Humic Acids Incorporated into Urea at Different Proportions Increased Winter Wheat Yield and Optimized Fertilizer-Nitrogen Fate
Shengchao Gao,
Shuiqin Zhang,
Liang Yuan,
Yanting Li,
Yanchen Wen,
Jiukai Xu,
Shuwen Hu,
Bingqiang Zhao
Affiliations
Shengchao Gao
Key Laboratory of Plant Nutrition and Fertilizer, Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, Institute of Agricultural Resources and Regional Planning, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Beijing 100081, China
Shuiqin Zhang
Key Laboratory of Plant Nutrition and Fertilizer, Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, Institute of Agricultural Resources and Regional Planning, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Beijing 100081, China
Liang Yuan
Key Laboratory of Plant Nutrition and Fertilizer, Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, Institute of Agricultural Resources and Regional Planning, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Beijing 100081, China
Yanting Li
Key Laboratory of Plant Nutrition and Fertilizer, Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, Institute of Agricultural Resources and Regional Planning, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Beijing 100081, China
Yanchen Wen
Key Laboratory of Plant Nutrition and Fertilizer, Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, Institute of Agricultural Resources and Regional Planning, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Beijing 100081, China
Jiukai Xu
Key Laboratory of Plant Nutrition and Fertilizer, Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, Institute of Agricultural Resources and Regional Planning, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Beijing 100081, China
Shuwen Hu
College of Resources and Environmental Sciences, China Agricultural University, Beijing 100193, China
Bingqiang Zhao
Key Laboratory of Plant Nutrition and Fertilizer, Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, Institute of Agricultural Resources and Regional Planning, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Beijing 100081, China
Humic acids (HAs) incorporated into urea fertilizers are highly effective at increasing yield and decreasing fertilizer-derived nitrogen (N) loss from soil, but reports of the optimal proportion in fertilizers remain widely inconsistent. In this study, we examined the effects of urea enhanced with 0.2–5.0% HAs (UHAs) on the yield, biomass production, N uptake, and N residue in fluvo-aquic soil in winter wheat cultivated over two growing seasons from 2018 to 2020 in the North China Plain. UHAs application significantly enhanced wheat grain yield, aboveground dry biomass, total and fertilizer-derived N uptake by wheat, and residue in soil, while reducing the loss of fertilizer-derived N. Additionally, UHAs treatments increased fertilizer-N residues in soil, especially in the top 30 cm soil layer, which increased with the proportion of added HAs. These positive effects were attributed to a higher spike number under UHAs treatments compared to conventional urea. Clustering analysis of the different treatments showed that 0.2% HAs were more similar to conventional urea, while 0.5% had similar effects to HAs at higher proportions. UHAs application significantly enhanced wheat grain yield, mainly via increasing spike number, and optimized the fertilizer-N fate. Among UHAs treatments, 0.5% HAs showed the highest increase in economic benefit.
