Nitrogen Utilization and Loss of the Tea Plantation System on Sloped Farmland: A Short-Term Response to Substitution with Organic Fertilizer

• Published in: Agronomy (Basel) Vol. 14; no. 2; p. 392
• Main Authors: Yu, Yingliang, Zhang, Yafei, Yang, Bei, Qian, Cong, Wang, Yizhi, Chen, Taifeng, Han, Xuemei, Yang, Linzhang, Xue, Lihong
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Basel MDPI AG 01.02.2024
• Subjects: Acidic soils; Acidification; Agricultural land; Agricultural production; Agriculture; Agrochemicals; Ammonium; Annual runoff; Compound fertilizers; Crops; Efficiency; Farmers; Farms; Fertilization; Fertilizer application; Fertilizers; Knighthood; Leaves; Mineralization; Nitrogen; organic fertilizer; Organic fertilizers; Plantations; Precipitation; Rainfall intensity; River networks; Runoff; Soil acidification; Soils; Substitutes; Sustainable development; tea; Tea industry; Trees; Utilization; utilization efficiency; Water quality; Massachusetts; China
• ISSN: 2073-4395; 2073-4395
• DOI: 10.3390/agronomy14020392

(1) Background: Excessive nitrogen (N) fertilizer application in tea plantations leads to challenges such as soil acidification and nitrogen loss, impending the sustainable development of the plantation system. Yet, there is a lack of research on blended fertilization strategies, and limited data regarding N loss when substituting with organic fertilizer. (2) Methods: A year-long field monitoring experiment was conducted to evaluate the effects of substituting compound fertilizer with organic fertilizer, specifically with respect to runoff N loss and uptake of chemical fertilizer N by tea trees. (3) Results: The annual runoff N loss ranged from 0.16 to 0.57 kg·hm−2 and accounted for a mere 0.22–0.48% of N from fertilizer applications. Substitution with organic fertilizer reduced runoff N loss by 21–53% and improved the tea tree utilization efficiency of chemical fertilizer N from 16% to 27%. A 50% organic fertilizer substitution (based on the amount of N) promoted a net soil N mineralization rate, creating an ammonium-rich environment favored by tea trees. (4) Conclusions: The positive effects of partially substituting N fertilizer with organic fertilizer in tea plantation systems on both N utilization efficiency and N loss were confirmed. If conditions permit, the study team would aim to expand the temporal scope of the study, and to investigate the impact of organic fertilizer substitution on N loss under various precipitation intensities.