Use of Clinoptilolite to Enhance Rice Sink–Source Traits and Water Productivity Under Alternate Wet–Dry Irrigation

• Published in: Journal of soil science and plant nutrition Vol. 21; no. 4; pp. 3555 - 3566
• Main Authors: Chen, Hongyang, Sun, Yidi, Xie, Wenxiao, Wu, Qi, Chi, Daocai, Yu, Guangxing, Dai, Jingui, Zhang, Manli, Wang, Changhua, Tang, Zhiqiang
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Cham Springer International Publishing 01.12.2021; Springer Nature B.V
• Subjects: Accumulation; Agricultural production; Agriculture; Biomedical and Life Sciences; Consumption; Crop yield; Dry matter; Drying; Ecology; Efficiency; Environment; Fertilizers; Growth stage; Irrigation; Irrigation water; Life Sciences; Nitrogen; Nutrients; Original Paper; Phosphorus; Plant Sciences; Principal components analysis; Productivity; Rice; Rice fields; Semi arid areas; Soil Science & Conservation; Water conservation; China; Nitrogen–phosphorus decreasing; Clinoptilolite; Semi-arid area; Water saving; Sink–source traits; Rice
• ISSN: 0718-9508; 0718-9516
• DOI: 10.1007/s42729-021-00627-5

The purpose of this study was to improve the water and fertilizer use efficiency of rice in semi-arid area. A field experiment was conducted to study the water-saving and fertilizer-reducing effects of clinoptilolite (Z) in water-saving irrigated paddy fields and to clarify the relationships between sink–source traits and rice yield. Z coupled with alternate wetting and drying (AWD) irrigation showed increased water saving by 4.8–11.4%, and the Z&AWD (NAZ) and Z&AWD with 25% less phosphorus (P) treatments (LPAZ) significantly increased water productivity by 15.5% on average. The stage in which Z had the most pronounced effect under AWD on dry matter (DM) accumulation was between 30 and 60 days, while under continuously flooded (CF) irrigation, Z had the greatest effect after 60 days, indicating that Z coupled with AWD irrigation was conducive to the DM increase at the vegetative growth stage. LPAZ and NAZ showed lower average nitrogen (N) acccumlation rate and higher grain-filling duration. The principal component analysis indicated the larger N accumulation in early-stage and longer N accumulation duration were conducive to higher grain-filling rate and rice grain yield. To maximize the yield-increasing effect and optimize grain-filling parameters, effective nitrogen fertilizer managements should guarantee the N accumulation “duration” and “stability,” and improve the nitrogen accumulation “amount” in early stage. Clinoptilolite and AWD with 25% less P treatments led to greater, longer, and more stable N accumulation, which saved irrigation water, phosphorus fertilizer, and improved production efficiency.