Determining optimal nitrogen management to improve rice yield, quality and nitrogen use efficiency based on...

Area of Science:

• Agricultural Science
• Agronomy
• Soil Science

Background:

• Nitrogen (N) supply is crucial for rice yield, quality, and nitrogen use efficiency (NUE).
• Understanding the trade-offs in N management for optimal rice production remains a challenge.
• A 2-year field experiment was conducted to address these complexities.

Purpose of the Study:

• To identify optimal N fertilizer management practices for high-yield, high-quality, and high-NUE rice.
• To evaluate the effectiveness of optimized N treatments compared to farmer's practices.
• To assess the impact of substituting N fertilizer with pig manure.

Main Methods:

• Field experiment over two years.
• Application of Technique for Order Preference by Similarity to an Ideal Solution (TOPSIS) with entropy weight (EW) method.
• Comparison of farmer's fertilization practice (FFP) with optimized N (OPT) and OPT with pig manure substitution (OPTM) treatments.

Main Results:

• Optimized N treatments (OPT and OPTM) increased grain yield (2.87-6.62%) and improved 1000-grain weight and filled grains rate.
• Agronomic NUE (AE) and N partial factor productivity (PFP) significantly increased under OPT and OPTM (32.81-43.01% and 28.59-33.28%, respectively).
• Milling quality (brown rice and head rice rates) and appearance/eating quality (reduced chalkiness and amylose content) were significantly enhanced by OPT and OPTM.

Conclusions:

• Optimized N and N with pig manure substitution (OPTM) represent high-yield, high-quality, and high-efficiency nutrient management modes.
• These strategies are promising for improving overall rice productivity.
• The findings align with United Nations Sustainable Development Goals for sustainable agriculture.