IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/agiwat/v263y2022ics0378377421007307.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Interactive effects of plant density and nitrogen rate on grain yield, economic benefit, water productivity and nitrogen use efficiency of drip-fertigated maize in northwest China

Author

Listed:
  • Lai, Zhenlin
  • Fan, Junliang
  • Yang, Rui
  • Xu, Xinyu
  • Liu, Lanjiao
  • Li, Sien
  • Zhang, Fucang
  • Li, Zhijun

Abstract

Plant density and nitrogen (N) rate are two important factors affecting maize yield. However, the interacting effects of plant density and nitrogen rate on maize production and water productivity are still poorly understood, especially under drip irrigation conditions. A two-year field experiment was carried out to determine the interactive effects of plant density and N rate on grain yield, economic benefit, water productivity (WP) and nitrogen use efficiency of drip-fertigated spring maize (Zea mays L.) in northwest China. Based on the local plant density of 80,000 plants ha-1 and N rate of 240 kg ha-1, two plant densities (D1: 80,000 plants ha-1, D2: 100,000 plants ha-1) and four N rates (N0: 0, N120: 120 kg ha-1, N180:180 kg ha-1, N240: 240 kg ha-1) were set in 2018, while a higher plant density (D3: 120,000 plants ha-1) was further considered in 2020. The results showed that grain yield, economic benefit, WP and nitrogen use efficiency were significantly affected by plant density, N rate and their interaction (except for economic benefit). Average grain yield increased and then decreased with increasing N rate under D1 and D2 with the maximum values under N180 in both 2018 (12,193 kg ha-1 and 16,650 kg ha-1) and 2020 (11,136 kg ha-1 and 15,093 kg ha-1), while it continued to increase as N rate increased under D3 in 2020. On average, D2 produced significantly higher grain yield than D1 in both 2018 (13,464 kg ha-1 and 10,477 kg ha-1) and 2020 (13,268 kg ha-1 and 9,859 kg ha-1), while grain yield under D2 (13,366 kg ha-1) was significantly higher than that under D3 (12,301 kg ha-1) and D1 (10,168 kg ha-1) in 2020. Similar trends to grain yield were also obtained for economic benefit. Overall, grain yield, economic benefit, WP and N partial factor productivity under D2N180 was significantly increased by 41.6%, 52.6%, 33.8% and 90.4% compared with those under the conventional management practice (D1N240), respectively. Based on the multiple regression and spatial analysis, the optimal ranges of plant density of 95,000∼110,000 plants ha-1 and N rate of 185∼205 kg ha-1 were able to simultaneously obtain ≥95% of the maximum grain yield, economic benefit and water productivity.

