Tropical legume crop rotation and nitrogen fertilizer effects on agronomic and nitrogen efficiency of rice

ScientificWorldJournal. 2014:2014:490841. doi: 10.1155/2014/490841. Epub 2014 May 22.

Abstract

Bush bean, long bean, mung bean, and winged bean plants were grown with N fertilizer at rates of 0, 2, 4, and 6 g N m(-2) preceding rice planting. Concurrently, rice was grown with N fertilizer at rates of 0, 4, 8, and 12 g N m(-2). No chemical fertilizer was used in the 2nd year of crop to estimate the nitrogen agronomic efficiency (NAE), nitrogen recovery efficiency (NRE), N uptake, and rice yield when legume crops were grown in rotation with rice. Rice after winged bean grown with N at the rate of 4 g N m(-2) achieved significantly higher NRE, NAE, and N uptake in both years. Rice after winged bean grown without N fertilizer produced 13-23% higher grain yield than rice after fallow rotation with 8 g N m(-2). The results revealed that rice after winged bean without fertilizer and rice after long bean with N fertilizer at the rate of 4 g N m(-2) can produce rice yield equivalent to that of rice after fallow with N fertilizer at rates of 8 g N m(-2). The NAE, NRE, and harvest index values for rice after winged bean or other legume crop rotation indicated a positive response for rice production without deteriorating soil fertility.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Agriculture
  • Biomass
  • Crops, Agricultural*
  • Fabaceae / physiology*
  • Fertilizers*
  • Nitrogen Fixation
  • Nitrogen* / chemistry
  • Nitrogen* / metabolism
  • Oryza / physiology*

Substances

  • Fertilizers
  • Nitrogen