Abstract
A field experiment was performed from 2003 to 2008 to evaluate the effects of tillage system and nitrogen management regimes on crop yields and nitrate leaching from the fluvo-aquic soil with a winter wheat (Triticum aestivum L.)–maize (Zea mays L.) double-cropping system. The tillage systems consisted of conventional tillage (CT) and no-tillage (NT). Three nitrogen management regimes were included: 270 kg N ha−1 of urea for wheat and 225 kg N ha−1 of urea for maize (U), 180 kg N ha−1 of urea and 90 kg N ha−1 of straw for wheat and 180 kg N of urea and 45 kg N ha−1 of straw for maize (S), 180 kg N ha−1 of urea and 90 kg N ha−1 of manure for wheat and 180 kg N ha−1 of urea and 45 kg N ha−1 of manure for maize (M). An array of tension-free pan lysimeters (50 cm × 75 cm) were installed (1.2 m deep) to measure water flow and -N movement. No significant effect of the N management regime on yields of winter wheat and maize grain was found in the 5-year rotation. Tillage systems had significant influences on -N leaching from the second year and thereafter interacted with N management regimes on -N loads during all maize seasons. The average yield-scaled -N leaching losses were in order of CTS < NTS< CTU < NTU <CTM < NTM, ranging from 0.88 (CTS) to 6.07 (NTM) kg N Mg−1 for winter wheat system and from 0.99 (CTS) to 6.27 (NTM) kg N Mg−1 for summer maize system for 5 rotation years. The results showed that CTS decreased the yield-scaled -N leaching losses while sustaining crop grain yields. Considering the lower costs, NTS could be a potential alternative to decrease yield-scaled -N leaching losses and improve soil fertility while maintaining crop yield for the winter wheat–maize double-cropping systems in the North China Plain.
Highlights
Numerous studies have demonstrated that no-tillage is useful to decrease agriculture production costs, improve soil structure, increase organic carbon sequestration, reduce soil erosion (Dabney et al 2004; Holland 2004), and maintain or increase crop yields (Ehlers and Claupein 1994; Baumhardt and Jones 2002)
This study demonstrated that the influence of tillage on crop yield depended on crop type under the semihumid temperate climate of the North China Plain (NCP)
The effect of tillage on maize crop yields was insignificant throughout the 5-year rotation, while NT decreased wheat grain yield only for 2 of 5 seasons
Summary
Numerous studies have demonstrated that no-tillage is useful to decrease agriculture production costs, improve soil structure, increase organic carbon sequestration, reduce soil erosion (Dabney et al 2004; Holland 2004), and maintain or increase crop yields (Ehlers and Claupein 1994; Baumhardt and Jones 2002). In contrast to these reports, no-tillage was less successful under conditions of high weed infestation (Soane and Ball 1998) or in heavy clay soils with little or no N fertilization (Rasmussen and Douglas 1992).
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