Study and Demonstration of Soil Nutrient Management and Balanced Fertilizer Technology for Cotton in Anhui

Anhui Province is one of the major cotton production provinces in China with an annual planting area of 344,000 ha in 2010. However, cotton is planted in the region along the Yangtze River valley on mainly gray sandy soils that are (a) low in native soil fertility (organic matter 0.95%, 32 mg nitrate-N/kg, 16 mg available P/kg, 86 mg available K/kg, 35 mg available S/kg and 0.8 mg available B/kg) and (b) not fertilized in a balanced way. Therefore, this study on balanced fertilization in cotton is being conducted along the Yangtze river valley since 2011. Treatments include recommended fertilizer application of 225-150-225 kg N-P₂O₅-K₂O/ha and farmer's common practice (i.e., average application rates of 270-150-150 kg N-P₂O₅-K₂O/ha).

Results showed that the recommended fertilization treatment led to highest seed cotton yield of 4,350 kg/ha with an income of US$2,085/ha. This represented an increase in yield by 356 kg/ha (8.9%) and net income by US$145/ha (7.5%) over the farmer's practice. Demonstration plots in other nearby fields also showed similar results. Thus, with similar but more balanced fertilizer input, the recommended fertilization technology not only increased cotton yield and income, but also reduced the risk of fertilizer N loss to environment.