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ARS Home » Pacific West Area » Parlier, California » San Joaquin Valley Agricultural Sciences Center » Water Management Research » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #346305
Research Project: Develop Water Management Strategies to Sustain Water Productivity and Protect Water Quality in Irrigated Agriculture

Location: Water Management Research

Title: Long-term manure applications improve soil productivity and sustain high crop yield for acidic red soils

Author
item CAI, ZEJIANG - Chinese Academy Of Agricultural Sciences
item WANG, BOREN - Chinese Academy Of Agricultural Sciences
item ZHANG, LU - Chinese Academy Of Agricultural Sciences
item XU, MINGGANG - Chinese Academy Of Agricultural Sciences
item WEN, SHILIN - Chinese Academy Of Agricultural Sciences
item ZHANG, HUIMIN - Chinese Academy Of Agricultural Sciences
item Gao, Suduan

Submitted to: American Society of Agronomy Meetings
Publication Type: Abstract Only
Publication Acceptance Date: 7/11/2017
Publication Date: N/A
Citation: N/A

Interpretive Summary:

Technical Abstract: Intensive use of chemical nitrogen (N) fertilizers has resulted in severely reduced productivity of red soils (Ferralic Cambisol) due to accelerated acidification. Manure has been shown to be effective in improving soil productivity by preventing or reversing the acidification process, but little information is available on the required amount in field management. The aim of this research was to determine the effects of various combinations of manure with urea on soil acidification, crop yield, and N use efficiency (NUE) in an 8-year (2009-2016) maize field experiment on a red soil in southern China. Treatments included chemical N, P, and K fertilization (NPK) only, and NPK plus pig manure, which provided 20% (NPKM1), 40% (NPKM2), and 60% (NPKM3) of total N supply (225 kg N ha-1 year-1). Soil pH, exchangeable acidity or base cations, and maize yield or NUE were determined annually. By 2016, the NPK and NPKM1 treatments further reduced soil pH from 4.81 to 4.46 and 4.62, increased soil acidity (dominated by Al3+) by 3.24 and 1.48 cmol (+) kg-1, decreased base cations, and reduced maize yield to 2,433 and 4,815 kg ha-1, respectively. In contrast, at the 40% or 60% manure rate (NPKM2 or NPKM3), there were either no change or a significant increase in soil pH (to 5.47), increased base cations, and higher yields (5,193 and 5,411 kg ha-1, respectively). The NUE from NPKM2 (44.7%) and NPKM3 (46.5%) was significantly higher than that from the NPK (20.6%) and NPKM1 (38.6%) treatments. We conclude that manure incorporation at the annual rate to provide 40% or higher of total N can sustain soil productivity and high crop yield by mitigating acidification in the red soils.