IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/gam/jagris/v13y2023i6p1187-d1162893.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Analysis of the Available Straw Nutrient Resources and Substitution of Chemical Fertilizers with Straw Returned Directly to the Field in China

Author

Listed:
  • Jingmiao Shao

    (Institute of Agricultural Resources and Regional Planning, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Beijing 100081, China
    These authors contributed equally to this work.)

  • Chunyu Gao

    (Institute of Agricultural Resources and Regional Planning, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Beijing 100081, China
    These authors contributed equally to this work.)

  • Patience Afi Seglah

    (Institute of Agricultural Resources and Regional Planning, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Beijing 100081, China)

  • Jie Xie

    (Institute of Agricultural Resources and Regional Planning, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Beijing 100081, China)

  • Li Zhao

    (Institute of Agricultural Resources and Regional Planning, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Beijing 100081, China)

  • Yuyun Bi

    (Institute of Agricultural Resources and Regional Planning, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Beijing 100081, China)

  • Yajing Wang

    (Institute of Agricultural Resources and Regional Planning, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Beijing 100081, China)

Abstract

Returning straw to the field is the most significant straw utilization technique for China’s green development. It can provide nutrients for crop growth and improve soil organic matter content. However, there are no standard parameters for measuring the nutrient content of straw directly returned to the field. In addition, the nutrient content of straw in the field is disregarded and the least researched. Therefore, to address these issues, the current research examines the main nutrient composition of straw returned directly to fields and the potential substitution of straw for chemical fertilizers. This study used the latest data on the crop straw-to-grain ratio and straw’s direct return to the field from the Database of Agricultural Crops Straws Resources in China (DACSRC) as the basis for a detailed estimation of the amount of crop straw nutrient resources and straw’s direct return to the field. The straw nutrient resources were measured based on straw yield and the nitrogen (N), phosphorous (P 2 O 5 ), and potassium (K 2 O) contents. The results reveal that the maximum amount of straw returned directly to the fields in China was 517 teragram (Tg), while 128 Tg (25%) of the total was not collected but left on the field. The North China region had an enormous amount of direct straw return at 176 Tg (34%), while South China had the least amount at 26 Tg (5%). The amounts of seasonally available N, P 2 O 5 , and K 2 O from straw directly returned to fields are 2 Tg, 1 Tg, and 7 Tg, respectively. In addition, the amount of available straw nutrient resources returned to the field per hectare (ha) was 78 kg. The quantity of straw-originating seasonally available nutrients corresponds to 23% of the chemical fertilizers applied, which can substitute 10% N, 9% P 2 O 5 , and 58% K 2 O. The study provides critical insights on effective ways to improve straw fertilization through an increased rate of straw returned directly to fields and releasing seasonal nutrients.

