Combining Straw Mulch with Nitrogen Fertilizer Improves Soil and Plant Physio-Chemical Attributes, Physiology, and Yield of Maize in the Semi-Arid Region of China
Abstract
:1. Introduction
2. Results
2.1. SPAD Value and Net Photosynthetic Rate
2.2. Flag Leaf Area and Crop Growth Rate
2.3. Maize Production and WUE
2.4. Maize Nitrogen Content and Uptake
2.5. Soluble Sugar and Starch Content
2.6. Changes in Soil Organic Carbon and Soil N, P, and Moisture Contents
2.7. Relationship between Grain Yield and WUE
3. Discussion
3.1. Photosynthetic Rate and Harvest Measurements
3.2. N-Uptake and Yield
3.3. Soluble Sugar and Starch Effects on Grain Yield
3.4. Changes in Soil Fertility in Response to Mulching
4. Materials and Methods
4.1. Experimental Site
4.2. Experimental Design
4.3. Observations and Measurement
4.3.1. SPAD Readings
4.3.2. Net Photosynthetic Rate
4.3.3. Flag Leaf Area and Crop Growth Rate
4.4. Harvest Measurements
4.4.1. Plant N Analysis and Nitrogen Indices
4.4.2. Plant Soluble Sugar and Starch
4.4.3. Soil Sampling and Analysis
4.5. Statistical Analysis
5. Conclusions
Author Contributions
Funding
Institutional Review Board Statement
Informed Consent Statement
Data Availability Statement
Conflicts of Interest
References
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Treatments | Plant Height (cm) | Grains ear−1 | TGW (g) | CGR (g d−1 m−2) | Biomass Yield (kg ha−1) | Grain Yield (kg ha−1) | WUE (kg ha−1 mm−1) |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
2015 | |||||||
CK | 201 c | 490 c | 304.3 f | 15.0 e | 13,657 f | 7275 f | 15.0 d |
N | 225 b | 627 a | 363.5 c | 37.2 c | 15,553 c | 8963 c | 18.7 b |
HS | 210 c | 563 b | 332.5 e | 19.2 de | 14,000 e | 7625 e | 16.3 c |
HS+N | 229 b | 590 ab | 368.0 b | 51.1 b | 16,010 b | 9208 b | 19.5 a |
FS | 211 c | 546 b | 335.2 d | 26.2 d | 14,627 d | 7970 d | 16.5 c |
FS+N | 237 a | 582 ab | 399.7 a | 70.0 a | 16,927 a | 9424 a | 19.6 a |
LSD | 10.0 | 45.51 | 2.5 | 7.1 | 265.8 | 117.3 | 0.326 |
2016 | |||||||
CK | 205 d | 478 d | 313.3 e | 12.6 f | 13,883 d | 7295 e | 14.8 e |
N | 230 b | 669 a | 366.2 c | 41.7 c | 15,337 c | 8866 b | 17.6 b |
HS | 215 c | 605 bc | 341.5 d | 20.7 e | 14,173 d | 7889 d | 15.9 d |
HS+N | 234 ab | 632 ab | 379.7 b | 59.4 b | 18,930 b | 9257 a | 19.6 a |
FS | 216 c | 582 c | 347.8 d | 28.4 d | 14,967 c | 8275 c | 16.6 c |
FS+N | 243 a | 624 b | 409.2 a | 78.7 a | 20,217 a | 9442 a | 19.6 a |
LSD | 9.33 | 40.69 | 7.22 | 5.95 | 572.9 | 266.8 | 0.629 |
Straw Mulching | Stover N (g kg−1) | Grain N (g kg−1) | N Uptake (kg ha−1) | NUE (%) | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
2015 | CK | 17.3 ± 0.07 f | 21.3 ± 0.15 e | 281 ± 3.8 e | |
N | 20.1 ± 0.17 c | 22.5 ± 0.06 c | 374 ± 4.1 c | 27.8 ± 0.02 c | |
HS | 17.6 ± 0.09 e | 21.7 ± 0.13 d | 300 ± 3.4 d | ||
HS+N | 21.0 ± 0.11 b | 23.1 ± 0.20 b | 407 ± 4.1 b | 29.8 ± 0.27 b | |
FS | 17.8 ± 0.04 d | 21.5 ± 0.10 de | 299 ± 3.7 d | ||
FS+N | 21.8 ± 0.19 a | 23.3 ± 0.24 a | 425 ± 5.7 a | 32.5 ± 0.84 a | |
LSD | 0.21 | 0.25 | 2.90 | 1.70 | |
2016 | CK | 13.7 ± 0.01 f | 20.6 ± 0.18 e | 250 ± 4.9 f | |
N | 18.8 ± 0.15 d | 22.6 ± 0.02 b | 367 ± 5.4 c | 27.9 ± 0.69 b | |
HS | 18.4 ± 0.14 e | 21.2 ± 0.09 d | 313 ± 4.0 e | ||
HS+N | 24.0 ± 0.21 a | 23.2 ± 0.10 a | 436 ± 5.8 a | 33.3 ± 0.43 a | |
FS | 20.4 ± 0.18 c | 22.1 ± 0.28 c | 325 ± 7.8 d | ||
FS+N | 21.6 ± 0.19 b | 23.3 ± 0.10 a | 424 ± 6.1 b | 26.6 ± 1.21 b | |
