Innovative management program for achieving high yield and emission reduction: a case study of wheat/maize rotation...

In the North China Plain, inadequate agronomic technology integration in the dominant wheat‒maize rotation causes yield loss, environmental risks, and low nutrient efficiency. Hence, sustainable management strategies are urgently needed to balance yield, enhance nutrient efficiency, and conserve soil nitrogen throughout the annual cycle.

This 3-year field experiment investigated an innovative management program's effects on yield, biomass, green leaf area index, nutrient dynamics, soil residual nutrients, and environmental cost in a wheat‒maize rotation. Two distinct agronomic technology integration management treatments were included, namely, (1) soil-crop management according to farmers' practices (FP) and (2) an integrated knowledge and innovative management program (IMP). The experiments were conducted over two growing seasons (winter wheat and summer maize) to capture interannual variability and system-level responses.

Compared with the FP treatment, the IMP treatment significantly increased the grain yield, nitrogen use efficiency, and phosphorus use efficiency by 12.7%, 47.6%, and 47.7%, respectively, and decreased reactive nitrogen losses, greenhouse gas emissions, and nitrogen and carbon footprints by 29.1%, 11.0%, 38.1%, and 20.5%, respectively. Random forest modeling identified that IMP enhances yield through increased green leaf area index and improved N and P use efficiency, where enhanced uptake drives higher utilization efficiency. Village-level scenario analysis indicated that the IMP treatment increased yield and economic benefits while reducing nutrient inputs.

This study demonstrates that the IMP treatment can achieve both high productivity and low environmental impacts in intensive wheat‒maize systems in the North China Plain, offering actionable guidelines for sustainable smallholder farming and regional agricultural management.