Improving nitrogen and water use efficiency in a wheat-maize rotation system in the North China Plain using optimized farming practices

Xiao, Guangmin; Zhao, Zhonglin; Liang, Long; Meng, Fanqiao; Wu, Wenliang; Guo, Yanbin

doi:10.1016/j.agwat.2018.09.011

Cited by 81 publications

(30 citation statements)

References 60 publications

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“…There may be nitrogen fertilization and irrigation interactions with sowing date and cultivar which significantly impact maize yields. However, in China's Maize Belt, the application amounts of nitrogen fertilizer by farmers are always very high , Xiao et al 2019, which could meet the requirement of maize growth . Moreover, irrigation is not used frequently during maize growing season because precipitation concentrates in maize growing season such as regions I-III and V-VI or because there is no available irrigation water resource e.g.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Optimizing sowing window and cultivar choice can boost China’s maize yield under 1.5 °C and 2 °C global warming

Huang

Wang

et al. 2020

Environ. Res. Lett.

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Climate change, with increased temperatures and varied rainfall, poses a great challenge to food security around the world. Appropriately assessing the impacts of climate change on crop productivity and understanding the adaptation potential of agriculture to climate change are urgently needed to help develop effective strategies for future agriculture and to maintain food security. In this study, we studied future maize yield changes under 1.5°C (2018-2037) and 2°C (2044-2063) warming scenarios and investigated the adaptation potential across China's Maize Belt by optimizing the sowing date and cultivar using the APSIM-Maize model. In comparison to the baseline scenario, under the 1.5°C and 2°C warming scenarios, we found that without adaptation, maize yields would increase in the relatively cool regions with a single-cropping system but decrease in other regions. However, in comparison with the baseline scenario, under the 1.5°C and 2°C warming scenarios with adaptation, maize yields would increase by 11.1%-53.9% across the study area. Across the maize belt, compared with the baseline scenario, under warming of 1.5°C, the potential sowing window would increase by 2-17 d, and under warming of 2°C, this sowing window would increase by 4-26 d. The optimal sowing window would also be significantly extended in the regions with single-cropping systems by an average of 10 d under the 1.5°C warming scenario and 12 d under the 2°C warming scenario. Latematuring cultivar achieved higher yield than early-middle maturing cultivars in all regions except the north part of Northeast China. Adjusting the sowing date by increasing growth-period precipitation contributed more (44.5%-96.7%) to yield improvements than shifting cultivars (0%-50.8%) and climate change (−53.1% to 23.0%) across all maize planting regions except in the wet southwestern parts of the maize belt. The differences among the maize planting regions in terms of high adaptation potential provide invaluable information for policymakers and stakeholders of maize production to set out optimized agricultural strategies to safeguard the supply of maize.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Optimizing sowing window and cultivar choice can boost China’s maize yield under 1.5 °C and 2 °C global warming

Huang

Wang

et al. 2020

Environ. Res. Lett.

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“…Cultivation of crops under conventional practices will further increase groundwater decline. Keeping field moisture at optimum level and lowering N application would reduce the risk of environmental security [78].…”

Section: Best Management Practices (Bmps) For Different Cropping Systemsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Modeling Water and Nitrogen Balance of Different Cropping Systems in the North China Plain

