Integrated Soil–Crop System Management with Organic Fertilizer Achieves Sustainable High Maize Yield and Nitrogen Use Efficiency in Northeast China Based on an 11-Year Field Study

Abstract

To increase crop productivity while reducing environmental costs, an integrated soil–crop system management (ISSM) strategy was developed and successfully adopted in China. However, little information is available on the long-term ISSM effects on maize agronomic and environmental performance. Therefore, we evaluated the effects of ISSM with combining inorganic and organic fertilizers on maize productivity, N use efficiency (NUE) and N balance and losses as compared with farmers’ practice (FP) and high-yielding practice (HY), based on an 11-year field experiment in Northeast China. Maize yield in ISSM (11.7–14.3 Mg ha−1) achieved 97.7% of that in HY and was increased by 27% relative to FP. The excellent yield performance in ISSM was mainly attributed to optimum plant population structure and yield components. Annual N surplus in ISSM was only 7 kg ha−1, which was considerably lower than that in FP (52 kg ha−1) and HY (109 kg ha−1). Consequently, ISSM obtained significantly lower N losses and greenhouse gases emissions and higher NUE. In contrast to FP, crop performance in ISSM showing better sustainability and inter-annual stability. In conclusion, ISSM is an effective strategy to achieve long-term sustainable high crop yields and NUE with less environmental costs in the intensive agricultural system.

Nutrient expert system optimizes fertilizer management to improve potato productivity and tuber quality

“…Crop growth and productivity were greatly affected by various factors, including natural environments such as soil and climatic conditions, and human agricultural activities such as cultivation, irrigation and fertilization practices 29‐31 . In the present study, potato performance in terms of plant growth, tuber yield and quality, fertilizer use efficiency varied considerably among the four experimental site‐years, mainly attributed to the inter‐annual differences in climatic conditions, especially for the precipitation during the potato growing season (Fig.…”

“…15,20 Therefore, the NE system could be an effective alternative to the ST method and help smallholders to optimize fertilizer management in potato production. In the future, the NE system requires improvements to enhance crop resistance to various abiotic stresses induced by climatic change 35,38 by combining with other agronomic managements, such as cultivation, irrigation and plant protection, 30,31 to further increase potato productivity and sustainability at the same time as improving tuber quality and resource use efficiency.…”

Evaluating the Impact of Crop Layout Changes on N and P Nutrient Balance: A Case Study in the West Liaohe River Basin, China

“…Changes in crop planting layout inevitably have an impact on the farmland nutrient balance. If N and P inputs exceed the needs of crop production, excess nutrients accumulate in the soil and the remaining nutrients will be discharged into water bodies through gas emissions, leaching, and runoff, causing environmental pollution [33][34][35]. Soybean, wheat, and maize are the main food crops in the West Liaohe River Basin.…”

Development of top-dressing automation technology for sustainable shrimp aquaculture in India

“…Aquaculture engineering companies, agriculture, and state cooperative banks should provide financial support or subsidiary to implement that technology in the small-scale shrimp farmers. Aquaculture engineering intervention could be used to promote the development of better top-dressing technologies and allow research results to be more effectively transferred to farmers to improve feed utilization indices and reduce top-dressing costs [ 70 ].…”