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Journal of Integrative Agriculture
Journal of Integrative Agriculture  2025, Vol. 24 Issue (1): 290-305    DOI: 10.1016/j.jia.2024.07.003
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Long-term combined application of organic and inorganic fertilizers increases crop yield sustainability by improving soil fertility in maize–wheat cropping systems

Jinfeng Wang1, Xueyun Yang2, Shaomin Huang3, Lei Wu4, Zejiang Cai4, 5, Minggang Xu1, 4#

1 Institute of Eco-environment and Industrial Technology, Shanxi Agricultural University/Shanxi Province Key Laboratory of Soil Environment and Nutrient Resources, Taiyuan 030031, China

2 College of Natural Resources and Environment, Northwest A&F University, Yangling 712100, China

3 Institute of Plant Nutrition, Resources and Environment, Henan Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Zhengzhou 450002, China

4 Key Laboratory of Cultivated Land Quality Monitoring and Evaluation, Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affaris/Institute of Agricultural Resources and Regional Planning, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Beijing 100081, China

5 National Field Observation and Research Station of Farmland Ecosystem in Qiyang, Institute of Agricultural Resources and Regional Planning, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Yongzhou 426100, China

 Highlights 
● NPKM improves the sustainability of crop grain yield and soil quality.
● NPKS accelerates acid soil acidification, reduces soil quality and crop productivity.
● Crop grain yield and its sustainability increase with soil quality.
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摘要  

在全球范围内，有机肥与化肥配施在提高作物产量和保持土壤肥力方面表现出显著的效果。然而，作物产量的可持续性和土壤肥力在有机和无机复合施用下能否保持目前还不清楚。通过1991-2019年3个长期大田试验，研究了有机改良剂对中国中部和南部玉米-小麦轮作系统粮食可持续性产量指数(SYI)、土壤肥力指数(SFI)和养分平衡的影响。5个处理包括: 1)未施肥对照(CK); 2)平衡施肥(NPK); 3) NPK加粪肥(NPKM); 4)高剂量氮磷钾加粪肥(1.5NPKM); 5)氮磷钾加作物秸秆(NPKS)。随着时间的推移，在杨凌(YL)和郑州(ZZ)试验点小麦和玉米的籽粒产量呈上升趋势，而在祁阳(QY)试验点下降，且QY试验点的NPKM和1.5 NPKM逐渐高于NPK和NPKS。3个试验点NPKM处理的SYI值最大，且YL和ZZ试验点的SYI值均高于QY试验点，说明化肥结合粪肥配施能有效提高作物产量的可持续性，且土壤酸化导致QY试验点SYI值降低。此外，影响作物籽粒产量的关键因子在YL和ZZ位点是土壤速效磷(AP)和速效钾(AK)，而在QY试验点为pH和AP。所有施肥处理在3个地点均表现出氮、磷盈余，而在QY试验点则表现出钾盈余。与NPK相比，YL和ZZ试验点1.5NPKM、NPKM和NPKS的SFI分别提高了13.3~40.0%和16.4~63.6%，且QY试验点NPKM和1.5NPKM的SFI显著高于NPK和NPKS。SFI与作物产量、SYI和养分平衡呈显著的正线性关系，表明随着土壤肥力的增加，粮食产量及其可持续性显著增加，且氮、磷、钾表观平衡与SFI正相关。本研究表明，适量的粪肥与化肥混合施用有利于农业的可持续发展，可通过提高土壤肥力，有效提高作物产量，实现产量的可持续性。



Abstract  
Organic material combined with inorganic fertilizer has been shown to greatly improve crop yield and maintain soil fertility globally.  However, it remains unclear if crop yield and soil fertility can be sustained in the long term under the combined application of organic and inorganic fertilizers.  Three long-term field trials were conducted to investigate the effects of organic amendments on the grain sustainable yield index (SYI), soil fertility index (SFI) and nutrient balance in maize–wheat cropping systems of central and southern China during 1991–2019.  Five treatments were included in the trials: 1) no fertilization (control); 2) balanced mineral fertilization (NPK); 3) NPK plus manure (NPKM); 4) high dose of NPK plus manure (1.5NPKM); and 5) NPK plus crop straw (NPKS).  Over time, the grain yields of wheat and maize showed an increasing trend in all four fertilization treatments at the Yangling (YL) and Zhengzhou (ZZ) locations, while they declined at Qiyang (QY).  The grain yield in the NPKM and 1.5NPKM treatments gradually exceeded that of the NPK and NPKS treatments at the QY site.  The largest SYI was recorded in the NPKM treatment across the three sites, suggesting that inorganic fertilizer combined with manure can effectively improve crop yield sustainability.  Higher SYI values were recorded at the YL and ZZ sites than at the QY site, possibly because the soil was more acid at QY.  The key factors affecting grain yield were soil available phosphorus (AP) and available potassium (AK) at the YL and ZZ sites, and pH and AP at the QY site.  All fertilization treatments resulted in soil N and P surpluses at the three sites, but soil K surpluses were recorded only at the QY site.  The SFI was greater in the 1.5NPKM, NPKM and NPKS treatments than in the NPK treatment by 13.3–40.0 and 16.4–63.6% at the YL and ZZ sites, respectively, and was significantly higher in the NPKM and 1.5NPKM treatments than in the NPK and NPKS treatments at the QY site.  A significant, positive linear relationship was found between SFI and crop yield, and SYI and nutrient balance, indicating that grain yield and its sustainability significantly increased with increasing soil fertility.  The apparent N, P and K balances positively affected SFI.  This study suggests that the appropriate amount of manure mixed with mineral NPK fertilizer is beneficial to the development of sustainable agriculture, which effectively increases the crop yield and yield sustainability by improving soil fertility.


Keywords:  organic amendments       crop yield        yield sustainability        soil fertility        nutrient balance  
Received: 22 January 2024   Accepted: 27 March 2024
Fund: This research was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (42177341) and the Natural Science Basic Research Program of Shanxi, China (202203021222138). 
About author:  Jinfeng Wang, E-mail: wjf202107@163.com; #Correspondence Minggang Xu, E-mail: xuminggang@caas.cn
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Jinfeng Wang, Xueyun Yang, Shaomin Huang, Lei Wu, Zejiang Cai, Minggang Xu. 2025. Long-term combined application of organic and inorganic fertilizers increases crop yield sustainability by improving soil fertility in maize–wheat cropping systems. Journal of Integrative Agriculture, 24(1): 290-305.

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