Americas and Oceania Group - International Plant Nutrition Institute

Asia and Africa Group
China
Southeast Region: Dr. Fang Chen
Balanced Fertilization Strategy for High Wheat Yields in Anhui Province
Project Leader: Lu-jiu Li, Anhui Academy of Agricultural Science Soil and Fertilizer Institute No. 39, Hefei, Anhui.
E-mail: lilujiu@yahoo.com.cn, ljli@ipni.ac.cn
Project Cooperators: Dong-ping Li, Jia-jia Wang, and Xi-sheng Guo
Wheat is the main food crop grown in Anhui province with a total sowing area of 2 million ha annually.
Anhui’s wheat average yield (3,195 kg/ha) was 18.7% lower than the average yield of the country (3,932
kg/ha). One of the reasons for lower yield is unbalanced fertilization. Field experiments were conducted at
Linquan and Mengcheng counties by the Soil and Fertilizer Institute, Anhui Academy of Agricultural Science
in 2011 to demonstrate the benefits of balanced fertilization.
Results showed a remarkable response of winter wheat seed yield and profit to balanced fertilization. Wheat
yield was 7,216 kg/ha with the optimal treatment (180-75-90 kg/ha of N-P 2 O 5 -K 2 O) while omitting N, P, K,
and NPK reduced wheat yields by 19.3%, 9.8%, 9.6% and 30.6%, respectively. Similarly, profits were also
reduced by USD 420/ha, 214/ha, 208/ha, and 607/ha, while omitting N, P, K, and NPK, respectively. The
researchers recommend 180-75-90 kg/ha as the optimum fertilization rate of N, P 2 O 5 and K 2 O, respectively,
for wheat grown in Anhui province. This optimal rate should increase wheat yield by average 15% over
farmers’ common practice. Anhui-18
Study and Demonstration of Balanced Fertilization in Cotton in Anhui
Project Leader: Prof. Zhou Kejin, Anhui Agricultural University Resource and Environment College No. 130, Hefei,
Anhui. E-mail: zhoukejin@163.com.
Project Cooperators: Ma Cheng-ze, Zhang Li-gan, He Fang, and Tang Xiao-qiang
Anhui province is one of the major cotton producing provinces in China with annual cotton planting area of
400,000 ha. Thus, the study of nutrient limiting factors and scientific fertilization technology for cotton is of
great significance in Anhui.
A field experiment was conducted in 2011 in Wuwei county by Anhui Agricultural University. Five
treatments: a) OPT (N-P 2 O 5 -K 2 O = 225-150-225 kg/ha + FeSO 4 22.5 kg/ha + MnSO 4 + ZnSO 4 7.5 kg/ha), b)
OPT-N, c) OPT-P, d) OPT-K, and e) CK (no fertilization) were used in the experiment with three replications.
The plot area was 20 m 2 , and planting density was 18,000 plants/ha. The seedlings were planted on April 20,
and the crop was transplanted on May 15 in 2011.
The results indicated N as the most important nutrient limiting factor for cotton in this region followed
by K. The number of bolls, height, fruit branches, and boll weight of OPT-N treatment decreased by 42.2%,
17.8%, 16.7%, and 10.6%, respectively, when compared with the OPT treatment. Similarly, the number
of bolls, height, and fruit branches of OPT-K treatment decreased 25.3%, 6.4%, and 11.1%, respectively,
compared with the OPT treatment. The seed yield of the OPT (4,075 kg/ha) was 36.6% higher than OPT-N.
Potash application increased cotton bolls, boll weight, and lint yield significantly. Based on applied N at 225
kg/ha and P 2 O 5 at 150 kg/ha, the best K 2 O application rate was 337.5 kg/ha with seed yield of 4,195 kg/ha and
better cotton quality (fiber length was 29.7 mm, increased 14% than that of OPT-K treatment). Anhui-19
IPNI Interpretive Summaries 69