0% N0.090.0120.00.0120.0150.00.0210.0270.0
T2: 100% N180.090.0120.0150.0120.0150.0330.0210.0270.0
T3: 100% N + B180.090.0120.0150.0120.0150.0330.0210.0270.0
T4: 85% N + B153.090.0120.0127.5120.0150.0280.5210.0270.0
T5: 70% N + B126.090.0120.0105.0120.0150.0231.0210.0270.0
T6: 100% N + O180.090.0120.0150.0120.0150.0330.0210.0270.0
T7: 85% N + O153.090.0120.0127.5120.0150.0280.5210.0270.0
T8: 70% N + O126.090.0120.0105.0120.0150.0231.0210.0270.0
T9: 100% N + S180.090.0120.0150.0120.0150.0330.0210.0270.0
T10: 85% N + S153.090.0120.0127.5120.0150.0280.5210.0270.0
T11: 70% N + S126.090.0120.0105.0120.0150.0231.0210.0270.0
Table
Table 2. Yield of winter rapeseed and maize of different treatments (kg·hm−2).
Table 2. Yield of winter rapeseed and maize of different treatments (kg·hm−2).
TreatmentsWinter RapeseedAverageMaizeAverageTotal Output
2019202020192020
0% N1632 ± 90 e1509 ± 69 e15718332 ± 365 d7896 ± 258 d81149685
100% N2694 ± 148 b2705 ± 133 bc270011,105 ± 426 ab10,956 ± 369 b11,03013,730
100% N + B2897 ± 135 ab3013 ± 118 ab295511,689 ± 436 ab11,809 ± 494 ab11,74914,704
85% N + B2618 ± 105 bc2709 ± 163 c266311,132 ± 459 b11,191 ± 395 ab11,16113,824
70% N + B2403 ± 113 cd2377 ± 137 d239010,576 ± 535 c10,537 ± 298 c10,55712,947
100% N + O3069 ± 135 a3215 ± 144 a314211,802 ± 459 a11,912 ± 389 a11,85714,999
85% N + O2789 ± 107 b2897 ± 151 b284311,316 ± 497 abc11,385 ± 315 ab11,35114,194
70% N + O2547 ± 124 bc2489 ± 142 cd251810,742 ± 369 bc10,676 ± 417 bc10,70913,227
100% N + S2844 ± 157 ab2961 ± 184 abc290311,710 ± 435 a11,780 ± 505 ab11,74514,648
85% N + S2555 ± 169 bc2710 ± 111 bc263211,045 ± 295 bc11,105 ± 329 abc11,07513,707
70% N + S2382 ± 78 d2339 ± 103 d236110,660 ± 323 bc10,578 ± 438 bc10,61912,980
Note: Different lowercase letters in the same column indicate significant differences between different treatments at p < 0.05 level.
Table
Table 3. Interaction between yield and nitrogen fertilizer application, organic material addition, year of winter rapeseed and maize.
Table 3. Interaction between yield and nitrogen fertilizer application, organic material addition, year of winter rapeseed and maize.
ANOVAWinter RapeseedMaize
Year1.5 ns6.1 **
N application62.8 **416.2 **
Organic materials11.2 **84.9 **
Year * N application1.8 ns1.5 ns
Year * Organic materials0.4 ns2.4 ns
N application * Organic materials——
Year * N application * Organic materials——
Note: * and ** indicate significant differences at p < 0.05 and p < 0.01 levels, respectively; ns means no significant difference; —means no existence.
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Wei, Q.-Q.; Gou, J.-L.; Zhang, M.; Zhang, B.-X.; Rao, Y.; Xiao, H.-G. Nitrogen Reduction Combined with Organic Materials Can Stabilize Crop Yield and Soil Nutrients in Winter Rapeseed and Maize Rotation in Yellow Soil. Sustainability 2022, 14, 7183. https://doi.org/10.3390/su14127183

AMA Style

Wei Q-Q, Gou J-L, Zhang M, Zhang B-X, Rao Y, Xiao H-G. Nitrogen Reduction Combined with Organic Materials Can Stabilize Crop Yield and Soil Nutrients in Winter Rapeseed and Maize Rotation in Yellow Soil. Sustainability. 2022; 14(12):7183. https://doi.org/10.3390/su14127183

Chicago/Turabian Style

Wei, Quan-Quan, Jiu-Lan Gou, Meng Zhang, Bang-Xi Zhang, Yong Rao, and Hua-Gui Xiao. 2022. "Nitrogen Reduction Combined with Organic Materials Can Stabilize Crop Yield and Soil Nutrients in Winter Rapeseed and Maize Rotation in Yellow Soil" Sustainability 14, no. 12: 7183. https://doi.org/10.3390/su14127183

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