Optimizing rice yield: Evaluating the nitrogen supply characteristics of slow- and controlled-release fertilizers using the leaf nitrogen balance index

作者：Weike Tao, Qiuli Chen, Weiwei Li, Shen Gao, Jiaqi Li, Yuhui Wang, Sajjad Ahmad, Yanfeng Ding, Ganghua Li · 发表于：Journal of Integrative Agriculture · 年份：2024 · DOI：10.1016/j.jia.2024.03.010 · 被引用次数：9 · 研究领域：Polymer-Based Agricultural Enhancements、Crop Yield and Soil Fertility、Soil Management and Crop Yield

Synchronizing the nitrogen (N) supply of slow- and controlled-release N fertilizers (SCRNFs) with rice N demand is pivotal in substituting multiple urea applications by a single basal application of SCRNFs. Traditional assessment of N supply characteristics focuses mainly on N release patterns, which are only applicable to coated SCRNFs and ignore N transformation mechanisms, thus raising the need for a more universal and reliable index. Based on the ability of crop N status to detect N deficiency or excess, we hypothesized that employing leaf N balance index (NBI) as a measure of N status could provide new insights into assessing N supply characteristics of SCRNFs. We conducted field experiments involving four individual SCRNFs-humic acid urea (HAU), sulfur-coated urea (SCU), urease inhibitor urea (UIU), and polymer-coated urea (PCU)- and their four combined forms, along with the high-yield urea split application as control (CK). The results showed that NBI dynamics relative to CK could reflect the N supply potential of different SCRNFs while classifying them as short-, medium-, and long-acting fertilizers. Combinations that incorporated the long-acting SCRNF (PCU) consistently outperformed others in yield (by 5.5%) and N use efficiency (by 42.8%) by providing a more consistent and efficient N supply throughout the rice growth cycle. Grain yield showed negative correlation with the difference in NBI dynamics between SCRNFs and CK, indicating synchronizing N supply between on...