Combination of nitrogen and organic fertilizer practices increased rice yields and quality with lower CH4 emissions in a subtropical rice cropping system

Fertilizer nitrogen (N) application has been shown to impact methane (CH4) emissions, yield and quality from rice cropping systems, yet the responses of CH4 fluxes, yield and quality to N reduction and combined application of organic fertilizer in subtropical rice cropping systems are not well docum...

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Main Authors: Hongbao Wu, Yakang Jin, Yongjie Qi, Ruilin Huang, Fuwei Wang
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Frontiers Media S.A. 2025-05-01
Series:Frontiers in Plant Science
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Online Access:https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpls.2025.1613163/full
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author Hongbao Wu
Yakang Jin
Yongjie Qi
Ruilin Huang
Fuwei Wang
author_facet Hongbao Wu
Yakang Jin
Yongjie Qi
Ruilin Huang
Fuwei Wang
author_sort Hongbao Wu
collection DOAJ
description Fertilizer nitrogen (N) application has been shown to impact methane (CH4) emissions, yield and quality from rice cropping systems, yet the responses of CH4 fluxes, yield and quality to N reduction and combined application of organic fertilizer in subtropical rice cropping systems are not well documented. Six experimental treatments were conducted: N90 kg N ha-1 of urea (N1), organic fertilizer with equal N90 (O1) and 80% urea + 20% organic fertilizer (N1O1), farmer’s common practice with N270 kg N ha-1 of urea (N2), organic fertilizer with equal N270 (O2) and 80% urea + 20% organic fertilizer (N2O2) were conducted to simultaneously measure the CH4 flux, yield and quality from a subtropical rice cropping system in south China. Results showed that increased N fertilizer application significantly stimulated soil CH4 emission, increased rice yield and altered quality in paddy fields. CH4 emissions were quantified under different N fertilizer management practices in the peak rice growing season during the tillering and heading stages, respectively. Organic fertilizer alone increased CH4 emission by 442.1% in O1 and by 337.3% in O2 compared with urea. However, relative to organic fertilizer, organic fertilizer combined with urea significantly decreased CH4 emissions by 48.4% in O1 and by 39.2% in O2. Compared with N1 and N2 treatment, rice yield was significantly decreased by 34.4% and 39.5% under O1 and O2, while significantly enhanced by 49.8% and 22.3%, respectively, under N1O1 and N2O2 (P < 0.05). The protein content significantly increased under N1O1 by 18.8% and 41.5%, the amylose content by 30.3% and 14.8%, and the gel consistency by 32.7% and 15.5% in contrast to N1 and O1 (P < 0.05). Similarly, the protein content, amylose content and gel consistency under N2O2 were consistent with the rice quality under the N1O1 treatments above. In summary, optimizing organic fertilizer combined with urea practices was a win-win strategy to improve grain yield and quality while reducing CH4 emissions in the rice cropping system. This study provides new insights into the fertilizer types on CH4 emission and rice production of rice cropping systems.
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spelling doaj-art-b79d49f4766c4c53ab2a32419e8d23762025-08-20T02:33:20ZengFrontiers Media S.A.Frontiers in Plant Science1664-462X2025-05-011610.3389/fpls.2025.16131631613163Combination of nitrogen and organic fertilizer practices increased rice yields and quality with lower CH4 emissions in a subtropical rice cropping systemHongbao WuYakang JinYongjie QiRuilin HuangFuwei WangFertilizer nitrogen (N) application has been shown to impact methane (CH4) emissions, yield and quality from rice cropping systems, yet the responses of CH4 fluxes, yield and quality to N reduction and combined application of organic fertilizer in subtropical rice cropping systems are not well documented. Six experimental treatments were conducted: N90 kg N ha-1 of urea (N1), organic fertilizer with equal N90 (O1) and 80% urea + 20% organic fertilizer (N1O1), farmer’s common practice with N270 kg N ha-1 of urea (N2), organic fertilizer with equal N270 (O2) and 80% urea + 20% organic fertilizer (N2O2) were conducted to simultaneously measure the CH4 flux, yield and quality from a subtropical rice cropping system in south China. Results showed that increased N fertilizer application significantly stimulated soil CH4 emission, increased rice yield and altered quality in paddy fields. CH4 emissions were quantified under different N fertilizer management practices in the peak rice growing season during the tillering and heading stages, respectively. Organic fertilizer alone increased CH4 emission by 442.1% in O1 and by 337.3% in O2 compared with urea. However, relative to organic fertilizer, organic fertilizer combined with urea significantly decreased CH4 emissions by 48.4% in O1 and by 39.2% in O2. Compared with N1 and N2 treatment, rice yield was significantly decreased by 34.4% and 39.5% under O1 and O2, while significantly enhanced by 49.8% and 22.3%, respectively, under N1O1 and N2O2 (P < 0.05). The protein content significantly increased under N1O1 by 18.8% and 41.5%, the amylose content by 30.3% and 14.8%, and the gel consistency by 32.7% and 15.5% in contrast to N1 and O1 (P < 0.05). Similarly, the protein content, amylose content and gel consistency under N2O2 were consistent with the rice quality under the N1O1 treatments above. In summary, optimizing organic fertilizer combined with urea practices was a win-win strategy to improve grain yield and quality while reducing CH4 emissions in the rice cropping system. This study provides new insights into the fertilizer types on CH4 emission and rice production of rice cropping systems.https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpls.2025.1613163/fullCH4 emissionrice grain yieldnutritional qualitynitrogen application rateorganic fertilizer
spellingShingle Hongbao Wu
Yakang Jin
Yongjie Qi
Ruilin Huang
Fuwei Wang
Combination of nitrogen and organic fertilizer practices increased rice yields and quality with lower CH4 emissions in a subtropical rice cropping system
Frontiers in Plant Science
CH4 emission
rice grain yield
nutritional quality
nitrogen application rate
organic fertilizer
title Combination of nitrogen and organic fertilizer practices increased rice yields and quality with lower CH4 emissions in a subtropical rice cropping system
title_full Combination of nitrogen and organic fertilizer practices increased rice yields and quality with lower CH4 emissions in a subtropical rice cropping system
title_fullStr Combination of nitrogen and organic fertilizer practices increased rice yields and quality with lower CH4 emissions in a subtropical rice cropping system
title_full_unstemmed Combination of nitrogen and organic fertilizer practices increased rice yields and quality with lower CH4 emissions in a subtropical rice cropping system
title_short Combination of nitrogen and organic fertilizer practices increased rice yields and quality with lower CH4 emissions in a subtropical rice cropping system
title_sort combination of nitrogen and organic fertilizer practices increased rice yields and quality with lower ch4 emissions in a subtropical rice cropping system
topic CH4 emission
rice grain yield
nutritional quality
nitrogen application rate
organic fertilizer
url https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpls.2025.1613163/full
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