Nutrient Management and Optimized Fertilization on Wheat and Maize in Shanxi Province

This study was conducted to validate Nutrient Expert® (NE)-based fertilizer recommendations for winter wheat and summer maize in farmer fields and compare them with current farmer fertilizer practices (FFP). Seven on-farm experiments each for winter wheat and summer maize were conducted in Linfen, Shanxi Province. NE-based fertilizer recommendation plots received on average 174-86-65 kg N-P₂O₅-K₂O/ha for wheat and 148-60-61 kg N-P₂O₅-K₂O/ha for maize, while the FFP plots received an average of 258-91-26 kg N-P₂O₅-K₂O/ha for wheat and 277-30-19 kg P₂O₅-K₂O/ha for maize.

Results of the study showed that grain yields and profits were 7.7 t/ha and US$2,500/ha for wheat and 9.6 t/ha and $3,207/ha for maize under the NE treatments; and 7.9 t/ha and $2,556/ha for wheat and 9.1 t/ha and $3,207/ha for maize under the FFP treatments. These were statistically similar results. The agronomic efficiency of N (4.9 kg/kg for wheat and maize) obtained with NE was equal to FFP. However, significantly higher N recovery efficiency (18.5% for wheat and 23% for maize), and partial factor productivity of N (43.8 kg/kg for wheat and 73.9 kg/kg for maize) were obtained using NE-based fertilizer recommendations than using FFP, where the corresponding values were 13 and 16%, and 37 and 36 kg/kg for wheat and maize, respectively. When following the recommendations made with NE, 32 and 47% less fertilizer N was used compared to FFP for wheat and maize, respectively. The study demonstrated that NE was an effective fertilizer recommendation method in Shanxi.