Strategies for the management of water and nitrogen interaction in seed maize production; A case study from China Hexi Corridor Oasis Agricultural Area

The oasis agricultural area of the Hexi Corridor in China supports industrial-scale seed maize production which depends on significant inputs of water and fertilizer, however, the effects of water-nitrogen interaction on seed maize yield and its components, and on water and nitrogen use efficiency in seed maize are unknown, making optimization of inputs impossible. Here, we conducted a study to address these unknowns. Specifically, we established a two-factor split-plot experiment in the Zhangye area of the Hexi Corridor with three irrigation levels of low, medium, and sufficient water supply (50%, 75%, and 100% of the local typical irrigation quota), and three nitrogen application rates of low (160 kg ha−1), medium (280 kg ha−1), and high nitrogen (400 kg ha−1); three irrigation levels without nitrogen fertilizer were used as the control. We found that there was a significant interaction between water-nitrogen combinations, all of which had a significant effect on seed maize yield and its components, and water and nitrogen use efficiency. The yield of seed maize increased with the increase in irrigation quota, but when the irrigation quota reached 100% of the traditional, yield exhibited an increasing and then decreasing trend with the increase in nitrogen application. During the 4-year test period, the maximum yield of seed maize was observed in sufficient water and medium-nitrogen treatment, reaching an average of 9509.38 kg ha−1. Lower nitrogen lowered water productivity, while lower irrigation quotas limited nitrogen utilization. The relationship between irrigation quota, nitrogen application, and seed maize yield was binary quadratic, and the coefficient of determination, R2, reached 0.963–0.985 indicating that the model predicted the yield of seed maize well. The main factor analysis of yield increase showed that the effect of irrigation quota was greater than that of nitrogen application. The optimal combination of water-nitrogen for the highest target yield was obtained with an irrigation quota of 100% of the local typical and a nitrogen application rate of 292.0 kg ha−1-383.2 kg ha−1. This result can be used as a reasonable water and fertilizer management guideline and a technical reference for the seed maize industry in the oasis agricultural area of the Hexi Corridor with objectives of stable and high yields, and reductions in the risk of nitrogen non-point source pollution.