Production limits analysis of rain-fed maize on the basis of spatial variability of soil factors in North China
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Production limits analysis of rain‑fed maize on the basis of spatial variability of soil factors in North China Qingyun Zhou1,2 · Baozhong Zhang1 · Jianhua Jin1,2 · Fusheng Li3
© Springer Science+Business Media, LLC, part of Springer Nature 2020
Abstract In precision agriculture, suitable soil moisture and nutrient levels are important for crop production. Therefore, studying the spatial variability in soil moisture and nutrient, and their impact on crop yield is essential. In this study, spatial variability in soil mechanical composition, bulk density, water content and nutrient content in north China along with its impact on crop yield is investigated. Results show that soil mechanical composition and bulk density respectively exhibited moderate and weak spatial variation at the 0–80 cm soil depth. Soil moisture and N H4+-N contents at the 0–80 cm soil depth showed moderate spatial variation, while soil N O3−-N content showed a moderate spatial variation from the seedling stage to the filling stage and a strong spatial variation from the milk-riping stage to the maturing stage. The maximum attainable yield was achieved under the optimum soil moisture, NH4+-N, or NO3−-N contents for the whole growth period and each growth stage. At high soil water condition, both soil NH4+-N and NO3−-N contents were found to be significantly different between the high and low yield areas, while at low soil water condition, only soil NO3−-N content affected the crop yield significantly. At either low or high H4+-N content in high-producing areas was significantly lower soil NO3−-N level, soil N than that in low-producing areas. Excess fertilization was found in the experimental area. This study can provide a scientific basis for developing appropriate crop irrigation and fertilization management practices to obtain high yield. Keywords Maize · Soil moisture · Soil nutrients · Spatial variation · Boundary line analysis
* Baozhong Zhang [email protected] 1
State Key Laboratory of Simulation and Regulation of Water Cycle in River Basin, China Institute of Water Resources and Hydropower Research, Beijing 100038, China
2
College of Water Conservancy Engineering, Tianjin Agricultural University, Tianjin 300384, China
3
College of Agriculture, Guangxi University, Nanning 530005, China
13
Vol.:(0123456789)
Precision Agriculture
Introduction Maize is the second largest grain crop in China, with a planting area of 3.8 × 107 ha and a total output of 2.25 × 108 t in 2015. Factors affecting maize yield include soil properties, crop varieties, and meteorological factors, etc. The spatial variability of soil properties induces high crop yield variability in space at a field scale. Understanding the spatial variation of soil properties at the field scale and their relationship with crop yield will be helpful for developing the precision management practices to improve crop yield. Previous studies of spatial variability of soil properties mainly focused on soil texture (Meul and Van Meirvenne 2003; Odeh et al
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