Straw Returning Combined with Application of Sulfur-Coated Urea Improved Rice Yield and Nitrogen Use Efficiency Through Enhancing Carbon and Nitrogen Metabolism
Straw returning inhibits tillering at the early stage of rice growth and thus affects grain yield. Sulfur-coated urea (SCU) has been expected to increase nitrogen use efficiency (NUE) and yield, save labor input, and reduce environmental pollution in crop production. Nevertheless, the sulfur coating...
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MDPI AG
2025-07-01
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| Series: | Agriculture |
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| author | Guangxin Zhao Kaiyu Gao Ming Gao Xiaotian Xu Zeming Li Xianzhi Yang Ping Tian Xiaoshuang Wei Zhihai Wu Meiying Yang |
| author_facet | Guangxin Zhao Kaiyu Gao Ming Gao Xiaotian Xu Zeming Li Xianzhi Yang Ping Tian Xiaoshuang Wei Zhihai Wu Meiying Yang |
| author_sort | Guangxin Zhao |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Straw returning inhibits tillering at the early stage of rice growth and thus affects grain yield. Sulfur-coated urea (SCU) has been expected to increase nitrogen use efficiency (NUE) and yield, save labor input, and reduce environmental pollution in crop production. Nevertheless, the sulfur coatings of SCU are easy to break and then shorten the nutrient release cycle. Whether there was a complementary effect between straw returning and SCU in NUE and grain yield had remained elusive. To investigate the effects of straw returning combined with the application of SCU on NUE and rice yield, a two-year field experiment was conducted from 2022 to 2023 with three treatments (straw returning combined with conventional urea (SRU), no straw returning combined with SCU (NRS), straw returning combined with SCU (SRS)). We found that straw returning combined with the application of SCU increased rice yield and NUE significantly. Compared with SRU and NRS, SRS treatments significantly increased grain yield by 14.61–16.22%, and 4.14–7.35%, respectively. Higher effective panicle numbers per m<sup>2</sup> and grain numbers per panicle were recorded in NRS and SRS treatments than SRU. SRS treatment increased nitrogen recovery efficiency by 79.53% and 22.97%, nitrogen agronomic efficiency by 18.68% and 17.37%, and nitrogen partial factor productivity by 10.51% and 9.81% compared with SRU and NRS treatment, respectively. The enhanced NUE in SRS was driven by higher leaf area index, SPAD value, net photosynthetic rate, carbon metabolic enzyme (RuBP and SPS) activity, nitrogen metabolic enzyme (NR, GS, and GOGAT) activity, sucrose and nitrogen content in leaves, and nitrogen accumulation in plant during grain filling. Moreover, the improved yield in SRS was closely related to superior NUE. In conclusion, straw returning combined with application of SCU boosted grain yield and NUE via enhanced carbon–nitrogen metabolism during the late growth period in rice. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-ed43cd54e3a64f8bb760f061390aad59 |
| institution | DOAJ |
| issn | 2077-0472 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-07-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Agriculture |
| spelling | doaj-art-ed43cd54e3a64f8bb760f061390aad592025-08-20T03:13:44ZengMDPI AGAgriculture2077-04722025-07-011514155410.3390/agriculture15141554Straw Returning Combined with Application of Sulfur-Coated Urea Improved Rice Yield and Nitrogen Use Efficiency Through Enhancing Carbon and Nitrogen MetabolismGuangxin Zhao0Kaiyu Gao1Ming Gao2Xiaotian Xu3Zeming Li4Xianzhi Yang5Ping Tian6Xiaoshuang Wei7Zhihai Wu8Meiying Yang9Faculty of Agronomy, Jilin Agricultural University, Changchun 130118, ChinaFaculty of Agronomy, Jilin Agricultural University, Changchun 130118, ChinaFaculty of Agronomy, Jilin Agricultural University, Changchun 130118, ChinaFaculty of Agronomy, Jilin Agricultural University, Changchun 130118, ChinaFaculty of Agronomy, Jilin Agricultural University, Changchun 130118, ChinaFaculty of Agronomy, Jilin Agricultural University, Changchun 130118, ChinaFaculty of Agronomy, Jilin Agricultural