Open Access
ARTICLE
Adjusting Nitrogen Application in Accordance with Soil Water Availability Enhances Yield and Water Use by Regulating Physiological Traits of Maize under Drip Fertigation
Mingda Yang1, Shouchen Ma2, Fujian Mei1, Li Wei1, Tongchao Wang1,*, Xiaokang Guan1,*
1 Collaborative Innovation Center of Henan Grain Crops, Agronomy College of Henan Agricultural University, Zhengzhou, 450002, China
2 Field Scientific Observation and Research Base of Land Use, Ministry of Land and Resources, Henan Polytechnic University, Jiaozuo, 454000, China
* Corresponding Authors: Tongchao Wang. Email: ; Xiaokang Guan. Email:
(This article belongs to this Special Issue: Plant Physiology for Crop Production and Sustainable Agriculture)
Phyton-International Journal of Experimental Botany 2021, 90(2), 417-435. https://doi.org/10.32604/phyton.2021.013175
Received 28 July 2020; Accepted 18 September 2020; Issue published 07 February 2021
Abstract
Knowledge of the interactive effects of water and nitrogen (N) on physio-chemical traits of maize (
Zea mays L.) helps to optimize water and N management and improve productivity. A split-plot experiment was conducted with three
soil water conditions (severe drought, moderate drought, and fully water supply
referring to 45%–55%, 65%–75%, and 85%–95% field capacity, respectively)
and four N application rates (N
0, N
150, N
240, and N
330 referring to 0, 150, 240,
330 kg N ha
–1 respectively) under drip fertigation in 2014 and 2015 in the
Huang-Huai-Hai Plain of China. The results indicated that drought stress inhibited
physiological activity of plants (leaf relative water content, root bleeding sap, and
net photosynthetic rate), resulting in low dry matter accumulation after silking,
yield, and N uptake, whereas increased WUE and NUE. N application rates over
than 150 kg ha
–1 aggravated the inhibition of physiological activity under severe
drought condition, while it was offset under moderate drought condition. High N
application rates (N
330) still revealed negative effects under moderate drought
condition, as it did not consistently enhance plant physiological activity and significantly reduced N uptake as compared to the N
240 treatment. With fully water
supply, increasing N application rates synergistically enhanced physiological
activity, promoted dry matter accumulation after silking, and increased yield,
WUE, and N uptake. Although the N
240 treatment reduced yield by 5.4% in average, it saved 27.3% N under full water supply condition as compared with N
330
treatment. The results indicated that N regulated growth of maize in aspects of
physiological traits, dry matter accumulation, and yield as well as water and N
use was depended on soil water status. The appropriate N application rates for
maize production was 150 kg ha
–1 under moderate drought or 240 kg ha
–1 under
fully water supply under drip fertigation, and high N supply (>150 kg ha
–1)
should be avoided under severe drought condition.
Keywords
Cite This Article
Yang, M., Ma, S., Mei, F., Wei, L., Wang, T. et al. (2021). Adjusting Nitrogen Application in Accordance with Soil Water Availability Enhances Yield and Water Use by Regulating Physiological Traits of Maize under Drip Fertigation.
Phyton-International Journal of Experimental Botany, 90(2), 417–435.
Citations