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Nitrogen release from incorporated 15N-labelled Chinese milk vetch (Astragalus sinicus L.) residue and its dynamics in a double rice cropping system

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Abstract

Background and aims

Chinese milk vetch (Astragalus sinicus L. CMV), a leguminous cover crop, has been shown to provide N benefits to rice crops, but little is known about the pathway of incorporated CMV and its N dynamics. In this study, effects of CMV under different application treatments (incorporated alone, applied in conjunction with urea fertilizer and applied with ryegrass (Lolium multiflorum Lam.)) on N dynamics, rice yields and N uptake were investigated and compared with those of chemical fertilizer (CF) and no fertilizer (NF) in a double rice cropping system.

Methods

Nitrogen release from incorporated CMV residue was quantified by using a bag method. Nitrogen dynamics of CMV were evaluated by using 15N-labelled fresh CMV tops and compared with those of CF (15N-labelled urea).

Results

CMV residue decomposition pattern and its N release pattern followed a single exponential decay model, with 87.8–89.5 % of the applied CMV decomposed and 95.1–96.1 % of the original N released in the double rice season (177 days after fertilizer application). CMV treatments had higher rice N uptake efficiency than CF (39.2–51.3 % vs. 29.9 %) at the sum of early and late rice seasons. Rice yield, N accumulation and mineral fertilizer efficiency in CMV treated treatments were higher than those in CF. After two consecutive rice seasons the amounts of residual N remained in the soil were higher in the CMV treated fields than in CF (29.4–33.2 % vs. 14.1 %).

Conclusions

CMV can be considered an efficient N source alternative to chemical fertilizer in double rice cropping systems.

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Abbreviations

CMV:

Chinese milk vetch

MV:

CMV residue incorporated alone

MVCF:

CMV applied in conjunction with urea

MVRG:

CMV applied with ryegrass

CF:

Chemical fertilizer as 15N-labelled urea

TNA:

Total N accumulation

NHI:

Rice N harvest index

NDMPE:

N production efficiency for dry matter

NGPE:

N production efficiency for grain

NAE:

N agronomy efficiency

% 15Ndfan :

The percentage of rice N uptake derived from applied N

15NRE:

N recovery efficiency of 15N labeled fertilizer

MFE:

Mineral fertilizer efficiency

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Acknowledgments

Professor Yantai Gan and Professor Jianjun Qiu are gratefully acknowledged for providing useful revisions and comments on the manuscript. This study was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (No. 31171509, 30671222), Special Fund for Agro-scientific Research in the Public Interest (No. 201103001), and the National Key Technology R&D Program for the 12th 5-year plan of China (No. 2011BAD16B15).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. College of Agronomy and Biotechnology, China Agricultural University, Beijing, 100193, China

    Bo Zhu, Lixia Yi, Yuegao Hu & Zhaohai Zeng

  2. Soil and Fertilizer Institute, Sichuan Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Chengdu, 610066, China

    Bo Zhu, Lixia Yi & Chaowen Lin

  3. Institute of Soil and Fertilizer, Hunan Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Changsha, 410125, China

    Haiming Tang, Guangli Yang & Xiaoping Xiao

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  1. Bo Zhu
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  2. Lixia Yi
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  3. Yuegao Hu
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  4. Zhaohai Zeng
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  5. Chaowen Lin
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  6. Haiming Tang
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  7. Guangli Yang
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  8. Xiaoping Xiao
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Correspondence to Zhaohai Zeng.

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Responsible Editor: Stefano Manzoni.

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Zhu, B., Yi, L., Hu, Y. et al. Nitrogen release from incorporated 15N-labelled Chinese milk vetch (Astragalus sinicus L.) residue and its dynamics in a double rice cropping system. Plant Soil 374, 331–344 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11104-013-1808-8

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11104-013-1808-8

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