Fine Soil Texture Is Conducive to Crop Productivity and Nitrogen Retention in Irrigated Cropland in a Desert-Oasis Ecotone, Northwest China

Abstract

Agricultural production in oases requires extensive irrigation and nitrogen (N) inputs, which result in a high incidence of non-point-source pollution. Information on how soil texture affects crop productivity and water and N use efficiency is needed to improve N management in oases. A two-year field study with six free-draining leaching pits was set up to quantify soil water content (SWC), drainage, yield, N uptake, soil residual N, N leaching, water-use efficiency (WUE), and N fertilizer-use efficiency (NFUE) on sandy-textured soils in a young oasis field (24 years, YOF) and loam-textured soils in an old oasis field (>60 years; OOF) within an intensive oasis agricultural zone in Northwest China. The results showed that sand content in the YOF was significantly higher than that in the OOF (p < 0.01), while both clay and silt contents in the YOF were significantly lower than those in the OOF (p < 0.01). Soil water storage (SW) in the 0–100 cm soil layer, evapotranspiration water-use efficiency (WUEET) and irrigation water-use efficiency (WUEIrrig) in the OOF were, respectively, 87.1, 23.5, and 24.1% higher than those in the YOF (p < 0.05), and deep drainage in the YOF was 6.2 times higher than that in the OOF (p < 0.01). Maize N uptake and soil N accumulation in the OOF in the 0–100 cm soil layer were, respectively, 33.4 and 10.3% higher than those in the YOF (p < 0.05), and N leaching loss in the YOF was 1.65 times higher than that in the OOF (p > 0.01). Crop yield and NFUE in the OOF were, respectively, 23.9 and 27.2% higher than those in the YOF (p < 0.05). These results indicated that sandy-textured soils with high sand content were not conducive to water and N retention, resulting in lower crop yields and water- and fertilizer-use efficiency in YOF. Therefore, it is imperative that management practices in sandy-textured land promote improvements in soil structure and maintain the long-term productivity of the young cultivated fields.

Analysis of declining trends in sugarcane yield at Wonji-Shoa Sugar Estate, Central Ethiopia

“…The results of this study reveal that the soil type and its properties can significantly affect crop performance. This is because soil type and its properties significantly affect crop performance through influencing soil aeration, water-holding capacity, soil fertility, and N leaching (Chen et al, 2020; Nyiraneza et al, 2012; Wang et al, 2022), and any soil property that could impair soil’s water and air circulation can result in poor crop yields (Wallace & Nelson, 1986). The Haplic-vertisols type at the WSSP is known to frequently experience such problems.…”

“…Finally, the yield data were sorted from oldest to most recent and then filtered based on variety and soil type. These two parameters were chosen because cane varieties and soil types are the most important variables that determine yield dynamics (Chen et al, 2020;Glaz, 2000;Ming et al, 2006;Nyiraneza et al, 2012;Barbosa and da Silveira, 2015;Wang et al, 2022). The actual yield for each field was calculated by computing the mean of its recent seven-year (2016-2022) yield data, because the mean yield data of the most recent 5-7 years are expected to best represent the current yield level (Dobermann et al, 2003).…”

“…Prior studies have indicated that, in crop production, varietal characteristics and soil quality are the major yield-limiting factors that determine attainable yield (Tittonell & Giller, 2013). Soil type and its properties significantly affect crop performance through influencing soil aeration, water-holding capacity, soil fertility, and N leaching (Chen et al, 2020; Nyiraneza et al, 2012; Wang et al, 2022), and any soil property that impairs soil’s water and air circulation can result in poor crop yields (Wallace & Nelson, 1986). On the other hand, varieties account for 50–95% of the global increase in agricultural output (Ming et al, 2006).…”

A Multipurpose Sustainable Farming System for Tobacco Crops in the Mediterranean Area

“…This latter result was expected since soil effects are generally due to a wide combination of factors like water, nutrients, pH, EC, rhizosphere microbiome, etc. [74][75][76][77][78][79], that may influence, both directly and indirectly, growth, development, and plant metabolism, including the secondary one [47,[57][58][59][60][61]. For this reason, the influence of soils is generally reported to be more attributable to fertility overall (i.e., OM and OC content, mineral nitrogen richness, etc.)…”

Simulating the Effects of Different Textural Soils and N Management on Maize Yield, N Fates, and Water and N Use Efficiencies in Northeast China

“…Milroy et al (2008) proposed that leaching varied markedly between the soil textures, and N leaching in loamy sand accounted for 20% that of acid loamy sand or sand [ 44 ]. Wang et al (2022) pointed out that N leaching loss in the sandy-textured soils with high sand content was 1.65 times higher than that with low sand content [ 45 ]. In this study, the annual average nitrate leaching of each treatment of sandy loam is 9.3 kg ha −1 , which is 3.4 kg ha −1 higher than that of loamy clay.…”