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Journal of Integrative Agriculture  2025, Vol. 24 Issue (9): 3403-3417    DOI: 10.1016/j.jia.2024.07.028
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No-tillage with total green manure incorporation: A better strategy to higher maize yield and nitrogen uptake in arid irrigation areas

Hanqiang Lü1, Aizhong Yu1, 2#, Qiang Chai1, 2, Feng Wang1, Yulong Wang1, Pengfei Wang1, Yongpan Shang1, Xuehui Yang1

1 College of Agronomy, Gansu Agricultural University, Lanzhou 730070, China

2 State Key Laboratory of Aridland Crop Science, Gansu Agricultural University, Lanzhou 730070, China

 Highlights 
● Use a nitrogen-free substrate instead of soil and employ 15N to completely label green manure.
● No-tillage with green manure mulching increases nitrogen uptake by maize from green manure and soil.
No-tillage with green manure mulching promotes nitrogen mineralization and reduces nitrogen losses.
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摘要  

绿肥还田提高干旱灌区玉米产量和氮素吸收的结论已被证实。但很少有研究区分绿肥氮和化肥氮对玉米氮素吸收利用的贡献。本研究采用大田试验和微区试验结合的方式探究干旱灌区玉米高产高氮素吸收的绿肥管理措施在微区试验中,利用15N示踪技术对绿肥作物进行标记。设置5个处理: 绿肥全量翻压(TG);免耕绿肥全量覆盖(NTG);地上部移除根茬翻压(T);地上部移除根茬免耕(NT);常规耕作无绿肥作为对照(CT)。在大田试验和微区试验中得出相同的结论,与CT相比,绿肥还田显著提高了玉米产量和氮素吸收效率(NUPE)NTG处理下,玉米对绿肥氮的吸收量显著高于根茬还田,59.1%的绿肥氮被玉米吸收。此外,NTG促进了玉米对土壤氮的吸收,土壤氮的NUPE 提高至50.7%,较TG高5.5%NTGTG的差异主要体现在籽粒中,值得注意的是,植株中土壤氮的比例显著下降。在土壤氮转运方面,NTG降低耕层土壤氮损失,提高土壤氮储量。此外,NTG促进了玉米氮素吸收关键时期(拔节期至开花期)土壤有机氮的矿化量。综上所述,免耕绿肥全量还田不仅提高了玉米对绿肥氮和土壤氮的吸收,而且降低了玉米植株中土壤氮的比例。



Abstract  


The efficacy of integrating green manure in arid irrigation regions to enhance maize yield and nitrogen (N) uptake efficiency has been extensively explored.  However, limited research has delineated the contribution of green manure N vs. soil N on crop N utilization efficiency.  This study integrated field experiments with micro-plot experiments to examine green manure (common vetch) management practices for achieving high maize yield and N uptake.  In a micro-plot experiment, 15N technology was utilized to label green manure crops.  Five treatments were applied in the research methodology: conventional tillage without green manure as the control (CT), tillage with total green manure incorporation (TG), no-tillage with total green manure mulching (NTG), tillage with only root incorporation (T), and no-tillage with removal of aboveground green manure (NT).  The results of the micro-plot experiment were consistent with those observed in the field, demonstrating that the utilization of green manure substantially increased maize yield and nitrogen uptake efficiency (NUPE) compared to CT.  In particular, under NTG, N uptake by maize from green manure was higher than NT and T, accounting for 59.1% of maize N uptake.  Furthermore, applying NTG boosted the NUPE of soil N in maize to 50.7%, higher than TG by 5.5%.  Meanwhile, it decreased the proportion of soil N in the maize.  The difference between NTG and TG was primarily shown in the maize grains.  For N transport in the soil, NTG decreased N loss while increasing soil N retention.  Also, it facilitated the mineralization of soil organic N before the flowering stage.  In conclusion, adopting no-tillage with total green manure mulching increased N uptake from green manure and the soil and decreased the proportion of soil-derived N in maize. 


Keywords:  green manure incorporation       15N tracer technique       nitrogen uptake efficiency       nitrogen mineralization  
Received: 02 April 2024   Online: 19 July 2024   Accepted: 11 June 2024
Fund: 
This work was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (32160524), the National Key Research and Development Program of China (2022YFD1900200), the Industrial Support Project of Educational Committee of Gansu Province, China (2021CYZC-54), the China Agriculture Research System (CARS-22-G-12), the Fuxi Outstanding Talent Cultivation Program of Gansu Agricultural University, China (GAUfx-04J01), and the “Innovation Star” Project of Gansu Province, China (2023CXZX-644).
About author:  #Correspondence Aizhong Yu, Tel: +86-931-7603751, E-mail: yuaizh@gsau.edu.cn

Cite this article: 

Hanqiang Lü, Aizhong Yu, Qiang Chai, Feng Wang, Yulong Wang, Pengfei Wang, Yongpan Shang, Xuehui Yang. 2025. No-tillage with total green manure incorporation: A better strategy to higher maize yield and nitrogen uptake in arid irrigation areas. Journal of Integrative Agriculture, 24(9): 3403-3417.

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