Application of Information Technology in Soil Nutrient Management and Balanced Fertilization in Xinjiang
IPNI-2002-CHN-XJ3
29 Jan 2005
2004 Annual Interpretive Summary
Application of Information Technology in Soil Nutrient Management and Balanced Fertilization in Xinjiang, 2004
Xinjiang has an arid to semi-arid climate that is well adapted to a variety of cash crops. Xinjiang is especially known for its cotton area, recently estimated at 1 million (M) ha. Current cotton output for Xinjiang is over 1.5 M t...accounting for 37% of China's total. Besides cotton, Xinjiang is a major producer of tomato, grapes, and hops. The region's main problem is that potassium (K) fertilizer is largely ignored for all these crops. In 2004, two cotton field trials were conducted at the Third Fengshou Farm as well as K demonstrations (20 ha) on cotton in the Xinjiang monitoring village. Experiments on tomato were also carried out at the Chinese Gray-Desert Soil Monitoring Base, Urumchi, and experiments on grapes and hops were conducted at the Toutunhe Farm, Urumchi. Lastly, a field demonstration was conducted on K application for tomato at the Toutunhe Farm.
The cotton field trials indicated that 138 kg P2O5/ha and 72 kg K2O/ha, combined with either 317 kg nitrogen (N)/ha for Ludi variety or 216 kg N/ha for Haidao variety, produced corresponding lint yields of 2,436 kg/ha and 1,753 kg/ha. Demonstrations in the monitored village of Awati County found the proper fertilizer balance with 254 to 337 kg N/ha, 216 to 252 kg P2O5/ha, and 72 kg K2O/ha. These rates increased lint yield by 7% to 11% compared to traditional practice. For tomato, application of 180 kg K2O/ha plus 180 kg N/ha and 106 kg P2O5/ha increased yield by 15% and net income by US$313/ha over common practice. Potassium improved tomato quality by reducing nitrate content, increasing vitamin C, and decreasing fruit rot. In grapes, the combination of 103 kg N/ha, 63 kg P2O5/ha, and either 90, 180, or 270 kg K2O/ha increased yield by 6%, 52%, and 38%, respectively. In hops, application of K increased hop yield by 3.0% to 7.4%. Xinjiang-NMS02