不同降雨状况下渭北旱地春玉米临界氮稀释曲线与氮素营养诊断

过量施氮、降雨变率大和水氮耦合差是渭北旱地春玉米生产中氮肥高效利用的主要难题。构建渭北旱地不同降雨状况下春玉米临界氮稀释曲线,分析采用氮营养指数NNI诊断和评价旱地玉米氮素营养状况的可行性,为实现旱地玉米因雨合理施氮提供理论依据。以郑单958和陕单8806为试验材料,设置5个施氮量处理, 2016—2017年5个施氮量处理分别为0、75、150、270和360 kg hm-2, 2018—2019年施氮量调整为0、90、180、270和360 kg hm–2,文中依次用N0、N1、N2、N3、N4表示。其中2016年和2018年降水状况表现为穗期多雨,花粒期干旱; 2017年和2019年降水状况表现为穗期干旱,花粒期多雨,利用4年田间定位施氮试验数据构建并验证2种降雨状况下旱地春玉米临界氮稀释曲线模型。结果表明:(1)增施氮肥显著提高了旱地春玉米地上部生物量和植株含氮量,不同施氮量处理间差异显著。2种降雨状况下春玉米临界氮浓度和地上部生物量均符合幂指数关系,但模型参数之间存在差异(a.穗期多雨:Nc=35.98DM–0.35;b.穗期干旱:Nc=35.04DM–0.23)。模型拟合的植株氮浓度和实际氮浓度线性相关,穗期多雨年RMSE和n–RMSE分别为1.03、5.75%,穗期干旱年分别为1.53、6.78%,模型均具有较好稳定性。(2)在试验施氮量范围内,不同生育时期NNI随氮肥用量增加而增大,不同降雨状况下最佳施氮量存在差异。渭北旱地玉米最适施氮方案为基施氮肥150～180kghm–2,穗期多雨年追施氮肥45～75kghm–2。(3)氮营养指数NNI与相对吸氮量(RNupt)、相对地上部生物量(RDW)和相对产量(RY)均极显著相关,穗期多雨年NNI为1.02时, RY获得最大值,为0.95;穗期干旱年NNI为1.08时, RY获得最大值,为0.92。本研究建立的旱地玉米临界氮稀释曲线和氮营养指数,能够精准预测2种降雨状况下旱地春玉米拔节期至完熟期的氮素营养状况,对玉米生育季氮诊断及指导精确施氮具有重要意义。     

黄淮旱地组小麦品种抗旱性鉴定比较分析

为了解近年来黄淮冬麦区旱地组小麦品种抗旱性的整体情况,对2017—2019年黄淮冬麦区132个区试品种（系）在干旱胁迫下的产量及抗旱指数,穗数、穗粒数、千粒重、株高等性状及抗旱系数,进行分析总结。结果表明：黄淮旱肥组、旱薄组、北部组区试品种（系）近年来品种的抗旱性趋势大体相同,胁迫情况下产量总的变化是旱肥组>旱薄组>北部组,且呈逐年稳中有升的趋势,从抗旱指数看,黄淮旱地小麦品种的抗旱整体还处于偏弱的水平;抗旱性状表现为干旱胁迫下均有不同程度的受损,均以千粒重的受损程度最小,有效穗、穗粒数、株高受损程度最大。     

渭北旱塬区不同栽培模式对小麦产量与土壤水分及硝态氮累积的影响

渭北旱塬小麦生产中需要克服的主要限制因子是水分不足,寻求合理的栽培措施以提高天然降水的利用率对于产量提高具有重要意义.本试验通过2a大田试验,研究了不同栽培措施对冬小麦产量及0～200 cm土层水分与硝态氮累积的影响.结果表明:(1)推荐施肥+垄上覆膜+沟内覆草(NP+ PF+ S)与推荐施肥+垄上覆膜(NP+ PF)两种垄沟栽培模式,虽然单位面积穗数明显降低,但由于穗粒数、千粒重显著高于其它栽培模式,因此产量和水分利用效率在所有模式中为最高.(2) NP+ PF+S和NP+ PF模式在小麦生育期内明显增加了土壤储水量,尤其在冬小麦易遭水分胁迫的时期(3-5月),其土层中储水量要明显高于其他模式.(3)土壤中硝态氮的累积主要集中在60cm以上,随着土壤深度的增加,累积量逐渐减少.在第二季,塬面冬小麦NP+ PF+S处理的硝态氮累积显著高于其它处理.在梯田,NP+S处理出现明显累积.由此可见,推荐施肥+垄沟栽培模式虽然促进土壤中氮素的累积,但是显著提高降水的有效贮蓄,是渭北旱塬区雨养农业条件下维持冬小麦高产的合理栽培模式.     

