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Uptake efficiency of 15N-urea in flooded and aerobic rice fields under semi-arid conditions

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Abstract

The sustainability of traditional rice (Oryza sativa L.) cultivation in many Asian countries is being questioned due to severe water shortage conditions, envisaging the need for development of water-saving rice production technologies. A 2-year-field study on a typic Haplustalf soil was conducted to compare traditional transplanted rice–maize system with water-saving aerobic rice–maize system, with an overall objective of investigating the fate of fertilizer nitrogen (N) using 15N-labeled urea. Results from the field experiments showed that the rice plants positively responded to N fertilizer application. The average fertilizer N recovery by rice crop over the 2 years in aerobic rice was 26 kg per 100 kg of applied fertilizer N in the main field and 21 kg per 100 kg of applied N in the microplot, while the recoveries were 41 and 32 kg ha−1 per 100 kg of applied N in traditionally cultivated rice under flooded conditions. The fraction of 15N that was found in soil after the harvest of rice crop ranged from 11.4 to 47.1 kg ha−1 in aerobic rice and 14.2–51.4 kg ha−1 in flooded rice. Average recovery of 15N fertilizer in maize after the first growing season was 3.3 %, and the corresponding recovery in soil was 19 %. An additional 1.3 % of the fertilizer was recovered by crops during the two subsequent seasons. This study indicates the need to develop management practices that improve N use efficiency in aerobic rice by reducing losses to improve yields and reduce N export to the environment.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. International Crops Research Institute for Semi-Arid Tropics (ICRISAT), Hyderabad, 502324, India

    M. D. M. Kadiyala

  2. Soil and Water Science Department, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL, 32611, USA

    R. S. Mylavarapu, Y. C. Li & K. R. Reddy

  3. Department of Natural Resources & Environmental Design, North Carolina A&T State University, Greensboro, NC, 27411, USA

    G. B. Reddy

  4. Water Technology Center, ANGR Agricultural University, Hyderabad, 500030, India

    M. D. Reddy

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  1. M. D. M. Kadiyala
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  4. G. B. Reddy
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  5. K. R. Reddy
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Correspondence to M. D. M. Kadiyala.

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Kadiyala, M.D.M., Mylavarapu, R.S., Li, Y.C. et al. Uptake efficiency of 15N-urea in flooded and aerobic rice fields under semi-arid conditions. Paddy Water Environ 13, 545–556 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10333-014-0473-8

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10333-014-0473-8

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