Long-Term Nutrient Cycle in Improved Grain Yield of Dryland Winter Wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) under Hydrological Process of Plant Ecosystem Distribution in the Loess Plateau of China

Abstract

Precipitation is the major cause of crop yield variation in rainfed agriculture production in the Loess Plateau. As over fertilization is economically and environmentally undesirable, and crop yield and the resulting returns for N input are uncertain when rainfall variability is high, optimizing N management according to precipitation during fallow season is vital for efficient crop water use and high yield in dryland rainfed farming systems. Results show that the nitrogen treatment rate of 180 treatment significantly increased the tiller percentage rate, and the leaf area index at anthesis, the jointing anthesis, anthesis maturity dry matter, and nitrogen accumulation was closely related to yield. N150 treatment compared to N180 treatment significantly increased the percentage of ear-bearing tiller by 7%, dry substance accretion from jointing to anthesis by 9%, and yield by 17% and 15%, respectively. Our study has important implications for the assessment of the effects of fallow precipitation, as well as for the sustainable development of dryland agriculture in the Loess Plateau. Our results indicate that adjusting N fertilizer inputs based on summer rainfall variation could enhance wheat yield in rainfed farming systems.

Root morphology and physiological of their relationship with nitrogen uptake in wheat (Triticum aestivum L.)

“…There was changes in external environmental conditions and cultivation measures not only affect the protein content of wheat grains, but also affect the protein composition of wheat grains [ 46 ]. Studies have shown that appropriate increase of nitrogen fertilizer can significantly increase wheat grain protein content [ 15 , 47 ]. The increase of N240, N300 the grain protein content of YH-20410 sowing at maturity stage increased significantly, while the grain protein content.…”

“…Starch is the most important component in wheat grain, which is mainly composed of amylose and amylopectin. Starch accounts for 60%–70 % of dry grain weight of mature wheat [ 47 , 48 ]. There are few studies on the effect of nitrogen fertilizer on starch content in wheat grains.…”

“…There are few studies on the effect of nitrogen fertilizer on starch content in wheat grains. Nitrogen fertilizer regulates the synthesis of grain starch by regulating wheat photosynthetic carbon assimilation, accumulation, transport and distribution of carbohydrates, and further affects the quality of wheat grain starch [ 47 , 49 ]. The nitrogen application could improve the transport of dry matter accumulated in vegetative organs to grains.…”

Effect of Soil Water and Nutrient Uptake on Nitrogen Use Efficiency, and Yield of Winter Wheat

“…Wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) is a major food crop in China, and its cultivation area accounts for approximately 20% of the national arable land in China, which has an important impact on grain production and national economic development [1]. China has the highest fertilizer consumption worldwide, and its fertilizer application accounts for 30.7% of global fertilizer applications [2,3].…”

“…Therefore, we set seven nitrogen application rate gradients. The objectives of this study were (1) to investigate the effects of different nitrogen application rates on group dynamics, the yield, water, and the clear internal relation among each index, and (2) to determine the most suitable nitrogen application range that produced a high yield and high use efficiency in the irrigated district of southern Shanxi Province, based on the net income and environmental benefits.…”