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N Requirment Crop Circle
N Requirment Crop Circle
N Requirment Crop Circle
A g r o n o my J o u r n a l • Vo l u m e 10 4 , I s s u e 6 • 2 012 1687
requirements with and without N fertilization have been studied and Tai’an (TA) in Shandong Province; Lankao (LK), Wenxian
(Ortiz-Monasterio et al., 1997; Ferrise et al., 2010), few studies have (WX), Xiangyun (XY), and Zhaobao (ZB) in Henan Province;
examined different N levels, particularly under optimal N supply. and Hongtong (HT) and Yongji (YJ) in Shanxi Province
Therefore, the estimated N requirements may represent overestimates (Table 1). All the field experiments had already been published
or underestimates under unsuitable N fertilizer applications. in research journals or master’s theses (Zhao et al., 2006; Cui
Crop N requirements can also be affected by grain yield, the et al., 2009; Guo, 2011; Ye et al., 2011, 2012; Yue et al., 2012).
HI, and the N concentration at harvest, which are needed to The specific details of these field experiments are not reported
calculate aboveground N uptake. Various studies have found in this paper because the aim of this study was to quantify the N
negative relationships between grain N concentration and grain requirement per Mg grain for winter wheat under a wide range
yield in winter wheat (Triboi et al., 2006; Barneix, 2007; Bogard of environmental conditions. In total, 1395 measurements of
et al., 2010). This indicates that N requirements decline as grain winter wheat grain yield, total dry matter, and N concentration
yield increases. However, whether the trend in this decrease is an at maturity were collected. Table 1 details the number of
equidistant, accelerated, or phasic process is still not clear. experimental sites, varieties, N treatments, data points, and yield
Previous studies that estimated wheat N requirements often ranges in the study areas.
involved site-specific field experiments, mostly at research stations. All of the experimental sites, except the experiment in QZ2,
For example, studies on the N requirements of winter wheat included at least three N treatments: no N as a control (CK), an
in China have been mainly conducted for grain yields up to optimal N rate (Opt.) based on either in-season root zone or yield
8.7 Mg ha–1 (Liu et al., 2006). The concern is whether this value goal N management (Cui et al., 2008; Ju et al., 2009), and the
represents the current range of yield and the N requirements farmer’s nitrogen practice (FNP). Nitrogen treatments at sub- or
of modern, high-yielding varieties in China. In this study, we supra-optimal N rates were applied in experiments with five or six
developed a large database for winter wheat that covers a wide N treatments, including Opt.– 30 kg N ha–1; Opt. + 30 kg N ha–1;
yield range (1.6–11.8 Mg ha–1), which is higher than the wheat Opt. + 60 kg N ha–1; 40, 50, 70, 75, 125, 130, and 150% of Opt.
yield studied by Liu et al. (2006). Four N-application treatments according to the experimental design at each site. The experiment in
were defined for use in this study: a control without N fertilizer QZ2 received two N treatments: Opt. and FNP. For the in-season
(N = CK), optimal N fertilizer input based on in-season root-zone root-zone N-management strategy, the wheat-growing season is
N management (N = Opt.), below optimal N input (N < Opt.), divided into two periods: from planting to the stem elongation stage,
and above optimal N input (N > Opt.). Previous research has and from the stem elongation stage to the mature stage. The amount
shown that N = Opt. treatments based on in-season root-zone of N fertilizer applied at the beginning of each growing period was
N management can maximize winter wheat grain yield while determined by deducting the amount of soil Nmin (NH4+–N +
minimizing the environmental impacts of N fertilization (Cui NO3−–N) in the root zone from the target N value, which was
et al., 2008; Ju et al., 2009). The objectives of this study were to estimated based on the yield target and crop N uptake. Detailed
evaluate the relationship between aboveground N uptake and descriptions of the target N value and the soil Nmin for all field
grain yield under different N treatments and to quantify the N experiments have been previously reported (Zhao et al., 2006; Cui et
requirement per Mg grain for different wheat grain yield levels al., 2009; Guo, 2011; Ye et al., 2011, 2012; Yue et al., 2012).
under optimal N application conditions. All of the experiments consisted of a randomized complete
block design with three or four replications. Plot area varied
MATERIALS AND METHODS from 20 to 300 m2 . A typical winter wheat–summer maize
Data Sources rotation system was adopted at all of the experimental sites.
