Nitrogen (N) use efficiency and yield in rice under varying types and rates of N source: chemical fertilizer, livestock manure compost and food waste-livestock manure compost

Abstract

An optimal use of organic composts derived from animal and food wastes could provide an opportunity to achieve both sustainable crop production and soil quality, and a lot of research has provided the evidence. The nitrogen use efficiencies (NUEs) is a definition to evaluate the interaction between crop and nitrogen (N), and, due to this reason, widely used in agriculture. The current work tried to evaluate NUEs as an indicator of N acquisition capacity and physiological responses of rice grown under varying N levels. To do this, we employed different types and rates of nitrogen source, chemical fertilizer, livestock manure-based compost and food waste and livestock manure-containing compost. Despite of the enhanced rice growth and yield by fertilization, a difference by types and rates of fertilization was not observed. Net photosynthetic rate was significantly higher in the treatments of 90–317 N kg ha-1. The NUE (N uptake efficiency × N utilization efficiency) was the highest in lower N application groups, and sharply reduced with an increase in fertilization rates. In contrast, the nitrogen harvest index (NHI, grain N/total biomass N, kg kg-1) showed higher (0.71– 0.76 kg kg-1) in greater N application treatments (≤ 317 N kg ha-1). Accordingly, in terms of NUE, our result suggest that rice may be affordable of the application of less than 300 kg N ha-1 (combination with chemical fertilizer and organic compost). Nevertheless, it should be investigated how excess N application affects soil quality, and how long rice plant and soil can accept excess N without an environmental load.