Can the Blended Application of Controlled-Release and Common Urea Effectively Replace the Common Urea in a Wheat-Maize Rotation System? A Case Study Based on a Long-Term Experiment

• Published in: Plants (Basel) 2023-12, Vol.12 (24), p.4085
• Main Authors: Zhang, Ling, Xue, Wen-Tao, Sun, Hao, Hu, Yun-Cai, Wu, Rong, Tian, Ye, Chen, Yi-Shan, Ma, Liang, Chen, Qian, Du, Ying, Bai, Yang, Liu, Shan-Jiang, Zou, Guo-Yuan
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Agricultural practices; Agricultural production; blending urea; Carbon footprint; Case studies; Controlled release; Corn; Crop production; Crop rotation; Economic analysis; Economics; ecosystem economic benefit; Ecosystems; Environmental aspects; Environmental economics; Environmental impact; environmental impacts; Fertilizers; Food security; grain yield; Greenhouse gases; Methods; Nitrates; Nitrogen; Organic carbon; Organic nitrogen; Organic soils; Physiological aspects; Profitability; Soil fertility; soil n and c stocks; Soils; Summer; Urea; Wheat; wheat–maize rotation system; Winter
• ISSN: 2223-7747; 2223-7747
• DOI: 10.3390/plants12244085

The one-time application of blended urea (BU), combining controlled-release urea (CRU) and uncoated urea, has proven to be a promising nitrogen (N) management strategy. However, the long-term sustainability of blending urea remains largely unexplored. To assess whether a single application of blended urea could effectively replace split uncoated urea applications, a long-term field experiment was conducted in the North China Plain (NCP). The results indicated that, when compared to common urea (CU) at the optimal N rate (180 kg N ha ), BU achieved comparable grain yields, N uptake and NUE (61% vs. 62). BU exhibited a 12% higher 0-20 cm soil organic nitrogen stock and a 9% higher soil organic carbon (C) stock. Additionally, BU reduced life-cycle reactive N (Nr) losses and the N footprint by 10%, and lowered greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and the C footprint by 7%. From an economic analysis perspective, BU demonstrated comparable private profitability and a 3% greater ecosystem economic benefit. Therefore, BU under the optimal N rate has the potential to substitute split applications of common urea in the long-term and can be regarded as a sustainable N management strategy for wheat and maize production in the NCP.