Effects of Winter Green Manure Incorporation on Grain Yield, Nitrogen Uptake, and Nitrogen Use Efficiency in Different Ratoon Rice Varieties

Qiwen Hou, Pufan Shao, Sheng Chen, Zhangzhen Yang, Zhixiong Yuan, Liusheng Zhong, Ziyuan Zhao, Yu Wang, Cuo Ga, Jiarui Tang, Yaoyun Xu, Yanfu Zeng, Cong Yu, Cheng Huang and Ying Xu ()
Additional contact information
Qiwen Hou: College of Agronomy, Hunan Agricultural University, Changsha 410128, China
Pufan Shao: College of Agronomy, Hunan Agricultural University, Changsha 410128, China
Sheng Chen: College of Agronomy, Hunan Agricultural University, Changsha 410128, China
Zhangzhen Yang: College of Agronomy, Hunan Agricultural University, Changsha 410128, China
Zhixiong Yuan: College of Agronomy, Hunan Agricultural University, Changsha 410128, China
Liusheng Zhong: College of Agronomy, Hunan Agricultural University, Changsha 410128, China
Ziyuan Zhao: College of Agronomy, Hunan Agricultural University, Changsha 410128, China
Yu Wang: College of Agronomy, Hunan Agricultural University, Changsha 410128, China
Cuo Ga: College of Agronomy, Hunan Agricultural University, Changsha 410128, China
Jiarui Tang: College of Agronomy, Hunan Agricultural University, Changsha 410128, China
Yaoyun Xu: College of Agronomy, Hunan Agricultural University, Changsha 410128, China
Yanfu Zeng: College of Agronomy, Hunan Agricultural University, Changsha 410128, China
Cong Yu: College of Agronomy, Hunan Agricultural University, Changsha 410128, China
Cheng Huang: College of Agronomy, Hunan Agricultural University, Changsha 410128, China
Ying Xu: College of Agronomy, Hunan Agricultural University, Changsha 410128, China

Agriculture, 2025, vol. 15, issue 17, 1-22

Abstract: This study evaluated the effects of winter green manure incorporation on grain yield, nitrogen uptake, and use efficiency in ratoon rice production. A two-year field experiment (2019–2021) was conducted using a split-plot design, with main plots comprising three cropping systems: fallow–ratoon rice (FA), rapeseed–ratoon rice (RA), and milk vetch–ratoon rice (MV). In the RA and MV systems, green manures were incorporated in situ, while subplots featured two ratoon rice varieties (Yliangyou 911, YLY911; Liangyou 6326, LY6326). Compared to FA treatment, RA and MV treatments significantly increased main crop yields by 16.37% and 9.31%, respectively, with corresponding annual total yield improvements of 11.34% and 7.78%. Under RA treatment, LY6326 achieved significantly higher yields than YLY911. Biomass accumulation analysis revealed that RA and MV treatments enhanced plant dry matter by 24.40% and 5.63% at heading stage, and 9.83% and 7.47% at maturity, respectively, relative to FA treatment. Green manure incorporation improved plant nitrogen content at maturity (9.42% and 10.29% for RA and MV, respectively) and panicle nitrogen accumulation (11.73% and 38.26%, respectively) compared to fallow treatment. Nitrogen use efficiency metrics demonstrated that RA and MV treatments enhanced nitrogen harvest index by 1.54% and 5.65%, respectively, while nitrogen partial factor productivity increased by 11.34% and 7.78%. Varietal comparison confirmed that LY6326 exhibited superior nitrogen accumulation and utilization compared to YLY911. These findings demonstrate that winter green manure incorporation significantly enhances grain yield and nitrogen use efficiency in ratoon rice systems, providing a scientific foundation for developing sustainable and productive rice cropping practices.

Keywords: rice cropping system; cover crop incorporation; biomass accumulation; nitrogen use efficiency; nitrogen remobilization; sustainable rice production (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: 2025
References: Add references at CitEc
Citations:

Downloads: (external link)
https://www.mdpi.com/2077-0472/15/17/1801/pdf (application/pdf)
https://www.mdpi.com/2077-0472/15/17/1801/ (text/html)

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:gam:jagris:v:15:y:2025:i:17:p:1801-:d:1730790

Access Statistics for this article

Agriculture is currently edited by Ms. Leda Xuan

More articles in Agriculture from MDPI
Bibliographic data for series maintained by MDPI Indexing Manager ().