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N2O emissions and yield in maize field fertilized with polymer-coated urea under subsoiling or rotary tillage

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Abstract

Fertilizer application and tillage practices play an important role in agricultural production, whereas excess N input could create considerable N2O emissions. However, it is unclear whether urea types under subsoiling or rotary tillage have effects on yield and N2O emissions in maize field. We investigated the effects on N2O emissions and maize (Zea mays L.) yield of tillage (rotary tillage [R] alone and rotary tillage following subsoiling [S]) and two types of urea (polymer-coated urea [P] and conventional urea [C]) applications, respectively, at the sowing [0] and V6 [6] stages in a clay loam soil. N2O emissions varied from 1 to 11 kg N2O-N ha−1. Compared with S soil, the R soils produced greater N2O emissions. Compared with conventional urea, polymer-coated urea increased maize production and fertilizer-induced N2O emission, but had no significant effect on yield scaled N2O emission. The increase of N2O emission was mainly related to water-filled pore space affected by tillage and soil nitrate and ammonium N concentrations affected by urea types. Polymer-coated urea topdressing at the V6 stage in S soils was better for producing a higher yield with lower N2O emission. The results indicate that R soils had more significant N2O emission than S soils during a wet climate; and polymer-coated urea can increase grain yield with a slight higher N2O emissions, whereas changing the application stage can decrease the cumulative N2O emissions without reducing the yield.

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Acknowledgments

This project was financial supported by the Special Research Funding for Public Benefit Industries (Agriculture) of China (201103001 and 201503121), the National Scientific and Technological Support Plan (2011BAD11B01), and the Nature Science Fund of China (30900876).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. State Key Laboratory of Crop Biology, Shandong Key Laboratory of Crop Biology, Shandong Agricultural University, Taian, 271018, Shandong, People’s Republic of China

    Na Li, Tangyuan Ning, Zhengyong Cui, Shenzhong Tian & Zengjia Li

  2. Chinese National Engineering Research Center for Slow/Controlled Release Fertilizers, Shandong Agricultural University, Taian, 271018, Shandong, People’s Republic of China

    Tangyuan Ning & Zengjia Li

  3. Carbon Management and Sequestration Center, College of Food, Agricultural and Environmental Sciences, The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH, 43210, USA

    Tangyuan Ning & Rattan Lal

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  1. Na Li
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Correspondence to Tangyuan Ning.

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Li, N., Ning, T., Cui, Z. et al. N2O emissions and yield in maize field fertilized with polymer-coated urea under subsoiling or rotary tillage. Nutr Cycl Agroecosyst 102, 397–410 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10705-015-9713-6

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