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Acta Agronomica Sinica ›› 2020, Vol. 46 ›› Issue (02): 290-299.doi: 10.3724/SP.J.1006.2020.93027

• TILLAGE & CULTIVATION · PHYSIOLOGY & BIOCHEMISTRY • Previous Articles     Next Articles

Critical nitrogen dilution curve and nitrogen nutrition diagnosis of maize with drip irrigation

FU Jiang-Peng,HE Zheng,JIA Biao(),LIU Hui-Fang,LI Zhen-Zhou,LIU Zhi   

  1. School of Agriculture Ningxia University, Yinchuan 750021, Ningxia, China
  • Received:2019-04-19 Accepted:2019-08-09 Online:2020-02-12 Published:2019-12-11
  • Contact: Biao JIA E-mail:jiabiao2008@163.com
  • Supported by:
    The study was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China(31560339);the Ningxia Higher Education Research Project(NGY2017025)

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Abstract:

The objective of this study was to establish the critical nitrogen dilution curve of maize in Yellow River irrigation area of Ningxia province, China, and to study the feasibility of the nitrogen nutrition index model (NNI) for real-time diagnosing and evaluating nitrogen nutrition in maize, which would provide theoretical basis for rational nitrogen fertilization of drip-irrigated maize. The research was carried out with ‘Tianci 19’, using the integrated technology of drip irrigation and fertilizer with six nitrogen levels. The critical nitrogen dilution curve model was constructed and verified by a 2-year fixed position experiment. Within a certain range, the dry matter accumulation of drip-irrigated maize increased with the increase of nitrogen application rate. According to the variance analysis, the aboveground biomass in maize growth period was divided into two types: nitrogen limited and nitrogen non-limited. The nitrogen concentration of drip-irrigated maize plant increased with the increase of nitrogen application rate, while decreased with the extension of growth period and the increase of aboveground dry matter weight. The critical nitrogen concentration (Nc), maximum nitrogen concentration (Nmax) and minimum nitrogen concentration (Nmin) dilution models of drip irrigated maize showed a power function relationship with the aboveground dry matter accumulation, with the determination coefficient R 2 of 0.982, 0.907, and 0.918, respectively. The verification using root mean square error (RMSE) and normalized root mean square error (n-RMSE) showed that the model had good stability and small error range. NNI can be used to measure the nitrogen nutrition status of drip-irrigated maize. Under the integration condition with drip-irrigation and fertilizer, the optimal nitrogen application rate for maize grown in Yellow River irrigation area of Ningxia should be 270 kg hm -2. According to the model calculations of, NNI with relative nitrogen uptake (RNupt), relative aboveground biomass (RGW) and relative yield (RY) reached extremely significant levels. The critical nitrogen dilution curve model and nitrogen nutrition index model established in this study can accurately predict the nitrogen nutrition status of maize from the bell stage to the maturity stage under the integrated condition with water and fertilizer, so as to provide guidance for optimizing the nitrogen management of maize.

Key words: water-fertilizer integration, maize, plant nitrogen concentration, critical nitrogen dilution curve, nitrogen nutrition index

Fig. 1

Meteorological conditions during the growth period of maize"

Table 1

Foundation fertility of soil at experimental fields"

年份
Year		 pH 有机质
OM
(g kg-1)		 全氮
Total N
(g kg-1)		 全磷
Total P
(g kg-1)		 碱解氮
Avail. N
(mg kg-1)		 速效磷
Avail. P
(mg kg-1)		 速效钾
Avail. K
(mg kg-1)
2017 7.98 11.45 0.80 0.51 37.37 19.04 102.52
2018 7.65 12.82 0.75 0.48 36.82 17.37 95.31

Table 2

Dynamic changes of dry matter accumulation in aboveground parts of drip irrigation maize"

年份
Year		 生育时期
Growing period		 地上部生物量Aboveground biomass (t hm-2)
N0 N90 N180 N270 N360 N450
2017 V10 1.24±0.24 c 1.31±0.18 bc 1.52±0.76 bc 1.75±0.56 abc 2.19±0.11 ab 2.53±0.57 a
V13 3.05±0.80 d 3.56±0.39 cd 3.64±0.32 cd 3.96±0.09 bc 4.59±0.17 ab 4.77±0.21 a
R1 4.43±0.89 c 4.9±0.30 bc 5.04±0.43 bc 6.21±1.11 ab 7.34±1.19 a 7.66±0.88 a
R3 6.43±0.47 c 6.58±0.36 c 7.40±0.67 c 8.95±0.64 b 10.44±0.50 a 11.02±0.84 a
R5 8.99±0.61 c 9.75±0.12 c 11.80±0.12 b 12.08±0.93 b 13.40±0.43 a 13.12±0.55 a
R6 10.88±0.74 d 12.93±0.32 c 14.04±0.76 b 15.11±0.09 a 15.42±0.86 a 15.14±0.14 a
2018 V10 1.35±0.21 b 1.50±0.29 b 1.51±0.06 b 1.57±0.17 b 1.73±0.93 a 1.74±0.32 a
V13 1.89±0.29 c 2.48±0.44 b 2.53±0.10 b 2.86±0.19 b 3.26±0.06 a 3.48±0.08 a
R1 4.95±0.40 d 5.79±0.65 cd 6.25±0.61 bc 6.62±0.48 ab 7.78±0.92 ab 8.76±0.89 a
R3 6.27±0.61 d 7.16±0.59 c 8.80±0.17 b 8.92±0.12 b 10.91±0.46 a 10.79±0.42 a
R5 8.92±0.91 c 9.91±0.51 bc 10.44±1.11 bc 11.21±0.89 b 13.26±1.08 a 12.91±0.76 a
R6 10.03±0.52 e 11.06±0.29 d 12.55±0.73 c 13.47±0.13 b 16.08±0.47 a 14.82±0.45 a

Fig. 2

Dynamic changes of nitrogen concentration in maize plant widen drip irrigation Abbreviations are the same as those given in Table 2."

Fig. 3

Dilution curve of critical nitrogen concentration in drip irrigation maize"

Fig. 4

Model verification of dilution curve of critical nitrogen concentration in drip irrigation maize"

Fig. 5

Dynamic changes of nitrogen nutrition index in drip irrigation maize NNI: nitrogen nutrition index. Abbreviations are the same as those given in Table 2."

Fig. 6

Relationship between NNI and relative nitrogen uptake RNupt in drip irrigation maize NNI: nitrogen nutrition index; RNupt: relative nitrogen uptake. Abbreviations are the same as those given in Table 2."

Fig. 7

Relationship between nitrogen nutrition index and relative dry matter of drip irrigation maize NNI: nitrogen nutrition index; RDW: relative dry matter. Abbreviations are the same as those given in Table 2."

Fig. 8

Relationship between nitrogen nutrition index and relative yield of drip irrigation maize NNI: nitrogen nutrition index; RY: relative yield."

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