Fine Soil Texture Is Conducive to Crop Productivity and Nitrogen Retention in Irrigated Cropland in a Desert-Oasis Ecotone, Northwest China

Abstract

Agricultural production in oases requires extensive irrigation and nitrogen (N) inputs, which result in a high incidence of non-point-source pollution. Information on how soil texture affects crop productivity and water and N use efficiency is needed to improve N management in oases. A two-year field study with six free-draining leaching pits was set up to quantify soil water content (SWC), drainage, yield, N uptake, soil residual N, N leaching, water-use efficiency (WUE), and N fertilizer-use efficiency (NFUE) on sandy-textured soils in a young oasis field (24 years, YOF) and loam-textured soils in an old oasis field (>60 years; OOF) within an intensive oasis agricultural zone in Northwest China. The results showed that sand content in the YOF was significantly higher than that in the OOF (p p p p p p > 0.01). Crop yield and NFUE in the OOF were, respectively, 23.9 and 27.2% higher than those in the YOF (p < 0.05). These results indicated that sandy-textured soils with high sand content were not conducive to water and N retention, resulting in lower crop yields and water- and fertilizer-use efficiency in YOF. Therefore, it is imperative that management practices in sandy-textured land promote improvements in soil structure and maintain the long-term productivity of the young cultivated fields.

Keywords

• soil texture
• leaching-pit
• nitrate leaching
• water use efficiency
• nitrogen use efficiency