Long-term fertilizer and water availability effects on cereal yield and soil chemical properties in northwest China

• Published in: Soil Science Society of America journal Vol. 69; no. 3; pp. 842 - 855
• Main Authors: Fan, T, Stewart, B.A, Payne, W.A, Yong, W, Luo, J, Gao, Y
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Madison Soil Science Society 01-05-2005; Soil Science Society of America; American Society of Agronomy
• Subjects: Agricultural and forest climatology and meteorology. Irrigation. Drainage; Agricultural and forest meteorology; Agronomy. Soil science and plant productions; animal manures; Biological and medical sciences; Cereals; Chemical properties; Corn; crop water stress index; Crop yield; Evapotranspiration; Fertilizers; Food security; Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology; General agronomy. Plant production; Generalities. Analysis and diagnosis methods; Grain; grain yield; long term effects; mineral fertilizers; nitrogen fertilizers; nitrogen-phosphorus fertilizers; organic fertilizers; phosphorus fertilizers; soil amendments; soil chemical properties; Soil properties; Soil sciences; Soil treatment; Soil-plant relationships. Soil fertility. Fertilization. Amendments; straw; Triticum aestivum; Vegetables; Water; Water availability; Water balance and requirements. Evapotranspiration; Water use; water use efficiency; Wheat; Zea mays; China; Asia; China, People's Rep; Loess; Monocotyledones; Loess soils; Zea mays; Long term test; Water supply; Cultivated soil; Property of soil; Organic fertilization; Long term; Cereal crop; Fertilizers; Northwest; Gramineae; Mineral fertilization; Regosols; Angiospermae; Soil science; Spermatophyta; Yield; Chemical properties; Triticum aestivum
• ISSN: 0361-5995; 1435-0661
• DOI: 10.2136/sssaj2004.0150

Wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) and corn (Zea mays L.) rotation is important for the region's food security in Northwest China. Grain yield and water-use efficiency (WUE: grain yield/estimated evapotranspiration [ET]) trends, and changes in soil properties during a 24-yr rainfed fertilization experiment in Pingliang, Gansu, China, were recorded. Mean wheat yields for the 16 yr ranged from 1.29 Mg ha(-1) for the unfertilized plots (CK) to 4.71 Mg ha(-1) for the plots that received manure (M) annually with inorganic N and P fertilizers (MNP). Corn yields for the 6 yr averaged 2.29 and 5.61 Mg ha(-1) in the same treatments. Yields and WUEs declined with years except for the CK and MNP treatments for wheat. Wheat yields for the N and M treatments declined about 80 kg ha(-1) yr(-1), compared with about 60 kg ha(-1) yr(-1) for the NP treatment and the N plus straw treatment receiving P every second year (SNP). Likewise, the corn yields and WUEs declined significantly for all treatments. Grain yield-ET relationships were linear with slopes ranging from 0.51 to 1.27 kg ha(-1) m(-3) for wheat and 1.15 to 2.03 kg ha(-1)m(-3) for corn. Soil organic C (SOC), total N (TN), and total P (TP) gradually increased with time except the CK, in which TN and TP remained unchanged but SOC and available P (AP) decreased. Soil AP decreased in the N treatment. Soil available K declined rapidly without straw or manure additions. The greatest SOC increases of about 160 mg kg(-1) yr(-1) occurred in SNP and MNP treated soils, suggesting that long-term additions of organic materials could increase water-holding capacity that, in return, improves water availability to plants and arrests grain yield declines, and sustains productivity.