University, Changchun 130118, ChinaFaculty of Agronomy, Jilin Agricultural University, Changchun 130118, ChinaFaculty of Agronomy, Jilin Agricultural University, Changchun 130118, ChinaCollege of Life Science, Jilin Agricultural University, Changchun 130118, ChinaStraw returning inhibits tillering at the early stage of rice growth and thus affects grain yield. Sulfur-coated urea (SCU) has been expected to increase nitrogen use efficiency (NUE) and yield, save labor input, and reduce environmental pollution in crop production. Nevertheless, the sulfur coatings of SCU are easy to break and then shorten the nutrient release cycle. Whether there was a complementary effect between straw returning and SCU in NUE and grain yield had remained elusive. To investigate the effects of straw returning combined with the application of SCU on NUE and rice yield, a two-year field experiment was conducted from 2022 to 2023 with three treatments (straw returning combined with conventional urea (SRU), no straw returning combined with SCU (NRS), straw returning combined with SCU (SRS)). We found that straw returning combined with the application of SCU increased rice yield and NUE significantly. Compared with SRU and NRS, SRS treatments significantly increased grain yield by 14.61–16.22%, and 4.14–7.35%, respectively. Higher effective panicle numbers per m<sup>2</sup> and grain numbers per panicle were recorded in NRS and SRS treatments than SRU. SRS treatment increased nitrogen recovery efficiency by 79.53% and 22.97%, nitrogen agronomic efficiency by 18.68% and 17.37%, and nitrogen partial factor productivity by 10.51% and 9.81% compared with SRU and NRS treatment, respectively. The enhanced NUE in SRS was driven by higher leaf area index, SPAD value, net photosynthetic rate, carbon metabolic enzyme (RuBP and SPS) activity, nitrogen metabolic enzyme (NR, GS, and GOGAT) activity, sucrose and nitrogen content in leaves, and nitrogen accumulation in plant during grain filling. Moreover, the improved yield in SRS was closely related to superior NUE. In conclusion, straw returning combined with application of SCU boosted grain yield and NUE via enhanced carbon–nitrogen metabolism during the late growth period in rice.https://www.mdpi.com/2077-0472/15/14/1554grain yieldnitrogen assimilationnitrogen use efficiencyphotosynthetic capacityslow-release fertilizerstraw returning |
| spellingShingle | Guangxin Zhao Kaiyu Gao Ming Gao Xiaotian Xu Zeming Li Xianzhi Yang Ping Tian Xiaoshuang Wei Zhihai Wu Meiying Yang Straw Returning Combined with Application of Sulfur-Coated Urea Improved Rice Yield and Nitrogen Use Efficiency Through Enhancing Carbon and Nitrogen Metabolism Agriculture grain yield nitrogen assimilation nitrogen use efficiency photosynthetic capacity slow-release fertilizer straw returning |
| title | Straw Returning Combined with Application of Sulfur-Coated Urea Improved Rice Yield and Nitrogen Use Efficiency Through Enhancing Carbon and Nitrogen Metabolism |
| title_full | Straw Returning Combined with Application of Sulfur-Coated Urea Improved Rice Yield and Nitrogen Use Efficiency Through Enhancing Carbon and Nitrogen Metabolism |
| title_fullStr | Straw Returning Combined with Application of Sulfur-Coated Urea Improved Rice Yield and Nitrogen Use Efficiency Through Enhancing Carbon and Nitrogen Metabolism |
| title_full_unstemmed | Straw Returning Combined with Application of Sulfur-Coated Urea Improved Rice Yield and Nitrogen Use Efficiency Through Enhancing Carbon and Nitrogen Metabolism |
| title_short | Straw Returning Combined with Application of Sulfur-Coated Urea Improved Rice Yield and Nitrogen Use Efficiency Through Enhancing Carbon and Nitrogen Metabolism |
| title_sort | straw returning combined with application of sulfur coated urea improved rice yield and nitrogen use efficiency through enhancing carbon and nitrogen metabolism |
| topic | grain yield nitrogen assimilation nitrogen use efficiency photosynthetic capacity slow-release fertilizer straw returning |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2077-0472/15/14/1554 |
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