Water–nitrogen synergistic optimization: Model–guided management strategies for enhancing cotton (Gossypium hirsutum L.) productivity in desert-oasis agroecosystems

作者：Jianshu Dong, Huifeng Ning, Hongguang Liu, Yuanhang Guo, Sun Ke, Xiaojun Shen, Yang Gao · 发表于：Industrial Crops and Products · 年份：2025 · DOI：10.1016/j.indcrop.2025.122137 · 被引用次数：7 · 研究领域：Irrigation Practices and Water Management、Rice Cultivation and Yield Improvement、Climate change impacts on agriculture

Global water scarcity and soil degradation from excessive fertilization are critical environmental challenges to sustainable agriculture. Optimized irrigation and nitrogen fertilization regimes are urgently required to meet increasing agricultural demands with limited water and fertilizer resources, thereby achieving synergistic improvements in crop yield and resource use efficiency. Herein, a two-year field experiment (2020–2021) was performed on cotton plants under mulching and drip irrigation in Alaer, Xinjiang. Three irrigation levels (W1: 405 mm; W2: 345 mm; W3: 270 mm) and four nitrogen application rates (total seasonal application: N1: 540 kg·ha −1 ; N2: 405 kg·ha −1 ; N3: 270 kg·ha −1 ; N4: 0 kg·ha −1 ) were applied. Results indicated that irrigation treatments significantly affected seed cotton yield, cotton lint percentage (2020), number of bolls per plant (2021), mean length of upper part, micronaire, water productivity, and partial factor productivity of nitrogen (PFPN) ( P < 0.05), with the W1 treatment demonstrating overall superior performance. Nitrogen treatment significantly influenced seed cotton yield, number of bolls per plant, cotton lint percentage (2020), breaking elongation, water productivity, and PFPN (P < 0.05), with the N1 treatment showing the most favorable outcomes. Water–nitrogen interactions significantly affected boll weight (2020), cottonseed yield (2021), fiber length, and micronaire ( P < 0.05), with the W1N1 interaction presenting the mos...