Eighty-eight field experiments were conducted in five key Winter wheat was planted in mid-October and harvested
winter wheat domains in northern China between 2000 and in mid-June of the following year. Based on soil P and K test
2011. These studies were conducted in Dongbeiwang (DBW) results, all of the experiments received appropriate amounts of
in Beijing; Quzhou (QZ) in Hebei Province; Huimin (HM), triple superphosphate (0–150 kg P2O5 ha–1) and potassium
Table 1. Number of experimental sites, varieties, N treatments, data points, and yield range in different regions of northern China.
Location Year No. of experiments Variety no. N treatment No. of data points Range of yield Reference
Mg ha–1
Beijing DBW 2000–2005 1 2 3 288 1.6–7.3 Zhao et al., 2006
Table 2. Descriptive statistics of grain yield, harvest index (HI), concentrations of N ([N]) in grain and straw, total N uptake, and
nitrogen harvest index (NHI) at maturity of winter wheat.
Data set Parameter n† Mean SD Min. 25% Q Med. 75% Q Max.
All Yield, Mg ha–1 1395 6.7 2.2 1.6 5.3 6.5 8.3 11.8
HI 1395 0.45 0.05 0.28 0.42 0.46 0.49 0.58
[N] in grain, % 1395 2.11 0.27 1.15 1.95 2.12 2.28 3.04
[N] in straw, % 1395 0.53 0.15 0.11 0.44 0.53 0.62 1.05
N uptake, kg ha–1 1395 159 50 32 129 158 192 305
NHI 1395 0.77 0.06 0.54 0.74 0.77 0.81 0.94
Nreq., kg‡ 1395 23.7 3.3 14.4 21.7 23.6 25.7 37.5
N = CK Yield, Mg ha–1 356 5.8 2.5 1.6 3.6 5.7 7.8 11.4
HI 356 0.45 0.05 0.28 0.41 0.45 0.49 0.56
[N] in grain, % 356 1.91 0.22 1.22 1.78 1.92 2.06 2.63
[N] in straw, % 356 0.42 0.13 0.17 0.31 0.41 0.50 0.86
N uptake, kg ha–1 356 121 54 32 74 122 159 246
NHI 356 0.79 0.05 0.60 0.77 0.80 0.83 0.91
Nreq., kg 356 20.8 2.6 14.4 19.1 20.6 22.4 31.1
N < Opt. Yield, Mg ha–1 146 6.7 1.8 3.8 5.5 6.3 7.2 10.8
HI 146 0.47 0.04 0.33 0.44 0.48 0.50 0.58
[N] in grain, % 146 2.01 0.24 1.26 1.87 2.06 2.17 2.49
[N] in straw, % 146 0.56 0.13 0.20 0.46 0.57 0.65 0.93
N uptake, kg ha–1 146 152 39 68 129 145 169 269
NHI 146 0.76 0.06 0.57 0.73 0.76 0.80 0.91
Nreq., kg 146 22.8 2.5 16.7 21.1 22.9 24.1 29.3
N = Opt. Yield, Mg ha–1 429 7.2 1.9 3.2 5.8 6.7 8.6 11.8
HI 429 0.46 0.04 0.29 0.42 0.46 0.49 0.58
[N] in grain, % 429 2.18 0.20 1.43 2.06 2.18 2.30 2.80
[N] in straw, % 429 0.53 0.10 0.29 0.46 0.53 0.59 1.05
N uptake, kg ha–1 429 172 41 86 143 164 199 281
NHI 429 0.77 0.05 0.59 0.75 0.78 0.80 0.88
Nreq., kg 429 24.3 2.1 17.9 22.7 24.3 25.7 33.7
N > Opt. Yield, Mg ha–1 464 7.1 1.9 3.2 5.6 6.8 8.5 11.8
HI 464 0.45 0.05 0.32 0.42 0.46 0.49 0.58
[N] in grain, % 464 2.23 0.26 1.15 2.09 2.23 2.38 3.04
[N] in straw, % 464 0.61 0.13 0.11 0.52 0.60 0.71 1.03
N uptake, kg ha–1 464 179 41 86 149 175 206 305
NHI 464 0.75 0.06 0.54 0.72 0.75 0.79 0.94
Nreq., kg 464 25.7 3.3 17.8 23.4 25.2 27.5 37.5
† n = number of observations; SD = standard deviation; Q = quartile; Med. = median; Min. = minimum; Max. = maximum.
‡ Nreq.: The nitrogen requirement per megagram of grain.