Meeting the Demand for Different Nitrogen Forms in Potato Plants Without the Use of Nitrification Inhibitors

• Published in: Plants (Basel) Vol. 13; no. 22; p. 3177
• Main Authors: Chen, Yangyang, Shi, Xiaohua, Chen, Yang, Yu, Jing, Qin, Yonglin, Jia, Liguo, Fan, Mingshou
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Switzerland MDPI AG 01.11.2024; MDPI
• Subjects: Agricultural practices; Agricultural production; Ammonium; Crop yield; Drip irrigation; Efficiency; Farming; Fertilizers; Field tests; Growth stage; Inhibitors; Nitrates; Nitrification; Nitrogen; nitrogen application frequency; nitrogen form; potato growth stage; Potatoes; Preferences; soil N residual; Supply and demand; Trends; tuber yield; Vegetable industry; Vegetables; China; Mongolia; potato growth stage; nitrogen use efficiency; nitrification; soil N residual; nitrogen application frequency; nitrogen form; tuber yield
• ISSN: 2223-7747; 2223-7747
• DOI: 10.3390/plants13223177

The preference of potato plants for specific nitrogen (N) form changes with growth stage. Potato plants prefer nitrate N before tuber formation, while they favor ammonium N after tuber formation. However, few studies have focused on N species management in potato production. In this study, 2-year field experiments were conducted from 2020 to 2021 in Inner Mongolia, China, under drip irrigation with four N treatments: (1) CK (no N was used), (2) conventional farming practices (F) (urea was the only N source applied for potato growth), (3) nitrate N supplied before tuber formation and ammonium N with nitrification inhibitor supplied after tuber formation (N-NI), and (4) nitrate N supplied before tuber formation and frequent, low-dose ammonium N applied after tuber formation (Opt). The results demonstrated that, compared with the F, the Opt treatment facilitated potato N uptake, with a 33–40% increase in plant N accumulation, and significantly increased potato growth, which ultimately resulted in a yield increase of 12–20% and an increase of 11–22 percentage units in NUE. In addition, the Opt treatment reduced the soil N residual by ~14% after harvest. Compared with the N-NI, the Opt treatment did not result in a decrease in tuber yield or NUE. Therefore, supplying nitrate N before tuber formation and frequent, low-dose ammonium N after tuber formation can result in a better match between the supply and demand of potato plants for N forms without the use of nitrification inhibitors, improving both potato yield and NUE, which is of substantial agronomic and environmental value.