scholarly journals Soil Nitrogen Fractions, Nitrogen Use Efficiency and Yield of Zea mays L. Grown on a Tropical Acid Soil Treated with Composts and Clinoptilolite Zeolite

2020 ◽  
Vol 10 (12) ◽  
pp. 4139
Author(s):  
Latifah Omar ◽  
Osumanu Haruna Ahmed ◽  
Mohamadu Boyie Jalloh ◽  
Abdul Majid Nik Muhamad

High nitrogen use efficiency (NUE) is important for improving crop yield. There are many nitrogen (N) fractions in soil and their uptake by crops varies. Most of the N that is taken up by plants is not native to the soil but usually from fertilizer added to the soil. However, the unbalanced use of fertilizers is currently an important issue that needs to be addressed. The objectives of this work were to determine the effects of using the recommended chemical fertilizers together with inorganic and organic amendments on (i) soil organic and inorganic N fractions, (ii) N uptake and use efficiency, and (iii) maize (Zea mays L.) dry matter production and ear yield. A randomized complete block design field trial, using maize as a test crop, was done with seven fertilizer treatments, each replicated thrice for two crop cycles. The treatments included different combinations of urea N, clinoptilolite zeolite (CZ), rice straw compost, and paddy husk compost. The variables of the study were soil N fractions, ear yield, and N use efficiency. Generally, the combined use of the recommended chemical fertilizers with CZ and organic amendments resulted in significantly higher soil N fractions, N use efficiency, and ear yield of maize for both crops. The two treatments with a 50% reduction in recommended chemical fertilizers, CZ, and rice straw compost or paddy husk compost (treatments four and six) are recommended instead of the 100% recommended chemical fertilizer treatment (treatment one). The organic materials used for these two treatments are abundantly available and will reduce the economic and environmental costs of applying large quantities of chemical fertilizers alone.

Agriculture ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 10 (7) ◽  
pp. 272
Author(s):  
Rosalina Armando Tamele ◽  
Hideto Ueno ◽  
Yo Toma ◽  
Nobuki Morita

The rising cost of inorganic fertilizers, coupled with their adverse effects on soil conditions, has resulted in increasing interest in organic amendments. The objective of the present study was to evaluate the effect of organic amendments (OAs) with different C/N ratios on nitrogen use efficiency (NUE) and recovery rate, as well as on the growth and yield of Zea mays and soil properties. A precise pot experiment was conducted on a low-fertile, sandy-loam soil, and the dynamics of nitrogen (N) were also analyzed by the A-value method, using 15N tracer. The plant height of the treatment groups decreased in the following order: inorganic fertilizer (IF) = rapeseed waste (RW) > chicken manure (CnM) > bamboo tealeaf (BTL) > cow manure (CwM) > bamboo compost (BC). Furthermore, the maize fertilized with RW only took up half of the N in IF, despite producing the same yield, which indicates that the physiological nitrogen efficiency (PUE) of RW was twice as high as that of IF. RW and CnM were regarded as valuable fertilizers that could be used to replace inorganic fertilizers. A linear relationship between the N mineralization of the OAs was obtained by an incubation test and the pot experiments, estimating the effect of OA application on the maize. Maize plants mainly absorbed N derived from fertilizers; however, for the both sources of N (fertilizer and soil), N was mainly accumulated in grains followed by the leaves, stem, and root, suggesting that studies should be conducted to improve soil N use efficiency.


Plants ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 9 (3) ◽  
pp. 322 ◽  
Author(s):  
Teresa Fuertes-Mendizábal ◽  
Elizabeth Irica Bastías ◽  
Carmen González-Murua ◽  
Mª Begoña González-Moro

The Lluta Valley in Northern Chile is an important agricultural area affected by both salinity and boron (B) toxicity. Zea mays L. amylacea, an ecotype arisen because of the seed selection practiced in this valley, shows a high tolerance to salt and B levels. In the present study the interaction between B and salt was studied after 20 days of treatment at low (100 mM) and high salinity (430 mM NaCl), assessing changes in nitrogen metabolites and in the activity of key nitrogen-assimilating enzymes. Under non-saline conditions, the presence of excessive B favored higher nitrate and ammonium mobilization to leaves, increasing nitrate reductase (NR) activity but not glutamine synthetase (GS). Thus, the increment of nitrogen use efficiency by B application would contribute partially to maintain the biomass production in this ecotype. Positive relationships between NR activity, nitrate, and stomatal conductance were observed in leaves. The increment of major amino acids alanine and serine would indicate a photoprotective role of photorespiration under low-salinity conditions, thus the inhibition of nitrogen assimilation pathway (NR and GS activities) occurred only at high salinity. The role of cytosolic GS regarding the proline accumulation is discussed.


2019 ◽  
Vol 195 ◽  
pp. 104409 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yüze Li ◽  
Duanpu Song ◽  
Pengfei Dang ◽  
Lina Wei ◽  
Xiaoliang Qin ◽  
...  

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