Suggested Citation

  • Lai, Zhenlin & Fan, Junliang & Yang, Rui & Xu, Xinyu & Liu, Lanjiao & Li, Sien & Zhang, Fucang & Li, Zhijun, 2022. "Interactive effects of plant density and nitrogen rate on grain yield, economic benefit, water productivity and nitrogen use efficiency of drip-fertigated maize in northwest China," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 263(C).
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:agiwat:v:263:y:2022:i:c:s0378377421007307
    DOI: 10.1016/j.agwat.2021.107453
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0378377421007307
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.agwat.2021.107453?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Zheng, Jing & Fan, Junliang & Zhang, Fucang & Guo, Jinjin & Yan, Shicheng & Zhuang, Qianlai & Cui, Ningbo & Guo, Li, 2021. "Interactive effects of mulching practice and nitrogen rate on grain yield, water productivity, fertilizer use efficiency and greenhouse gas emissions of rainfed summer maize in northwest China," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 248(C).
    2. Wang, Haidong & Wu, Lifeng & Wang, Xiukang & Zhang, Shaohui & Cheng, Minghui & Feng, Hao & Fan, Junliang & Zhang, Fucang & Xiang, Youzhen, 2021. "Optimization of water and fertilizer management improves yield, water, nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium uptake and use efficiency of cotton under drip fertigation," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 245(C).
    3. Yan, Fulai & Zhang, Fucang & Fan, Xingke & Fan, Junliang & Wang, Ying & Zou, Haiyang & Wang, Haidong & Li, Guodong, 2021. "Determining irrigation amount and fertilization rate to simultaneously optimize grain yield, grain nitrogen accumulation and economic benefit of drip-fertigated spring maize in northwest China," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 243(C).
    4. Zhou, Lifeng & Feng, Hao & Zhao, Ying & Qi, Zhijuan & Zhang, Tibin & He, Jianqiang & Dyck, Miles, 2017. "Drip irrigation lateral spacing and mulching affects the wetting pattern, shoot-root regulation, and yield of maize in a sand-layered soil," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 184(C), pages 114-123.
    5. Zhang, Yuanhong & Wang, Rui & Wang, Shulan & Ning, Fang & Wang, Hao & Wen, Pengfei & Li, Ao & Dong, Zhaoyang & Xu, Zonggui & Zhang, Yujiao & Li, Jun, 2019. "Effect of planting density on deep soil water and maize yield on the Loess Plateau of China," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 223(C), pages 1-1.
    6. Jia, Xucun & Shao, Lijie & Liu, Peng & Zhao, Bingqiang & Gu, Limin & Dong, Shuting & Bing, So Hwat & Zhang, Jiwang & Zhao, Bin, 2014. "Effect of different nitrogen and irrigation treatments on yield and nitrate leaching of summer maize (Zea mays L.) under lysimeter conditions," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 137(C), pages 92-103.
    7. Liu, Haijun & Wang, Xuming & Zhang, Xian & Zhang, Liwei & Li, Yan & Huang, Guanhua, 2017. "Evaluation on the responses of maize (Zea mays L.) growth, yield and water use efficiency to drip irrigation water under mulch condition in the Hetao irrigation District of China," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 179(C), pages 144-157.
    8. David Tilman & Kenneth G. Cassman & Pamela A. Matson & Rosamond Naylor & Stephen Polasky, 2002. "Agricultural sustainability and intensive production practices," Nature, Nature, vol. 418(6898), pages 671-677, August.
    9. Hernández, M.D. & Alfonso, C. & Echarte, M.M. & Cerrudo, A. & Echarte, L., 2021. "Maize transpiration efficiency increases with N supply or higher plant densities," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 250(C).
    10. Zou, Haiyang & Fan, Junliang & Zhang, Fucang & Xiang, Youzhen & Wu, Lifeng & Yan, Shicheng, 2020. "Optimization of drip irrigation and fertilization regimes for high grain yield, crop water productivity and economic benefits of spring maize in Northwest China," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 230(C).
    11. Zou, Yufeng & Saddique, Qaisar & Ali, Ajaz & Xu, Jiatun & Khan, Muhammad Imran & Qing, Mu & Azmat, Muhammad & Cai, Huanjie & Siddique, Kadambot H.M., 2021. "Deficit irrigation improves maize yield and water use efficiency in a semi-arid environment," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 243(C).
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Ran, Junjun & Ran, Hui & Ma, Longfei & Jennings, Stewart A. & Yu, Tinggao & Deng, Xin & Yao, Ning & Hu, Xiaotao, 2023. "Quantifying water productivity and nitrogen uptake of maize under water and nitrogen stress in arid Northwest China," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 285(C).
    2. Dai, Yulong & Liao, Zhenqi & Lai, Zhenlin & Bai, Zhentao & Zhang, Fucang & Li, Zhijun & Fan, Junliang, 2023. "Interactive effects of planting pattern, supplementary irrigation and planting density on grain yield, water-nitrogen use efficiency and economic benefit of winter wheat in a semi-humid but drought-pr," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 287(C).