LSD | 0.40 | 0.30 | 5.70 | 3.9 |
Straw Mulching | Soluble Sugar (mg g−1) | Starch (mg g−1) | |||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Stover | Grain | Stover | Grain | ||
2015 | CK | 16.1 ± 0.21 f | 28.0 ± 0.01 e | 2.33 ± 0.24 d | 37.2 ± 0.30 d |
N | 26.2 ± 0.40 c | 33.1 ± 0.63 c | 5.50 ± 0.24 c | 46.1 ± 0.40 b | |
HS | 19.2 ± 0.10 e | 28.4 ± 0.44 e | 4.72 ± 0.17 c | 39.5 ± 0.70 cd | |
HS+N | 31.4 ± 0.80 b | 35.5 ± 0.23 b | 7.71 ± 0.27 b | 47.9 ± 0.18 ab | |
FS | 24.3 ± 0.60 d | 30.9 ± 0.24 d | 5.86 ± 0.85 c | 40.4 ± 1.03 c | |
FS+N | 36.6 ± 0.03 a | 39.9 ± 0.23 a | 9.25 ± 0.24 a | 49.5 ± 1.23 a | |
LSD | 1.25 | 1.20 | 1.34 | 2.26 | |
2016 | CK | 15.3 ± 0.67 f | 28.4 ± 0.35 e | 2.65 ± 0.24 d | 35.2 ± 1.78 d |
N | 29.4 ± 0.60 c | 34.3 ± 0.33 c | 5.27 ± 0.52 c | 44.6 ± 1.63 b | |
HS | 20.6 ± 0.18 e | 29.6 ± 0.20 e | 4.47 ± 0.06 c | 40.3 ± 0.91 c | |
HS+N | 33.2 ± 0.62 b | 39.5 ± 0.73 b | 7.72 ± 0.37 b | 51.0 ± 1.04 a | |
FS | 25.9 ± 0.19 d | 31.5 ± 0.26 d | 2.28 ± 0.13 d | 37.6 ± 0.66 cd | |
FS+N | 38.9 ± 0.47 a | 42.4 ± 0.83 a | 12.8 ± 0.59 a | 51.6 ± 0.47 a | |
LSD | 1.56 | 1.61 | 1.21 | 2.91 |
Treatments | Soil Organic Carbon (g kg−1) | Available Nitrogen (mg kg−1) | Available Phosphorus (mg kg−1) | Soil Moisture Content (%) | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
2015 | CK | 12.9 ± 0.25 d | 30.9 ± 0.66 f | 3.43 ± 0.03 e | 6.87 ± 0.14 f |
N | 14.6 ± 0.21 b | 40.0 ± 0.09 c | 5.29 ± 0.11 c | 7.87 ± 0.14 c | |
HS | 13.4 ± 0.16 c | 34.6 ± 0.15 e | 4.60 ± 0.11 d | 7.29 ± 0.10 d | |
HS+N | 14.9 ± 0.08 b | 41.3 ± 0.30 b | 6.36 ± 0.08 b | 8.24 ± 0.12 b | |
FS | 13.5 ± 0.27 c | 37.4 ± 0.42 d | 5.23 ± 0.06 c | 7.13 ± 0.11 e | |
FS+N | 15.8 ± 0.07 a | 43.8 ± 0.12 a | 7.84 ± 0.14 a | 8.59 ± 0.11 a | |
LSD | 0.17 | 0.54 | 0.14 | 0.07 | |
2016 | CK | 10.0 ± 0.21 e | 40.7 ± 0.72 cd | 5.53 ± 0.08 f | 12.0 ± 0.11 e |
N | 14.1 ± 0.33 c | 48.0 ± 1.55 b | 9.90 ± 0.01 c | 13.0 ± 0.10 d | |
HS | 12.2 ± 0.15 d | 37.7 ± 0.71 d | 7.36 ± 0.08 d | 13.0 ± 0.11 d | |
HS+N | 15.2 ± 0.08 b | 56.2 ± 0.32 a | 9.82 ± 0.14 b | 13.2 ± 0.11 b | |
FS | 13.7 ± 0.14 c | 43.8 ± 0.15 c | 7.03 ± 0.08 e | 13.1 ± 0.11 c | |
FS+N | 17.9 ± 0.11 a | 58.5 ± 1.92 a | 10.6 ± 0.01 a | 13.5 ± 0.15 a | |
LSD | 0.29 | 1.38 | 0.12 | 0.07 |
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Akhtar, K.; Wang, W.; Djalovic, I.; Prasad, P.V.V.; Ren, G.; Ain, N.u.; Riaz, M.; Feng, Y.; Yang, G.; Wen, R. Combining Straw Mulch with Nitrogen Fertilizer Improves Soil and Plant Physio-Chemical Attributes, Physiology, and Yield of Maize in the Semi-Arid Region of China. Plants 2023, 12, 3308. https://doi.org/10.3390/plants12183308
Akhtar K, Wang W, Djalovic I, Prasad PVV, Ren G, Ain Nu, Riaz M, Feng Y, Yang G, Wen R. Combining Straw Mulch with Nitrogen Fertilizer Improves Soil and Plant Physio-Chemical Attributes, Physiology, and Yield of Maize in the Semi-Arid Region of China. Plants. 2023; 12(18):3308. https://doi.org/10.3390/plants12183308
Chicago/Turabian StyleAkhtar, Kashif, Weiyu Wang, Ivica Djalovic, P. V. Vara Prasad, Guangxin Ren, Noor ul Ain, Muhammad Riaz, Yongzhong Feng, Gaihe Yang, and Ronghui Wen. 2023. "Combining Straw Mulch with Nitrogen Fertilizer Improves Soil and Plant Physio-Chemical Attributes, Physiology, and Yield of Maize in the Semi-Arid Region of China" Plants 12, no. 18: 3308. https://doi.org/10.3390/plants12183308