Effects of Fertilizer Levels on the Absorption, Translocation, and Distribution of Phosphorus and Potassium in Rice Cultivars with Different Nitrogen-Use Efficiencies

Yongjian Sun,Yuanyuan Sun,Chunyu Wang,Zhiyuan Yang,Fengjun Yan,Yinghong Li,Jun Ma,Hui Xu,Haiyue Wang,Na Li

doi:10.5539/jas.v8n11p38

Yongjian Sun, Yuanyuan Sun + Show 8 more

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.5539/jas.v8n11p38

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Abstract

The fertilizer management and the selection of rice cultivars play a vital role in rice production to maximize yield and minimize fertilizer cost. Many researches have elucidated the combined increase of nitrogen (N) accumulation and N use efficiency (NUE) in different rice genotypes, however, the accumulation, translocation, distribution of phosphorus (P) and potassium (K), and the correlation of N, P and K absorption characteristics and their relationships with grain yield in rice cultivars with different NUE is still obscure. For this purpose, two rice cultivars differing in NUE were chosen for this study, one with high-NUE (Dexiang 4103) and the other with low-NUE (Yixiang 3724). Fertilizers were applied at three levels, including low (75 kg N·hm-2, 37.5 kg P2O5·hm-2, 75 kg K2O·hm-2), medium (150 kg N·hm-2, 75 kg P2O5·hm-2, 150 kg K2O·hm-2), high rate (225 kg N·hm-2, 112.5 kg P2O5·hm-2, 225 kg K2O·hm-2). A no-N treatment was included for each level as the control. The results showed that there were obvious interacting effects of cultivars and fertilizer levels on grain yield, as well as the absorption and translocation of P and K. Rice cultivars exhibited markedly stronger effects on total spikelets and the translocation of P and K in leaves, compared to fertilizer levels. The opposite trend was observed for grain yield, P and K accumulation at the main growth stages, and P and K translocation in stem and leaf sheaths. Compared with other treatments, the combined application of NPK fertilizers at medium level promoted nutrient accumulation, increased the nutrient harvest index, facilitated nutrient translocation in vegetative organs, and ultimately improved grain yield in both cultivars. The equilibrium relationship between N, P and K accumulation and grain yield indicated that the grain yield associated with high-NUE cultivar could reach more than 10,000 kg hm-2, with N, P, and K requirements of 180.8-213.3, 47.3-54.7, and 223.5-259.1 kg hm-2, respectively. Additionally, the correlation analysis revealed that accumulation and translocation of P, K during different growth stages was significantly (P &lt; 0.05) related to grain yield and nutrient accumulation in different NUE cultivars. This study suggested that varieties with high-NUE also has high P and K use efficiencies, indicating that the conventional screening of varieties with high P or K use efficiencies can be included in the selection of high-NUE varieties. The increase of P and K accumulation and translocation during the period from heading to maturity was helpful to maintain a high-yield and NUE in rice production.

Highlights

Nitrogen (N), phosphorus (P) and potassium (K) are three essential nutrient elements for the growth and development of rice cultivars; a deficiency or excess of N, P, and K nutrients directly affects the biochemical metabolism, physiological characteristics, coordinated absorption and utilization of nutrients as well as grain yield in rice (Ao et al, 2008; Sun et al, 2013)
Vol 8, No 11; 2016 researchers have indicated that N-use efficiency (NUE) substantially varies with genotypes of rice; rice cultivars with high NUE can maintain a higher population growth rate in the late growth stages, which is favorable for improving the grain yield and NUE (Broadbent et al.,1987; Li et al, 2013)
Published literatures (Broadbent et al, 1987; Cabangon et al, 2011; Li et al, 2013) and our previous studies (Sun et al, 2012, 2013, 2014) further demonstrated that rice cultivars with different NUE and water-N management patterns markedly affect N utilization characteristics and grain yield

Summary

Introduction

Nitrogen (N), phosphorus (P) and potassium (K) are three essential nutrient elements for the growth and development of rice cultivars; a deficiency or excess of N, P, and K nutrients directly affects the biochemical metabolism, physiological characteristics, coordinated absorption and utilization of nutrients as well as grain yield in rice (Ao et al, 2008; Sun et al, 2013). Improvement of the grain yield, nutrient absorption and translocation, and fertilizer-use efficiency in rice is presently a hot and challenging topic (Ao et al, 2008; Li et al, 2014; Peng et al, 2002, 2006). Published literatures (Broadbent et al, 1987; Cabangon et al, 2011; Li et al, 2013) and our previous studies (Sun et al, 2012, 2013, 2014) further demonstrated that rice cultivars with different NUE and water-N management patterns markedly affect N utilization characteristics and grain yield. This study provides reference data for the cultivation of high-NUE rice cultivars and rice breeding

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