EFFECT OF SILICON ON CROP YIELD, AND NITROGEN USE EFFICIENCY APPLIED UNDER STRAW RETURN TREATMENTS
F.S. MABAGALA, Y.H. GENG, G.J. CAO, L.C. WANG, M. WANG, M.L. ZHANG
Abstract
Nitrogen (N) is an essential element for crop growth and for improving crop yield. A two-year field experiment was carried out in China to test the effects of silicate (Si) fertilizer with straw return on N use efficiency (NUE) and yield of spring maize. Four treatments were arranged in a randomized block design: SI+ST (straw return + 45 kg ha -1 Si), SI (no straw return + 45 kg ha -1 Si), ST (straw return + no Si) and C (no straw return + no Si). The results showed that the accumulation of dry matter and grain yield under SI were 6.5% and 8.8% higher, respectively than those under the C. The N uptake under SI increased by 15.6% compared with that under the C treatment. The N uptake of SI+ST increased by 7.6% compared to SI. The SI+ST resulted in a significant increase in the AEN, REN, and PFPN compared with SI. The above results show that the use of Si fertilizer combined with straw return significantly provides better N for maize growing stages and is recommended as an alternative method to simultaneously increase crop yield and NUE while reducing the use of chemical fertilizer to the environment.