渭南市渭北黄土高原沟壑区侧柏造林试验

在渭南市渭北黄土高原沟壑区进行了侧柏不同苗木类型、不同苗龄的造林效果对比试验研究,试验结果表明:在黄土高原干旱沟壑区造林宜选用定植培育1a、苗高0.8~1.0m的侧柏容器苗,较裸根苗可提高成活率37.3个百分点;选用定植培育2a、苗高1.8~2.0m的侧柏苗,要带直径和高度不小于20cm的土球,较不带土球苗提高成活率40个百分点;栽后截除苗木顶梢和茎干枝叶的一部分,较不截可提高栽植成活率26.8个百分点。     

Yield and seasonal water productivity of sunflower as affected by tillage and cropping systems under dryland conditions in the Limpopo Province of South Africa

Sustainable food production in semi-arid tropical countries can be achieved through efficient utilization of rainwater. A field experiment to assess the grain yield, seasonal water use (WU), water use efficiency (WUE) and precipitation use efficiency (PUE) of sunflower (Helianthus annuus L.) intercropped with cowpea (Vigna unguiculata L.) on two tillage systems was conducted during the 2007/2008 and 2008/2009 cropping seasons at the University of Venda (22°58′ S, 30°26′ E at 596 m above sea level). The experiment was configured as a 2 × 2 × 2 factorial design with three replications. The tillage treatments were conventional tillage (CT) (control) and in-field rainwater harvesting (IRWH) system. The IRWH is a special crop production technique that promotes runoff on 2.0-m wide no-till strip between crop rows and collects the runoff water in basins where it infiltrates into the soil profile. The treatments in the cropping system (CS) consisted of a sole crop (sunflower or cowpea) and an intercrop (sunflower × cowpea). Results of the experiment revealed that IRWH led to a significant (P < 0.05) increase in sunflower grain yield in the second season but cowpea grain yield was not influenced by tillage systems. IRWH resulted in significantly higher WU, WUE and PUE of both crops compared to CT system in the second season. The CS had significant effects on sunflower grain yield in both seasons but none on the cowpea grain yield. WU was significantly higher in intercrops than in sole cowpea and sole sunflower in the first and second season, respectively. WUE and PUE were significantly greater in sole sunflower than in the intercrops but less in the sole cowpea than in the intercrops.     

Managing secondary dryland salinity: Options and challenges

Salt occurs naturally at high levels in the subsoils of most Australian agricultural land. As a result of clearing native vegetation, groundwater tables have risen, mobilising the stored salt and causing adverse impacts on farmland, infrastructure, water resources, and biodiversity. The main action required to prevent groundwater tables from rising is establishment of perennial plants, either herbaceous (pastures or crops) or woody (trees and shrubs). Recent technical and economic research has emphasised how difficult it will be to establish sufficient perennials to get control of groundwater tables. Where watertables are already shallow, the options for farmers are salt-tolerant plants (e.g. saltbush for grazing) or engineering (e.g. deep open drains). The existing options for farm-level salinity management are reviewed, with mixed but somewhat disappointing findings regarding their suitability for addressing salinity. However, there are also a number of good prospects for development of new and better options for plant-based management of salinity, and these are described.     

不同水肥条件下旱地小麦水肥利用率研究

探讨了不同水肥条件对旱地小麦产量和水肥利用率的影响。结果表明,不同水肥条件对小麦株高、穗长、穗粒数和千粒重有明显影响;补充灌水和不灌水施肥处理分别比相应对照增产39．2％～142．6％和34．2％～152．3％,同时补充灌水比不灌水各处理增产21．0％～40．2％。不同肥料配比以N1P1处理的肥料利用效率最高,并以适当补灌效果最佳,补充灌水和不灌水每千克N分别增产小麦18．0kg和13．0kg。不同肥料配比处理灌水利用效率分别比对照提高0．17～0．72kg／m^3,并以N1P1最高,为1．16kg／m^3。     

Effects of different management practices on the soil–water balance and crop yield for improved dryland farming in the Chinese Loess Plateau