Suggested Citation

  • Jingmiao Shao & Chunyu Gao & Patience Afi Seglah & Jie Xie & Li Zhao & Yuyun Bi & Yajing Wang, 2023. "Analysis of the Available Straw Nutrient Resources and Substitution of Chemical Fertilizers with Straw Returned Directly to the Field in China," Agriculture, MDPI, vol. 13(6), pages 1-20, June.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jagris:v:13:y:2023:i:6:p:1187-:d:1162893
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2077-0472/13/6/1187/pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2077-0472/13/6/1187/
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Yang, Zhiyuan & Zhu, Yuemei & Zhang, Jinyue & Li, Xuyi & Ma, Peng & Sun, Jiawei & Sun, Yongjian & Ma, Jun & Li, Na, 2022. "Comparison of energy use between fully mechanized and semi-mechanized rice production in Southwest China," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 245(C).
    2. Belton, Ben & Win, Myat Thida & Zhang, Xiaobo & Filipski, Mateusz, 2021. "The rapid rise of agricultural mechanization in Myanmar," Food Policy, Elsevier, vol. 101(C).
    3. Mengqi Sun & Baoyu Chen & Hongjun Wang & Nan Wang & Taigang Ma & Yingshun Cui & Tianhao Luan & Seongjun Chun & Chunguang Liu & Lichun Wang, 2021. "Microbial Interactions and Roles in Soil Fertility in Seasonal Freeze-Thaw Periods under Different Straw Returning Strategies," Agriculture, MDPI, vol. 11(8), pages 1-15, August.
    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. Zhe Zhao & Yali Yang & Hongtu Xie & Yixin Zhang & Hongbo He & Xudong Zhang & Shijun Sun, 2024. "Enhancing Sustainable Agriculture in China: A Meta-Analysis of the Impact of Straw and Manure on Crop Yield and Soil Fertility," Agriculture, MDPI, vol. 14(3), pages 1-27, March.
    2. Zeyu Tang & Xiaoyu Zhang & Ruxin Chen & Chaomin Ge & Jianjun Tang & Yanqiang Du & Peikun Jiang & Xiaobo Fang & Huabao Zheng & Cheng Zhang, 2024. "A Comprehensive Assessment of Rice Straw Returning in China Based on Life Cycle Assessment Method: Implications on Soil, Crops, and Environment," Agriculture, MDPI, vol. 14(7), pages 1-16, June.
    3. Wang, Junkai & Sun, Caixia & Zhang, Yulan & Xiao, Junyao & Ma, Yueping & Jiang, Jialin & Jiang, Zhengde & Zhang, Lili, 2024. "Straw return rearranges soil pore structure improving soil moisture memory in a maize field experiment under rainfed conditions," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 306(C).
    4. Juan Hu & Xianjiao Guan & Xihuan Liang & Binqiang Wang & Xianmao Chen & Xiaolin He & Jiang Xie & Guoqiang Deng & Ji Chen & Xiuxiu Li & Caifei Qiu & Yinfei Qian & Chunrui Peng & Kun Zhang & Jin Chen, 2024. "Optimizing the Nitrogen Fertilizer Management to Maximize the Benefit of Straw Returning on Early Rice Yield by Modulating Soil N Availability," Agriculture, MDPI, vol. 14(7), pages 1-14, July.
    5. Sheng Xu & Yu Xiao & Lu Zhang & Caiyan Yang & Xichuan Liu, 2025. "Can Land Transfer-In Improve Farmers’ Farmland Quality Protection Behavior? Empirical Evidence from Micro-Survey Data in Hubei Province, China," Land, MDPI, vol. 14(5), pages 1-28, April.
    6. Zhenwei Tong & Hongwen Li & Jin He & Qingjie Wang & Caiyun Lu & Chao Wang & Guangyuan Zhong & Dandan Cui & Dengkun Li, 2023. "Design and Experiment of In Situ Soil-Lifting Shovel for Direct-Injection Straw Deep-Burial Machine," Agriculture, MDPI, vol. 13(9), pages 1-19, August.
    7. Shangying Cai & Yi Ma & Zhenkang Bao & Ziying Yang & Xiangyu Niu & Qingzhen Meng & Dongsheng Qin & Yan Wang & Junfeng Wan & Xiaoying Guo, 2024. "The Impacts of the C/N Ratio on Hydrogen Sulfide Emission and Microbial Community Characteristics during Chicken Manure Composting with Wheat Straw," Agriculture, MDPI, vol. 14(6), pages 1-18, June.
    8. Limin Chuan & Shijie Qi & Hui Zhang & Qian Jia & Ailing Wang & Jingjuan Zhao, 2024. "International Development Trends in the Field of Agricultural Resources and the Environment," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 16(15), pages 1-15, July.

