Rational application of different forms of nitrogen (N) fertilizer for peanut (Arachis hypogaea L.) requires tracking the N supplied sources which are commonly not available in the differences among the three sources: root nodule, soil and fertilizer. In this study, two kinds of peanut plants (nodulated variety (Huayu 22) and non-nodulated variety (NN-1)) were choosed and four kinds of N fertilizers: urea-N (CONH2-N), ammonium-N (NH4 +-N), nitrate-N (NO3 –-N) and NH4 ++NO3 –-N labeled by 15N isotope were applied in the field barrel experiment in Chengyang Experimental Station, Shandong Province, China, to determine the N supplied sources and N use efficiency over peanut growing stages. The results showed that intensities and amounts of N supply from the three sources were all higher at middle growing stages (pegging phase and podding phase). The accumulated amounts of N supply from root nodule, soil and fertilizer over the growing stages were 8.3, 5.3 and 3.8 g m–2 in CONH2-N treatment, which are all significantly higher than in the other three treatments. At seedling phase, soil supplied the most N for peanut growth, then root nodule controlled the N supply at pegging phase and podding phase, but soil mainly provided N again at the last stage (pod filling phase). For the whole growing stages, root nodule supplied the most N (47.8 and 43.0%) in CONH2-N and NH4 +-N treatments, whereas soil supplied the most N (41.7 and 40.9%) in NH4 ++ NO3 –-N and NO3 –-N treatments. The N use efficiency was higher at pegging phase and podding phase, while accumulated N use efficiency over the growing stages was higher in CONH2-N treatment (42.2%) than in other three treatments (30.4% in NH4 +-N treatment, 29.4% in NO3 –-N treatment, 29.4% in NH4 ++NO3 –-N treatment). In peanut growing field, application of CONH2-N is a better way to increase the supply of N from root nodule and improve the N use efficiency.

Soil organic carbon (SOC) and soil Olsen-P are key soil fertility indexes but information on their relationships is limited particularly under long-term fertilization. We investigated the relationships between SOC and the percentage of soil Olsen-P to total P (PSOPTP) under six different 15-yr (1990-2004) long-term fertilizations at two cropping systems in northern China. These fertilization treatments were (1) unfertilized control (control); (2) chemical nitrogen (N); (3) N plus chemical P (NP); (4) NP plus chemical potassium (NPK); (5) NPK plus animal manure (NPKM) and (6) high NPKM (hNPKM). Compared with their initial values in 1989 at both sites, during the 11th to 15th fertilization years annual mean SOC contents were significantly increased by 39.4-47.0% and 58.9-93.9% at Gongzhuling, Jilin Province, and Urumqi, Xinjiang, China, under the two NPKM fertilizations, respectively, while no significant changes under the no-P or chemical P fertilization. During the 11th to 15th fertilization years, annual mean PSOPTP was respectively increased by 2.6-4.2 and 5.8-14.1 times over the initial values under the two chemical P fertilizations and the two NPKM fertilizations, but was unchanged in their initial levels under the two no-P fertilizations at both sites. Over the 15-yr long-term fertilization SOC significantly positively correlated with PSOPTP (r2=0.55-0.79, P<0.01). We concluded that the combination of chemical P plus manure is an effective way to promote SOC accumulation and the percentage of soil Olsen-P to total P at the two mono-cropping system sites in northern China.