Challenge and Opportunity in Improving Fertilizer-nitrogen Use Efficiency of Irrigated Rice in China

Today, about 30% of world nitrogen (N) fertilizer is consumed by China. Rice crops in China consume about 37% of the total N fertilizer used for rice production in the world. Average rate of N application for rice production in China is high and fertilizer-N use efficiency is low compared with other major rice growing countries. Research progresses have been made internationally and domestically on the application method, fertilizer-N sources, computer-based decision support systems, and real-time N management in order to reduce N losses and increase fertilizer-N use efficiency. In addition to continuous increase in N rate and lack of adoption of new knowledge and technology in N management by farmers, we hypothesize that high indigenous soil N supply, adoption of hybrid and super rice cultivars, improper timing of N application, and practice of mid-season drainage could be the causes for the low fertilizer-N use efficiency in China. Future research work on improving fertilizer-N use efficiency of rice crop in China should focus more on improving cultivar's N responsiveness, optimizing the timing and rate of N application based on crop N status, and achieving optimal soil N supply capacity.