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Updated: Jul 13, 2026

Microplot Design and Plant and Soil Sample Preparation for 15Nitrogen Analysis
Published on: May 10, 2020
The nitrate leached below maize root zone is available for deep-rooted wheat in winter wheat-summer maize rotation in
Shun-Li Zhou1, Yong-Cheng Wu, Zhi-Min Wang
1Key Laboratory of Crop Cultivation and Farming System, Ministry of Agriculture, College of Agronomy and Biotechnology, China Agricultural University, 2# West Yuanmingyuan Road, Beijing 100094, China. zhoushl@cau.edu.cn
Abstract:
In winter wheat (Triticum aestivum L.)-summer maize (Zea mays L.) rotation system in the North China Plain, maize roots do not extend beyond 1.2 m in the vertical soil profile, but wheat roots can reach up to 2.0 m. Increases in soil nitrate content at maize harvest and significant reductions after winter wheat harvest were observed in the 1.4-2.0 m depth under field conditions. The recovery of 15N isotope (calcium nitrate) from various (1.0, 1.2, 1.4, 1.6, 1.8 and 2.0 m) soil depths showed that deep-rooting winter wheat could use soil nitrate up to the 2.0 m depth. This accounted partially, for the reduced nitrate in the 1.4-2.0 m depth of the soil after harvest of wheat in the rotation system.
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