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Li, Jingang & He, Pingru & Chen, Jing & Hamad, Amar Ali Adam & Dai, Xiaoping & Jin, Qiu & Ding, Siyu, 2023. "Tomato performance and changes in soil chemistry in response to salinity and Na/Ca ratio of irrigation water," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 285(C).
    2. Zhang, Shaohui & Fan, Junliang & Zhang, Fucang & Wang, Haidong & Yang, Ling & Sun, Xin & Cheng, Minghui & Cheng, Houliang & Li, Zhijun, 2022. "Optimizing irrigation amount and potassium rate to simultaneously improve tuber yield, water productivity and plant potassium accumulation of drip-fertigated potato in northwest China," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 264(C).
    3. Wang, Feng & Xiao, Junfu & Ming, Bo & Xie, Ruizhi & Wang, Keru & Hou, Peng & Liu, Guangzhou & Zhang, Guoqiang & Chen, Jianglu & Liu, Wanmao & Yang, Yunshan & Qin, Anzhen & Li, Shaokun, 2021. "Grain yields and evapotranspiration dynamics of drip-irrigated maize under high plant density across arid to semi-humid climates," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 247(C).
    4. Wang, Dan & Mo, Yan & Li, Guangyong & Wilkerson, Carol Jo & Hoogenboom, Gerrit, 2021. "Improving maize production and decreasing nitrogen residue in soil using mulched drip fertigation," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 251(C).
    5. Li, Cheng & Feng, Hao & Luo, Xiaoqi & Li, Yue & Wang, Naijiang & Wu, Wenjie & Zhang, Tibin & Dong, Qin’ge & Siddique, Kadambot H.M., 2022. "Limited irrigation and fertilization in sand-layered soil increases nitrogen use efficiency and economic benefits under film mulched ridge-furrow irrigation in arid areas," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 262(C).
    6. Lu, Junsheng & Geng, Chenming & Cui, Xiaolu & Li, Mengyue & Chen, Shuaihong & Hu, Tiantian, 2021. "Response of drip fertigated wheat-maize rotation system on grain yield, water productivity and economic benefits using different water and nitrogen amounts," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 258(C).
    7. Li, Haoru & Li, Xiaoli & Mei, Xurong & Nangia, Vinay & Guo, Rui & Hao, Weiping & Wang, Jiandong, 2023. "An alternative water-fertilizer-saving management practice for wheat-maize cropping system in the North China Plain: Based on a 4-year field study," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 276(C).
    8. Zou, Haiyang & Fan, Junliang & Zhang, Fucang & Xiang, Youzhen & Wu, Lifeng & Yan, Shicheng, 2020. "Optimization of drip irrigation and fertilization regimes for high grain yield, crop water productivity and economic benefits of spring maize in Northwest China," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 230(C).
    9. Qiang, Shengcai & Zhang, Yan & Zhao, Hong & Fan, Junliang & Zhang, Fucang & Sun, Min & Gao, Zhiqiang, 2022. "Combined effects of urea type and placement depth on grain yield, water productivity and nitrogen use efficiency of rain-fed spring maize in northern China," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 262(C).
    10. Gheysari, Mahdi & Pirnajmedin, Fatemeh & Movahedrad, Hamid & Majidi, Mohammad Mahdi & Zareian, Mohammad Javad, 2021. "Crop yield and irrigation water productivity of silage maize under two water stress strategies in semi-arid environment: Two different pot and field experiments," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 255(C).
    11. Yan, Fulai & Zhang, Fucang & Fan, Xingke & Fan, Junliang & Wang, Ying & Zou, Haiyang & Wang, Haidong & Li, Guodong, 2021. "Determining irrigation amount and fertilization rate to simultaneously optimize grain yield, grain nitrogen accumulation and economic benefit of drip-fertigated spring maize in northwest China," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 243(C).
    12. Lu, Junsheng & Xiang, Youzhen & Fan, Junliang & Zhang, Fucang & Hu, Tiantian, 2021. "Sustainable high grain yield, nitrogen use efficiency and water productivity can be achieved in wheat-maize rotation system by changing irrigation and fertilization strategy," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 258(C).
    13. Liu, Meihan & Shi, Haibin & Paredes, Paula & Ramos, Tiago B. & Dai, Liping & Feng, Zhuangzhuang & Pereira, Luis S., 2022. "Estimating and partitioning maize evapotranspiration as affected by salinity using weighing lysimeters and the SIMDualKc model," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 261(C).
    14. Li, Cheng & Luo, Xiaoqi & Wang, Naijiang & Wu, Wenjie & Li, Yue & Quan, Hao & Zhang, Tibin & Ding, Dianyuan & Dong, Qin’ge & Feng, Hao, 2022. "Transparent plastic film combined with deficit irrigation improves hydrothermal status of the soil-crop system and spring maize growth in arid areas," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 265(C).
    15. Leghari, Shah Jahan & Hu, Kelin & Wei, Yichang & Wang, Tongchao & Bhutto, Tofique Ahmed & Buriro, Mahmooda, 2021. "Modelling water consumption, N fates and maize yield under different water-saving management practices in China and Pakistan," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 255(C).
    16. Bai, Yu & Gao, Jinhua, 2021. "Optimization of the nitrogen fertilizer schedule of maize under drip irrigation in Jilin, China, based on DSSAT and GA," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 244(C).
    17. Lu, Junsheng & Hu, Tiantian & Geng, Chenming & Cui, Xiaolu & Fan, Junliang & Zhang, Fucang, 2021. "Response of yield, yield components and water-nitrogen use efficiency of winter wheat to different drip fertigation regimes in Northwest China," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 255(C).
    18. Xiao, Chao & Zou, Haiyang & Fan, Junliang & Zhang, Fucang & Li, Yi & Sun, Shikun & Pulatov, Alim, 2021. "Optimizing irrigation amount and fertilization rate of drip-fertigated spring maize in northwest China based on multi-level fuzzy comprehensive evaluation model," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 257(C).
    19. Lu, Junsheng & Hu, Tiantian & Zhang, Baocheng & Wang, Li & Yang, Shuohuan & Fan, Junliang & Yan, Shicheng & Zhang, Fucang, 2021. "Nitrogen fertilizer management effects on soil nitrate leaching, grain yield and economic benefit of summer maize in Northwest China," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 247(C).
    20. Wang, Han & Xiang, Youzhen & Zhang, Fucang & Tang, Zijun & Guo, Jinjin & Zhang, Xueyan & Hou, Xianghao & Wang, Haidong & Cheng, Minghui & Li, Zhijun, 2022. "Responses of yield, quality and water-nitrogen use efficiency of greenhouse sweet pepper to different drip fertigation regimes in Northwest China," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 260(C).

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:eee:agiwat:v:263:y:2022:i:c:s0378377421007307. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Catherine Liu (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.elsevier.com/locate/agwat .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.