Global Maize Project in China: Dahe, Shijiazhuang, Hebei Province

Project was initiated in 2009 from summer maize rotated with winter wheat to test how the performance of ecological intensification (EI) compares to that of current farmer practice (FP).

IPNI-2009-CHN-GM21

19 Jan 2011

2010 Annual Interpretive Summary

Global Maize Project in China: Dahe, Shijiazhuang, Hebei Province, 2010

This long-term experiment was initiated in June 2009 with summer maize as the first crop in a winter wheat-summer maize rotation system. The main plots consisted of: 1) an ecological intensification (EI) treatment supplying 180-90-90 kg N-P2O5-K2O/ha for winter wheat and 180-60-90 kg N-P2O5-K2O/ha for summer maize; and 2) a farmer practice (FP) treatment of 300-170-50 kg N-P2O5-K2O/ha for winter wheat and 300-135-0 kg N-P2O5-K2O/ha for summer maize. Subplots were: 1) N applied in all 3 years (N all yr); 2) N applied in 2 of every 3 years (N 2/3 yr); and 3) no N applied (N 0 yr). The site represents a typical summer maize-winter wheat rotation system in Hebei. Winter wheat was planted on October 19, 2009 and harvested on June 15, 2010. Summer maize was then planted on June 19 in the same plot and harvested on October 10, 2010.

No significant differences in grain yield were found between the EI and FP treatments for winter wheat, although higher N and P were applied with FP. Agronomic efficiency (kg grain yield increase per kg N applied) was 5.7 kg/kg in the EI treatment and 3.1 kg/kg in the FP treatment. Partial factor productivity (kg grain yield per kg N applied) was 35.8 kg/kg with EI and 21.9 kg/kg with FP. For summer maize, grain yield within the EI and FP treatments showed a similar trend to that achieved in winter wheat. Partial factor productivity was 44.5 kg/kg with EI and 26.4 kg/kg with FP. The treatment applying N in 2 of every 3 years had the same yield level than the treatment applying N in all years, which demonstrated that 2 seasons without N application didn’t affect grain yield during the third season of maize. IPNI-21