Effects of Full Straw Incorporation on Soil Fertility and Crop Yield in Rice-Wheat Rotation for Silty Clay Loamy Cropland

• Published in: Agronomy (Basel) Vol. 9; no. 3; p. 133
• Main Authors: Zhao, Xinlin, Yuan, Guoyin, Wang, Huoyan, Lu, Dianjun, Chen, Xiaoqin, Zhou, Jianmin
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Basel MDPI AG 12.03.2019
• Subjects: Aggregates; Agricultural land; Agricultural practices; Agricultural production; beta-fructofuranosidase; Bulk density; Catalase; Cation exchange; cation exchange capacity; Cation exchanging; Cereal crops; Crop rotation; Crop yield; cropland; Crops; enzyme activity; Enzymes; Experiments; Fertilizers; field experimentation; grain yield; Harvest; Hydraulics; Invertase; Leachates; Loam; loam soils; microbial carbon; Microorganisms; Moisture content; Nitrogen; nitrogen content; Nutrients; Organic carbon; Oryza sativa; Phosphorus; Physical properties; potassium; Rice; rice-wheat rotation; Rotation; Sandy soils; Saturated soils; Seasons; silty clay soils; Soil aggregates; Soil density; soil enzyme activities; Soil fertility; Soil improvement; Soil investigations; Soil layers; soil nutrients; soil organic carbon; Soil water; Straw; straw incorporation; Urease; Water content; Wheat; Yangtze River Delta; China
• ISSN: 2073-4395; 2073-4395
• DOI: 10.3390/agronomy9030133

This 2-year field experiment investigated the effects of full straw incorporation on soil fertility and crop yield in a rice-wheat (Oryza sativa L.–Triticum aestivum L.) rotation on sandy, loamy soil. Two treatments were tested: (i) straw removal (CK) and (ii) straw incorporation (STR). The STR significantly increased the wheat yield by an average of 58% compared with CK; however, no significant difference was found in the rice yield. Soil available nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium in the 0–20 cm soil layer increased by more than 15% with STR compared to CK. The soil cation exchange capacity and organic carbon in the 0–20 cm soil layer increased by 8% and 22%, for STR compared to CK, respectively. Straw incorporation significantly elevated the soil saturated water content but decreased the soil bulk density compared with CK. Soil aggregates >2 mm were significantly increased after straw return. STR also notably increased the soil urease, invertase, and catalase activities in the 0–15 cm soil layer by 11.4%, 41.0%, and 12.9%, respectively, and the soil microbial carbon and nitrogen contents in the 0–20 cm soil layer by 59% and 54%. Therefore, full straw incorporation could significantly improve soil fertility and maintain crop yields for the study area.