Leghari

Liang

et al. 2019

Agronomy

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The North China Plain (NCP) is experiencing serious groundwater level decline and groundwater nitrate contamination due to excessive water pumping and application of nitrogen (N) fertilizer. In this study, grain yield, water and N use efficiencies under different cropping systems including two harvests in 1 year (winter wheat-summer maize) based on farmer (2H1Y) FP and optimized practices (2H1Y) OPT , three harvests in 2 years (winter wheat-summer maize-spring maize, 3H2Y), and one harvest in 1 year (spring maize, 1H1Y) were evaluated using the water-heat-carbon-nitrogen simulator (WHCNS) model. The 2H1Y FP system was maintained with 100% irrigation and fertilizer, while crop water requirement and N demand for other cropping systems were optimized and managed by soil testing. In addition, a scenario analysis was also performed under the interaction of linearly increasing and decreasing N rates, and irrigation levels.Results showed that the model performed well with simulated soil water content, soil N concentration, leaf area index, dry matter, and grain yield. Statistically acceptable ranges of root mean square error, Nash-Sutcliffe model efficiency, index of agreement values close to 1, and strong correlation coefficients existed between simulated and observed values. We concluded that replacing the prevalent 2H1Y FP with 1H1Y would be ecofriendly at the cost of some grain yield decline. This cropping system had the highest average water use (2.1 kg m −3 ) and N use efficiencies (4.8 kg kg -1 ) on reduced water (56.64%) and N (81.36%) inputs than 2H1Y FP . Whereas 3H2Y showed insignificant results in terms of grain yield, and 2H1Y FP was unsustainable. The 2H1Y FP system consumed a total of 745 mm irrigation and 1100 kg N ha -1 in two years. When farming practices were optimized for two harvests in 1 year system (2H1Y) OPT , then grain yield improved and water (18.12%) plus N (61.82%) consumptions were minimized. There was an ample amount of N saved, but water conservation was still unsatisfactory. However, considering the results of scenario analyses, it is recommended that winter wheat would be cultivated at <200 mm irrigation by reducing one irrigation event.Since the 1970s, the annual use of the two-harvest cropping system greatly increased the total grain output. However, it has also caused severe groundwater decline [7,8], because both crops generally have high water requirements to complete their life cycle [9,10]. Crop water requirement does not meet the balance between groundwater recharge through rain and evapotranspiration (ET) loss from plant and soil [11]. An estimated amount of more than 450 mm yr −1 irrigation water is required to maintain high crop yield under the conventional double cropping system [12], which dominatingly depends on pumping of groundwater, and there is no access to irrigation from the river source. Thus, the groundwater is almost the only source of irrigation [13]. In the last 20 years, sustained water pumping has adversely affected aquifers. Consequently, the groundwater leve...

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“…Wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) is one of the most important grain crops in the world and provides approximately 20% of the entire caloric intake of the world population [1][2][3]. About one third of human being nutritional protein is derived from grains worldwide.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The plain is known for its intensively managed double-cropping systems with rotations of wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) and maize (Zea mays L.). Winter wheat and summer maize rotation is the primary cropping system in the North China Plain [3,7,8] and this region produced 2/3 of the nation's total production. Consequently, wheat production in the NCP plays a very important role to fulfill the increased food demands in China to ensure food security.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Contrasting Impacts of Long-Term Application of Biofertilizers and Organic Manure on Grain Yield of Winter Wheat in North China Plain

et al. 2019

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The effects of long-term incorporation of organic manure and biofertilizers have been investigated on winter wheat in the North China Plain (NCP). The five-year field experiment (2013–2018) has illustrated the responses of grain yield and yield components. Seven fertilization approaches, included pig farm-yard-manure and biofertilizers amendments combined with five NPK% drop levels of chemical fertilizer ratio + organic fertilizer + biofertilizer (0, C+O+B) 25%, CL4; 50%, CL3; 75%, CL1; and 100%, CL0), without fertilizer as control (CK), in NCP during the years 2013–2018. Results showed that the grain yields of CL1 and CL2 were equivalent to CL0 in all growing seasons except 2014/2015. The grain yields of CL4 were 29.9% to 46.6% lower than that of CL0 during 2014/2015, 2016/2017, and 2017/2018. The valuable spike-number, grain number per-spike, and 1000-grain weight showed significant variations among different growing periods. Regression analysis of grain yield and yield components indicated that number grains per-spike showed significant increase in seed yield formation. The 1000-grain weight was the major parameter that influenced yield of moderate and low yielding periods, respectively. The results revealed that application of 30 m3 ha−1 pig farm-yard-manure and 20 kg ha−1 biofertilizers has reduced at least 50% of the NPK fertilization without dropping grain yields in the North China Plain.

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Improving nitrogen and water use efficiency in a wheat-maize rotation system in the North China Plain using optimized farming practices

Cited by 81 publications

References 60 publications

Optimizing sowing window and cultivar choice can boost China’s maize yield under 1.5 °C and 2 °C global warming

Optimizing sowing window and cultivar choice can boost China’s maize yield under 1.5 °C and 2 °C global warming

Modeling Water and Nitrogen Balance of Different Cropping Systems in the North China Plain

Contrasting Impacts of Long-Term Application of Biofertilizers and Organic Manure on Grain Yield of Winter Wheat in North China Plain

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