Impacts of Slow-Release Nitrogen Fertilizer Rates on the Morpho-Physiological Traits, Yield, and Nitrogen Use Efficiency of Rice under Different Water Regimes

Alaa AL Aasmi, Jiuhao Li, Yousef Alhaj Hamoud, Yubin Lan, Kelvin Edom Alordzinu, Sadick Amoakohene Appiah, Hiba Shaghaleh, Mohamed Sheteiwy, Hao Wang, Songyang Qiao and Chaoran Yu
Additional contact information
Alaa AL Aasmi: College of Water Conservancy and Civil Engineering, South China Agricultural University, Guangzhou 510642, China
Jiuhao Li: College of Water Conservancy and Civil Engineering, South China Agricultural University, Guangzhou 510642, China
Yousef Alhaj Hamoud: College of Agricultural Science and Engineering, Hohai University, Nanjing 210098, China
Yubin Lan: National Center for International Collaboration Research on Precision Agricultural Aviation Pesticides Spraying Technology (NPAAC), College of Engineering, South China Agriculture University, Guangzhou 510642, China
Kelvin Edom Alordzinu: College of Water Conservancy and Civil Engineering, South China Agricultural University, Guangzhou 510642, China
Sadick Amoakohene Appiah: College of Water Conservancy and Civil Engineering, South China Agricultural University, Guangzhou 510642, China
Hiba Shaghaleh: College of Chemical Engineering, Nanjing Forestry University, Nanjing 210037, China
Mohamed Sheteiwy: Department of Agronomy, Faculty of Agriculture, Mansoura University, Mansoura 35516, Egypt
Hao Wang: College of Water Conservancy and Civil Engineering, South China Agricultural University, Guangzhou 510642, China
Songyang Qiao: College of Water Conservancy and Civil Engineering, South China Agricultural University, Guangzhou 510642, China
Chaoran Yu: Guangdong Key Laboratory for New Technology Research of Vegetables, Guangdong Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Vegetable Research Institute, Guangzhou 510640, China

Agriculture, 2022, vol. 12, issue 1, 1-19

Abstract: The efficient use of water and fertilizer is vital for optimizing plant growth and yield in rice production. To achieve sustainable rice production and resource management, the ways in which applied water and nitrogen affect the root and shoot morpho-physiology, as well as yield, must be understood. In this study, a pot experiment was conducted to investigate the effects of slow-release nitrogen fertilizer (sulfur-coated urea) application at three levels (light nitrogen (NL), medium nitrogen (NM), and heavy nitrogen (NH)) on the growth, yield, and nitrogen use efficiency (NUE) of rice grown under three water regimes (wetting and soil saturation (WSS), wetting and moderate drying (WMD) and wetting and severe drying (WSD)). The results revealed that differences in water regimes and fertilizer rates led to significant differences in the roots, shoots, yield, and NUE of rice. Increasing the N dosage by 5% enhanced the root and biomass production by 16% in comparison with that of the other groups. The NH×WSS treatment produced the greatest root length, weight, density, active absorption, and oxidation. However, the integration of WSS × NL generated the maximum value of nitrogen apparent recovery efficiency (63.1% to 67.6%) and the greatest value of nitrogen partial factor productivity (39.9 g g −1 to 41.13 g g −1 ). Transmission electron microscopy (TEM) images showed that plants grown under high and medium nitrogen fertilizer rates with WSS had improved leaf mesophyll structure with normal starch grains, clear cell walls, and well-developed chloroplasts with tidy and well-arranged thylakoids. These results show that TEM images are useful for characterizing the nitrogen and water status of leaves in the sub-micrometer range and providing specific information regarding the leaf microstructure. The findings of this study suggest that the application of NH×WSS can produce improvements in growth traits and increase rice yield; however, the NL×WSS treatment led to greater NUE, and the authors recommend its usage in rice agriculture.

Keywords: Oryza sativa L.; controlled-release fertilizer; irrigation management; yield; nitrogen use efficiency (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: Q1 Q10 Q11 Q12 Q13 Q14 Q15 Q16 Q17 Q18 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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