Effects of Sulphur Application Times on the Sulphur Accumulation and Distribution for Summer Maize in Fluvo-aquic Soil

Xiaoyan Wang,Wen Jiang,Xiaofeng Wang,Hongsheng Zhang

doi:10.19026/ajfst.6.113

Abstract

This study aimed to find out the efficacy of sulphur application times on the sulphur accumulation and distribution, especially in grain in summer maize in fluvo-aquic soil, the field experiment was conducted with two varieties (Nongda108 and Jinhai 5) by application 40 kg/ha sulphur fertilizer as (NH4)2 SO4 at different growth stages (sowing, V6 and silking stage). Sulphur accumulation in shoot was significantly affected by the times of sulphur application. When sulphur application with treatment T2 (50% sulphur at sowing +50% sulphur at silking stage), the sulphur accumulation and concentration in shoot at maturity stage were significantly increased for both varieties and was also significantly higher than that in sulphur convention application way T1, i.e., 100% sulphur at sowing. Compared with Jinhai 5, Nongda108 accumulated more sulphur in shoot, but no obvious difference existed in shoot sulphur concentration between varieties. For all treatments, most sulphur accumulated was distributed into kernels and leaves for both varieties and the order of sulphur concentration was: leaf> husks >stalk-kernel>cob. The maximum sulphur concentration in kernel was found in T1 (100% sulphur at sowing) and T2 (50% sulphur at sowing +50% sulphur topdressed at silking stage) treatments for Nongda 108 and in T2 treatment for Jinhai 5. With above results, it could be concluded that split S application (50% S at sowing +50% S topdressed at silking stage) would be more effective for improving plant S nutrient status in fluvo-aquic soil condition.

Highlights

Like nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium, Sulphur (S) is an essential element and plays an important role in the growth of higher plants, influence the protein and amino acid contents
The experimental design was a split-plot, with three replications, main plots were five S application times, i.e., no S (CK), 100% S at sowing (T1), 50% S at sowing +50% S topdressed at silking (T2), 50% S at sowing +50% S top dressed at V6 (T3) and 100% S topdressed at V6 (T4) and subplots were two maize cultivars (Nongda 108 and Jianhai 5)
The dry matter above ground was influenced by S application times, among all S treatments, T3 (50% S at sowing +50% S topdressed at V6) treatment recorded highest dry matter for Nongda 108 and T2 (50% S at sowing +50% S at silking stage) for Jinhai 5

Summary

Introduction

Phosphorus and potassium, Sulphur (S) is an essential element and plays an important role in the growth of higher plants, influence the protein and amino acid contents. Earlier studies have shown S fertilization significantly improves both yield and quality of crops if adequate application in the field is ensured (Ahmad and Abdin, 2000; Luo et al, 2000; Xie et al, 2003; Yin et al, 2011) and the amount of S accumulation in plant is proportional to that incorporated into protein (Rendig et al, 1976). It is well known that most of plant’s requirement for S is absorbed through the roots in the sulphate (SO4-2) form, in recent years, continuous crop removal of S by crops with higher yields, increased use of S-free fertilizers, lower S deposits to soil from the atmosphere and many other reasons have reduced the soil capacity to application S for crops. For S fertilizer application times, in barley and wheat, studies have shown the importance of availability of soil S during grain filling

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