    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. Tutar, Halit & Eren, Ömer & Er, Hasan & Gonulal, Erdal & Gokdogan, Osman, 2025. "Field-based experimental greenhouse gas emissions and energy use efficiency study of sorghum x sudan grass hybrid growth in a semi-arid region," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 315(C).
    2. Han, Yu & Zhang, Zhongxue & Li, Tiecheng & Chen, Peng & Nie, Tangzhe & Zhang, Zuohe & Du, Sicheng, 2023. "Straw return alleviates the greenhouse effect of paddy fields by increasing soil organic carbon sequestration under water-saving irrigation," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 287(C).
    3. Yuanying Chi & Wenbing Zhou & Zhenyu Wang & Yu Hu & Xiao Han, 2021. "The Influence Paths of Agricultural Mechanization on Green Agricultural Development," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(23), pages 1-16, November.
    4. Ning Geng & Shanyao Wang & Xibing Han, 2025. "Efficacy of Social Networks in Promoting the Green Production Behaviors of Chinese Farmers: An Empirical Study," Agriculture, MDPI, vol. 15(6), pages 1-21, March.
    5. Brown, Brendan & Paudel, Gokul P. & Krupnik, Timothy J., 2021. "Visualising adoption processes through a stepwise framework: A case study of mechanisation on the Nepal Terai," Agricultural Systems, Elsevier, vol. 192(C).
    6. Coronese, Matteo & Occelli, Martina & Lamperti, Francesco & Roventini, Andrea, 2023. "AgriLOVE: Agriculture, land-use and technical change in an evolutionary, agent-based model," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 208(C).
    7. Huaquan Zhang & Abbas Ali Chandio & Fan Yang & Yashuang Tang & Martinson Ankrah Twumasi & Ghulam Raza Sargani, 2022. "Modeling the Impact of Climatological Factors and Technological Revolution on Soybean Yield: Evidence from 13-Major Provinces of China," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(9), pages 1-16, May.
    8. repec:ags:aaea22:335478 is not listed on IDEAS
    9. Song, Hengfei & Li, Xiubin & Xin, Liangjie & Wang, Xue, 2025. "Improving mechanization conditions or encouraging non-grain crop production? Strategies for mitigating farmland abandonment in China’s mountainous areas," Land Use Policy, Elsevier, vol. 149(C).
    10. Huaquan Zhang & Yashuang Tang & Abbas Ali Chandio & Ghulam Raza Sargani & Martinson Ankrah Twumasi, 2022. "Measuring the Effects of Climate Change on Wheat Production: Evidence from Northern China," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(19), pages 1-16, September.
    11. Wang, Teng & Yi, Fujin & Wu, Ximing & Liu, Huilin & Zhang, Yu Yvette, 2024. "Calamitous weather, yield risk and mitigation effect of harvest mechanisation: Evidence from China's winter wheat," Australian Journal of Agricultural and Resource Economics, Australian Agricultural and Resource Economics Society, vol. 68(02), January.
    12. Gokul P. Paudel & Trung Thanh Nguyen & Ulrike Grote, 2025. "Trade‐offs between labour migration and agricultural productivity: Evidence from smallholder wheat systems in Nepal," Journal of International Development, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 37(1), pages 202-229, January.
    13. Jin, Xuanyi & Jiang, Wenrui & Fang, Delin & Wang, Saige & Chen, Bin, 2024. "Evaluation and driving force analysis of the water-energy‑carbon nexus in agricultural trade for RCEP countries," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 353(PB).
    14. Qian, Long & Lu, Hua & Gao, Qiang & Lu, Hualiang, 2022. "Household-owned farm machinery vs. outsourced machinery services: The impact of agricultural mechanization on the land leasing behavior of relatively large-scale farmers in China," Land Use Policy, Elsevier, vol. 115(C).
    15. Bowei Li & Yanjun Qian & Fanbin Kong, 2023. "Does Outsourcing Service Reduce the Excessive Use of Chemical Fertilizers in Rural China? The Moderating Effects of Farm Size and Plot Size," Agriculture, MDPI, vol. 13(10), pages 1-18, September.
    16. Zhi Li & Ming Zhu & Huang Huang & Yu Yi & Jingyi Fu, 2022. "Influencing Factors and Path Analysis of Sustainable Agricultural Mechanization: Econometric Evidence from Hubei, China," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(8), pages 1-19, April.
    17. Meng, Meng & Zhang, Wuke & Zhu, Xi & Shi, Qinghua, 2024. "Agricultural mechanization and rural worker mobility: Evidence from the Agricultural Machinery Purchase Subsidies programme in China," Economic Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 139(C).
    18. Hua Zhang & Ying Li & Hanxiaoxue Sun & Xiaohui Wang, 2023. "How Can Digital Financial Inclusion Promote High-Quality Agricultural Development? The Multiple-Mediation Model Research," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 20(4), pages 1-19, February.
    19. Xi, Min & Xu, Youzun & Zhou, Yongjin & Wu, Chenyang & Tu, Debao & Li, Zhong & Sun, Xueyuan & Wu, Wenge, 2024. "Energy use and carbon footprint in response to the transition from indica rice to japonica rice cropping systems in China," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 299(C).
    20. Min Zhou & Hua Zhang & Zixuan Zhang & Hanxiaoxue Sun, 2023. "Digital Financial Inclusion, Cultivated Land Transfer and Cultivated Land Green Utilization Efficiency: An Empirical Study from China," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(2), pages 1-19, January.
    21. Ma, Wanglin & Zhou, Xiaoshi & Boansi, David & Horlu, Godwin Seyram Agbemavor & Owusu, Victor, 2024. "Adoption and intensity of agricultural mechanization and their impact on non-farm employment of rural women," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 173(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:gam:jagris:v:13:y:2023:i:6:p:1187-:d:1162893. 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: MDPI Indexing Manager (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.mdpi.com .

    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.