Field experiments were carried out to study the effects of different soil management practices on the water balance, precipitation use efficiency (PUE), and crop yield (i.e. winter wheat and peanut) on a loess soil near Luoyang (east edge of the Chinese Loess Plateau, Henan Province, China). Field plots were set up in 1999 including following soil management practices: subsoiling with mulch (SS), no-till with mulch (NT), reduced tillage (RT), two crops per year (i.e. winter wheat and peanut, TC), and a conventional tillage control (CT). The field plots were equipped to monitor all components of the soil–water balance except evapotranspiration, which was computed by solving the water balance equation. The results showed that although soil management had smaller influence on the magnitude of the water balance components than did precipitation variations, small influences of the applied soil management practices on water conservation during the fallow period can greatly affect winter wheat yield. SS increased consistently precipitation storage efficiency (PSE) and PUE over the 5 years compared to CT except during the wettest year. NT also had a noticeable effect on postharvest water storage during the fallow period; however, the influence on yield of NT depended on the amount of precipitation. TC lowered the winter wheat yield mainly due to the unfavorable soil moisture conditions after growing peanut in summer; however, the harvested peanut gained an extra profit for the local farmer. No matter which kind of soil management practices was adapted, PSE never exceeded 41.6%, which was primarily attributed to high evapotranspiration. From data of five consecutive agricultural years between 2000 and 2005, it could be concluded that SS resulted in the highest PSE, PUE and crop yield. TC also showed promising results considering the economic value of the second crop. NT performed slightly less as SS. CT gave intermediate results, whereas RT was the worst alternative.     

Effects of crop growth and soil treatments on microbial C,N, and P in dry tropical arable land

We studied the dynamics of microbial C, N, and P in soil cropped with rice (Oryza sativa) and lentils (Lens culinaris) in a dryland farming system. The crop biomass and grain yield were also studied. The microbial biomass and its N and P contents were larger under the lentil than under the rice crop. Microbial nutrients decreased as the crops grew and then increased again. Farmyard manure and NPK fertilizer applications increased the level of microbial nutrients, crop biomass, and grain yield by 35–80%, 55–85%, and 74–86%, respectively. However, these applications had no significant effect on most of the soil physicochemical properties in the short term. The microbial biomass was correlated with the crop biomass and grain yield. The calculated flux of N and P through the microbial biomass ranged from 30–45 and 10–19 kg ha^-1 year^-1, respectively. Cultivation of a cereal crop followed by a leguminous crop sustains higher levels of microbial nutrients and hence greater fertility in impoverished tropical arable soils. The soil microbial biomass appears to contribute significantly to crop productivity by releasing nutrients, and applications of manure, either alone or with fertilizers, promote this effect more strongly than the application of NPK fertilizers alone.     

Enzyme activities and microbial community structure in semiarid agricultural soils

This study investigated the effect of management on -glucosidase, -glucosaminidase, alkaline phosphatase, and arylsulfatase activities and the microbial community structure in semiarid soils from West Texas, USA. Surface samples (0–5 cm) were taken from a fine sandy loam, sandy clay loam, and loam that were under continuous cotton ( Gossypium hirsutum L.) or in cotton rotated with peanut ( Arachis hypogaea L.), sorghum ( Sorghum bicolor L.), rye ( Secale cereale) or wheat ( Triticum aestivum L.), and had different water management (irrigated or dryland), and tillage (conservation or conventional). The enzyme activities were higher in the loam and sandy clay loam than in the fine sandy loam. Soil pH was not affected by management, but the soil organic C and total N contents were generally affected by the different crop rotations and tillage practices studied. The trends of the enzyme activities as affected by management depended on the soil, but in general crop rotations and conservation tillage increased the enzyme activities in comparison to continuous cotton and conventional tillage. The soil enzyme activities were significantly correlated with the soil organic C ( r -values up to 0.90, P< 0.001), and were correlated among each other ( r -values up to 0.90, P <0.001). There were differences in the fatty acid methyl ester profiles between the fine sandy loam and the sandy clay loam and loam, and they reflected the differences in the enzyme activities found among the soils. For example, a 15:0 ranged from 1.61±0.25% in cotton-peanut/irrigated/no-till in the fine sandy loam to 3.86±0.48% in cotton-sorghum/dryland/conservation tillage in the sandy clay loam. There were no differences due to management within the same soil.Trade names and company names are included for the benefit of the reader and do not infer any endorsement or preferential treatment of the product by USDA-ARS