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Improving yield and nitrogen use efficiency of hybrid indica rice through optimizing nitrogen application strategies in the rice season under different rotation patterns

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Abstract

Currently, it is difficult to synergistically improve rice yield and nitrogen (N) use efficiency (NUE) resulted from the overuse of N fertilizer under different rotations has become a major issue in China. This study was undertaken to optimize N application and evaluate the feasibility of reducing the amount of N fertilizer in rice crops under different rotations. Three rotations (mustard-rice, rape-rice, and wheat-rice) and different N application strategies (conventional N management and optimum N application strategies according to the Stanford equation) were tested in 2019 and 2020. The relationship between yield or NUE and N accumulation and translocation was, respectively, investigated. Correlation analyses revealed that the yield or NUE was significantly correlated (r = 0.446–0.977, P < 0.05) with the N translocation in stem-sheaths, N translocation contribution rate in blades, and N accumulation from full heading to maturity stage. These results suggest that the N application strategy should be adjusted according to different rotations in order to obtain the highest yield and the best NUE. When the N fertilizer was 105, 125, and 150 kg ha−1, and the N fertilizer ratio all were 30:30:40 base to tiller to panicle fertilizer, rape-rice, mustard-rice, and wheat-rice rotations each achieve a synergistic increased N accumulation and translocation from full heading to maturity stage and hence, attained higher yield and NUE. The results further indicated that it is practicable to reduce the amount of N fertilizer applied in rice crops planted after rape or mustard but not when grown after wheat.

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Funding

This work was supported by Key Science and Technology Special Projects in Sichuan Province of the cultivation of green and efficiency super rice varieties (2022ZDZX0012), the National Industrial Technology System Rice Cultivation in the Upper Yangtze River (CARS-01–25); the Project Foundation of the State Key Laboratory of Crop Gene Exploration and Utilization in Southwest China (SKL-ZY202228); the Rice Breeding Project Foundation of Sichuan Provincial Science and Technology Department (2021YFYZ0005).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Crop Ecophysiology and Cultivation Key Laboratory of Sichuan Province, Rice Research Institute of Sichuan Agricultural University, Wenjiang, 611130, China

    YongJian Sun, Dan Lin, FengJun Yan, Peng Ma, ChangChun Guo, FeiJie Li, ZhiYuan Yang & Jun Ma

  2. Institute of Plateau Meteorology, China Meteorological Administration, Chengdu, 610072, China

    YuanYuan Sun

  3. Rice and Sorghum Research Institute, Sichuan Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Deyang, 618000, China

    FuXian Xu

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  1. YongJian Sun
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  2. Dan Lin
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  5. Peng Ma
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  10. Jun Ma
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Correspondence to YongJian Sun.

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Sun, Y., Lin, D., Sun, Y. et al. Improving yield and nitrogen use efficiency of hybrid indica rice through optimizing nitrogen application strategies in the rice season under different rotation patterns. Paddy Water Environ 21, 99–113 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10333-022-00916-4

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