Factors Affecting Nitrogen Use Efficiency and Grain Yield of Summer Maize on Smallholder Farms in the North China Plain

Chen, Guangfeng; Cao, Hong-zhu; Liang, Jun; Ma, Wenqi; Guo, Lufang; Zhang, Shuhua; Jiang, Rongfeng; Zhang, Hongyan; Goulding, Keith; Zhang, Fusuo

doi:10.3390/su10020363

Cited by 52 publications

(32 citation statements)

References 60 publications

(61 reference statements)

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“…The non-significance in maize yields (cob and grain) between organic amendments and DAP in this study may be attributed to the same Nitrogen fertilizer application rate used (50 kg N ha −1 ). Studies have shown that, when organic and inorganic fertilizers are applied at the same rates especially in terms of macronutrients (N, P, and K), similar effects in crop yields are obtained [55][56][57]. Since P and K application rates for the fertilizer treatments differed, no significant differences in maize yields were observed.…”

Section: Cob and Grain Yieldsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Comparative Performance of Organic Fertilizers in Maize (Zea mays L.) Growth, Yield, and Economic Results

et al. 2020

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Maize is a major crop grown and consumed in Uganda and it requires a high fertilizer input. However, the existing inorganic fertilizers in the market are often not affordable especially to small scale farmers, which results in decreased maize yields in the country. On the other hand, there is an abundance of unutilized animal manure, which, when treated, can be used to increase maize yields. This study evaluated the response of maize to products of different cattle manure treatment methods as well as inorganic fertilizer. The treatments such as cattle manure stored under shade (T), cattle manure stored in the open (M), cattle manure slurry digestate (S), vermicompost (V), and an inorganic fertilizer, DAP (D) were all applied in completely randomized block plots at an equal application rate of 50 kg N ha−1 with four replications per treatment. Control plots (C) where no fertilizer was applied were also considered. The experiment was done for two planting seasons in 2018. Number of leaves, plant height, cob, and grain yields were used to evaluate the performance of different fertilizer treatments. Economic assessment of all the six treatments was also carried out to determine the economic viability of applying these fertilizers on maize. Maize growth parameters and yields were all significantly increased (p < 0.05) with an application of both organic and inorganic fertilizers when compared with the control. However, there was no significant difference (p > 0.05) in the maize yields under the different fertilizer treatments. Vermicomposting was the most economically viable manure treatment method due to low operating costs and higher returns on investment that are supplemented with the production of chicken fodder (earthworm biomass) and, thus, can be recommended to farmers for production of a fertilizer that increases maize yields with assurance of economic returns.

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Section: Cob and Grain Yieldsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Comparative Performance of Organic Fertilizers in Maize (Zea mays L.) Growth, Yield, and Economic Results

et al. 2020

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“…The determination of grain yield requires knowledge of the harvest area, the weight of the ears or the weight of the total kernels per plot, the moisture content, and the appropriate percentage of yield adjustment depending on moisture content in the given environment. Chen et al [59] estimated maize grain yield from three plots of 14.4 m 2 selected randomly and adjusted the yield to 15.5% moisture content. Pixley and Bänziger [60], Vivek et al [61], and Bello et al [30] estimated grain yield (t/ha) after adjustment to 12.5% moisture content at harvest.…”

Section: Yield Estimation From Experimental Plotsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Estimation of Maize (Zea mays L.) Yield Per Harvest Area: Appropriate Methods

Tandzi

Mutengwa

2019

Agronomy

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Standardization of crop yield estimation methods at various levels of farming helps to obtain accurate agricultural statistics as well as assessing the suitability of agricultural practices under various production conditions. The current paper reviews various maize yield estimation methods, taking into account available yield parameters, and it also analyses the yield gap between maize potential and attainable yield. The easiest and more reliable methods of yield estimation are based on yield parameters collected from the field. However, farmer estimation methods are cheaper and faster compared to any other method of yield estimation from farmers’ fields. This paper also elaborates on the importance of the use of more complex methods for yield estimation, such as remote sensing and crop modelling. These complex methods are more accurate and can predict yield before field harvest with less deviation from the exact harvest yield. However, they are very expensive and not efficient for small plots of land (less than 1 ha). Factors that contribute to the gap between potential and actual yield include poor implementation of agricultural policies, strict regulation of fertilizer inputs, vulnerability of smallholder cropping systems to adverse climatic conditions, occurrence of biotic and abiotic constraints, as well as unavailability of seeds and labor.

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“…Nitrogen is the key element for maize yield (Evenson and Gollin, 2003;Rubin et al, 2016;Abera et al, 2017;Ning et al, 2018). To achieve high yield in China and other countries, farmers frequently apply N fertilizers in excess of crop requirements (Richter and Roelcke, 2000;Peng et al, 2010;Chen et al, 2011;Zhang et al, 2013;Zhang et al, 2015), which reduces N use efficiency (NUE; Noor, 2017;Chen et al, 2018;Yong et al, 2018) and contributes to N losses and environmental pollution Zhao et al, 2017;Zhang et al, 2017;Chen et al, 2017). Previous studies have shown that increased plant density is among the major factors associated with increases in maize yield (Tollenaar and Lee, 2002;Tokatlidis and Koutroubas, 2004;Long et al, 2006;Meng et al, 2013) and NUE (Cheng et al, 2015;Ren et al, 2017;Wei et al, 2017).…”

Section: Researchmentioning

confidence: 99%

Nitrogen Uptake and Response to Radiation Distribution in the Canopy of High‐Yield Maize

et al. 2019

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Nitrogen is an essential element for maize (Zea mays L.). Farmers in developed countries most often apply more N fertilizer than necessary, which reduces N use efficiency (NUE). Improving radiation and N distribution, and thus the NUE of modern maize production systems with high plant density, is of great significance. In this study, field experiments were conducted in 2014 and 2015 in Xinjiang, China, using hybrid maize cultivar DH618 with high density. In addition, a synthesis analysis was conducted using data from 95 publications to observe N characteristics under different yield levels and compare the experimental results with existing studies. The relationship between radiation and N distribution in the canopy of high‐yield maize was also assessed. Nitrogen uptake was significantly correlated with grain yield. However, N uptake per unit grain yield and grain N concentration at maturity decreased as grain yield increased. The positive correlations between radiation and leaf and stalk N concentrations at silking showed that N concentration at silking increased as the height of the canopy layer increased because of increased radiation in the canopy. These results indicate that maize hybrids with erect upper leaves and high post‐silking N uptake can coordinate and optimize the distribution of radiation and N in different canopy layers and thus improve NUE and yield under high‐density production.

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Factors Affecting Nitrogen Use Efficiency and Grain Yield of Summer Maize on Smallholder Farms in the North China Plain

Cited by 52 publications

References 60 publications

Comparative Performance of Organic Fertilizers in Maize (Zea mays L.) Growth, Yield, and Economic Results

Comparative Performance of Organic Fertilizers in Maize (Zea mays L.) Growth, Yield, and Economic Results

Estimation of Maize (Zea mays L.) Yield Per Harvest Area: Appropriate Methods

Nitrogen Uptake and Response to Radiation Distribution in the Canopy of High‐Yield Maize

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