Suitable fertilization depth can improve the water productivity and maize yield by regulating development of the root system

Peng Wu, Fu Liu, Junying Wang, Yihan Liu, Yuan Gao, Xuanqi Zhang, Guangzhou Chen, Fangyuan Huang, Shakeel Ahmad, Peng Zhang, Tie Cai and Zhikuan Jia

Agricultural Water Management, 2022, vol. 271, issue C

Abstract: An undeveloped root system generally leads to low water utilization efficiency and decreases the yield in spring maize (Zea mays L.). Little is known about whether changing the fertilization depth can optimize the root distribution to improve the water productivity and maize yield. During 2019 and 2020, we conducted a field experiment with spring maize and applied the fertilizer at different soil depths of 0.05 m (D5), 0.15 m (D15), 0.25 m (D25), and 0.35 m (D35) to clarify the regulatory effects of the fertilization depth on the root distribution, water productivity at the biomass level (WPb), and maize yield formation. Compared with D5, D25 significantly increased the root length density of the vertical roots, inter-row roots, and within-row roots in the 0–1.0 m soil depth by 18%, 14%, and 24%, respectively, and the root surface area density increased by 39%, 17%, and 22%. Compared with D5, D25 significantly increased the soil water consumption by 28 mm during the maize jointing to silking stage and reduced the soil water content in the 0.4–1.4 m soil depth at the maize silking stage. D25 and D15 also significantly increased the root sap production rate and NO3–-N and NH4+-N concentrations in the root sap compared with D5 and D35 after the maize silking stage. The N uptake and nitrogen use efficiency under D25 were 17% and 39% higher, respectively, compared with D5. The water productivity at the grain yield and biomass level, biomass, and maize yield values under D25 were 23.5 kg ha–1 mm–1, 45.7 kg ha–1 mm–1, 24320 kg ha–1, and 12477 kg ha–1, respectively, which were 10%, 12%, 13%, and 14% higher compared with D5. The different fertilization depths explained 91%, 86%, and 66% of the variations in the maize yield, N uptake, and total evapotranspiration, respectively. Therefore, deep fertilization at a suitable soil depth regulated the distribution of the root system, which improved the capability of soil water and nitrogen utilization, and eventually increased the water productivity and maize yield. The most effective fertilizer depth was 0.25 m and it can be used as an effective water and fertilizer management strategy for the sustainable development of maize.

Keywords: Deep fertilization; Rainfed area; Root sap; Water and fertilizer; Water consumption (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (3)

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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:eee:agiwat:v:271:y:2022:i:c:s0378377422003316

DOI: 10.1016/j.agwat.2022.107784

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