Abstract
Basic soil productivity (BSP) is the ability of a soil, in its normal environment to support plant growth. However, the assessment of BSP remains controversial. The aim of this study is to quantify and analyze the trends of BSP in winter wheat seasons using the decision support system for agrotechnologie transfer (DSSAT) model under a long-term fertilization experiment in the dark loessal soil region of the Loess Plateau of China. In addition, we evaluated the contribution percentage of BSP to yield and its influencing factors. A long-term fertilization experiment with a winter wheat/spring maize rotation was established in 1979 in a field of the Gaoping Agronomy Farm, Pingliang, Gansu, China, including six treatments: (1) no fertilizer as a control (CK), (2) chemical nitrogen fertilizer input annually (N), (3) chemical nitrogen and phosphorus fertilizer input annually (NP), (4) straw return and chemical nitrogen fertilizer input annually plus phosphorus fertilizer added every second year (SNP), (5) manure input annually (M), and (6) M plus N and P fertilizers added annually (MNP). The application of the DSSAT-CERES-Wheat model showed a satisfactory performance with good Wilmott d-index (0.78~0.95) and normalized root mean square error (NRMSE) (7.03%~18.72%) values for the tested genetic parameters of winter wheat. After the 26-years experiment, the yield by BSP of winter wheat under the M and MNP treatment significantly increased, at the rate of 2.7% and 3.82% a year, respectively, whereas that of CK and N treatments significantly decreased, at the rate of 0.23% and 3.03%. Moreover, the average contribution percentage of BSP to yield was 47.0%, 39.4%, 56.3%, 50.0%, and 61.9% in N, NP, SNP, M, and MNP treatments, respectively. In addition, soil organic carbon contents were the main controls of BSP under the different fertilization conditions in the dark loessial soil area. As a result, the combined application of organic fertilizer or straw and chemical fertilizer can be an effective form of fertilization management to greatly enrich basic soil productivity, continually promote the contribution percentage of BSP, and ultimately increase crop yield.
Highlights
Fertilization is an important measure used to increase crop yields and improve soil fertility.In order to meet the needs of crop growth for obtaining high yields and quality, essential nutrientsAgronomy 2020, 10, 1544; doi:10.3390/agronomy10101544 www.mdpi.com/journal/agronomyAgronomy 2020, 10, 1544 come from the natural supply of the soil, but must be provided through fertilization [1,2].Fertilizer nutrient input is responsible for at least 30 to 50 percent of the crop yield [3,4]
This study evaluated the trends and factors influencing basic soil productivity in winter wheat seasons under different long-term fertilization conditions using the decision support system for agrotechnologie transfer (DSSAT) model, based on long-term soil fertility monitoring experiments in the Longdong Loess Plateau, China
The results showed that the yield by Basic soil productivity (BSP) of winter wheat under the NP, SNP, M, and MNP treatments increased during the 26-years of the experiment, CK and N treatment did not
Summary
Fertilization is an important measure used to increase crop yields and improve soil fertility. Fertilizer nutrient input is responsible for at least 30 to 50 percent of the crop yield [3,4]. This is mainly due to the fact that fertilization can improve the physical, chemical, and biological properties of soil [5,6,7], and further enhance soil quality [8,9]. Many studies have shown that improper fertilization regimes cannot only contribute little to no increases in the crop yield and quality [10], but can introduce a series of soil quality degradation and environmental pollution problems [11,12].
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