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Straw interlayer improves sunflower root growth: Evidence from moisture and salt migration and the microbial community in saline-alkali soil 
Mengmeng Chen, Guoli Wang, Yupeng Jing, Jie Zhou, Jiashen Song, Fangdi Chang, Ru Yu, Jing Wang, Weini Wang, Xia Sun, Hongyuan Zhang, Yuyi Li
2024, 23 (11): 3870-3881.   DOI: 10.1016/j.jia.2024.03.048
Abstract108)      PDF in ScienceDirect      
A straw interlayer added to soil can effectively reduce soil salinity effects on plant growth, however, the effects of soil moisture, salt and microbial community composition on plant growth under a straw interlayer are unclear.  A rhizobox study was conducted to investigate the role of straw interlayer thickness on soil moisture, salt migration, microbial community composition, as well as root growth in sunflower.  The study included four treatments: Control (no straw interlayer); S3 (straw interlayer of 3.0 cm); S5 (straw interlayer of 5.0 cm); S7 (straw interlayer of 7.0 cm).  Straw interlayer treatments increased soil moisture by 8.2–11.0% after irrigation and decreased soil salt content after the bud stage in 0–40 cm soil.  Total root length, total root surface area, average root diameter, total root volume and the number of root tips of sunflower plants were higher under straw interlayer treatments than in the control, and were the highest under the S5 treatment.  This stimulated root growth was ascribed to the higher abundance of Chloroflexi and Verrucomicrobia bacteria in soil with a straw interlayer, which was increased by 55.7 and 54.7%, respectively, in the S5 treatment.  Addition of a straw interlayer of 5 cm thickness is a practical and environmentally feasible approach for improving sunflower root growth in saline-alkali soil.


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Optimization of fertilization combined with water-saving irrigation improves the water and nitrogen utilization efficiency of wheat and reduces nitrogen loss in the Nansi Lake Basin, China
Jingyi Feng, He Zhang, Hongyuan Zhang, Xirui Kang, Hui Wang, Hong Pan, Quangang Yang, Zhongchen Yang, Yajie Sun, Yanhong Lou, Zhuge Yuping
DOI: 10.1016/j.jia.2025.03.013 Online: 22 March 2025
Abstract6)      PDF in ScienceDirect      

The eutrophication of rivers and lakes is becoming increasingly common, primarily because of pollution from agricultural non-point sources. We investigated the effects of optimized water and fertilizer treatments on agricultural non-point source pollution in the Nansi Lake region. The water heat carbon nitrogen simulator model was used to analyze water and nitrogen transport in Nansi Lake wheat fields. Four water and fertilizer treatments were set up: conventional fertilization and irrigation (CK), reduced controlled-release fertilizer and conventional irrigation (F2W1), an equal amount of controlled-release fertilizer and reduced irrigation (F1W2), and reduced controlled-release fertilizer and reduced irrigation (F2W2). The results indicated that the replacement of conventional fertilizers with controlled-release fertilizers, combined with reduced irrigation, led to reduced nitrogen loss. Compared with those of the CK, the cumulative nitrogen leaching and ammonia volatilization of F2W1 were reduced by 8.90 and 41.67%, respectively; under F1W2, the same parameters were reduced by 12.50 and 15.99%, respectively. Compared with the other treatments, F2W2 significantly reduced nitrogen loss while producing a stable yield. Compared with those of the CK, ammonia volatilization and nitrogen loss due to leaching were reduced by 29.17 and 27.13%, respectively, water and nitrogen use efficiencies increased by 11.38 and 17.80%, respectively. F2W2 showed the best performance among the treatments, considering water and fertilizer management. Our findings highlight the effectiveness of optimizing water and fertilizer application in improving the water and nitrogen use efficiency of wheat, which is of great significance for mitigating nitrogen loss from farmland in the Nansi Lake region.

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