Influence of Zeolite and Phosphorus Applications on Water Use, P Uptake and Yield in Rice under Different Irrigation Managements

Zheng Zheng,Meng Meng,Siddique Siddique,Chi Chi,Chen Chen,Wu Wu,Liu Liu,Xia Xia

doi:10.3390/agronomy9090537

Zheng Zheng, Meng Meng + Show 6 more

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https://doi.org/10.3390/agronomy9090537

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Abstract

Phosphorus (P) deficiency often occurs in paddy fields due to its high fixation, and low solubility and mobility in soils, especially under water stress. Available soil P and plant P uptake could be improved through the application of zeolite. However, little is known about the impact of zeolite on P uptake in rice under water stress. A two-year lysimetric experiment using a split-split plot design investigated the effects of zeolite (0 or 15 t ha−1) and P (0 or 60 kg ha−1) applications on water use, P uptake, and grain yield in rice under two irrigation management systems (continuous flooding irrigation (CF) and improved alternate wetting and drying irrigation (IAWD)). Both irrigation systems produced equivalent effective panicles and grain yield. Compared with CF, IAWD reduced water use and aboveground P uptake and improved water-use efficiency (WUE) in rice. The applications of zeolite or P alone increased grain yield, WUE, soil available P, and stem, leaf, and panicle P concentration, and aboveground P uptake, but had no significant effect on water use. The enhanced grain yield induced by zeolite was related to the increase in aboveground P uptake. The zeolite application enhanced NH4+–N retention in the topsoil and prevented NO3−–N from leaching into deeper soil layers. Moreover, Zeolite made lower rates of P fertilizer possible in paddy fields, with benefits for remaining P supplies and mitigating pollution due to excessive P. These results suggest that the combined application of zeolite and P under improved AWD regime reduced water use, improved P uptake and grain yield in rice, and alleviated environment risk.

Highlights

Rice (Oryza sativa L.) is a principal grain crop in the world with more than 50 kg of rice consumed per capita per year worldwide [1]
From heading to flowering, precipitation was significantly lower in 2017 than in 2016, and temperatures were relatively high during this period (Figure 1), which agrees with the findings of Lampayan et al [30] who found that rice performed better and produced higher grain yields when grown at higher temperatures with more solar radiation
The improved AWD (IAWD) treatment in our study reduced total water consumption by 18.4% in 2016 and 7.9% in 2017, relative to the continuous flooding (CF) treatment

Summary

Introduction

Rice (Oryza sativa L.) is a principal grain crop in the world with more than 50 kg of rice consumed per capita per year worldwide [1]. As the largest water consumer in crops, rice uses almost 80% of the freshwater resources allocated to irrigation in Asia [2]. The rapid population growth, increased water requirements for urban and industrial use, and reduced water availability due to contamination and Agronomy 2019, 9, 537; doi:10.3390/agronomy9090537 www.mdpi.com/journal/agronomy. The increasing scarcity of freshwater resources is impacting four billion people worldwide [5]. The development of water-efficient irrigation practices is essential for reducing water consumption while maintaining or even increasing grain yields to support the increasing world population. Of the available water-efficient management systems, alternate wetting and drying (AWD) irrigation is one of the most commonly used techniques in Asia [3,6]

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