Effects of Rice Straw Amendment and Nitrogen Fertilization on Rice Growth and Soil Properties in Reclaimed Tidal Paddy Field

Abstract

Farmers with forage barley (Hordeum vulgare L.)-rice (Oryza sativa L.) cropping system at reclaimed tidal lands burn crop residues to facilitate seedbed preparation or remove them for feed stock. This study was conducted to investigate the effect of rice straw amendment and N fertilization on soil properties and N uptake of rice under forage barely?rice cropping system at reclaimed tidal paddy field. Rice straw was applied at the rates of 0, 2.5 and 5.0 ton ha -1 and N was fertilized at 0, 100, 200 and 400 kg ha -1 . Although there was no significant difference in the growth and yield of rice, fresh and dry weight of forage barely increased with increasing the amount of rice straw. The amount of N uptake of rice at harvesting stage was 65.8-69.2 kg ha -1 by the amount of rice straw amendment, but there were no significant differences among rice straw amendment levels. After harvesting the rice, the soil salinity decreased with rice straw amendment compared to the control. After forage barely and rice cultivation, soil organic matter contents increased to 2.6-2.8 g kg -1 and 3.2-3.5 g kg -1 , respectively. The amount of N uptake of rice at harvesting stage increased up to 82 kg ha -1 in 400 kg ha -1 N applied plots which were 37.8 kg ha -1 higher than the control. Nitrogen fertilization decreased N recovery efficiency. The highest yield of rice was observed at 244 kg ha -1 N fertilization level, but the optimum N level was estimated at 168 kg ha -1 in order to keep the protein content of rice under 6.5%. Further researches on N uptake and application of organic matter according to soil salinity will be necessary to increase N use efficiency at reclaimed tidal paddy field.