Reducing N Fertilization without Yield Penalties in Maize with a Commercially Available Seed Dressing

Agronomy

Eren Taskin¹  Edoardo Puglisi¹  Marcello E. Chiodini²  Chiara Bertora³  Lorenzo Poggianella⁴  Federico Ardenti⁵  Roberta Boselli⁵  Stefano Amaducci⁵  Vincenzo Tabaglio⁵  Andrea Fiorini⁵  Stefania Codruta Maris⁵  Federico Capra⁵ 

[1] Department for Sustainable Food Process, Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore, Via Emilia Parmense 84, 29122 Piacenza, Italy;Department of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences, University of Milan, Via Celoria 2, 20133 Milano, Italy;Department of Agricultural, Forest and Food Sciences, University of Turin, Largo Braccini 2, 10095 Grugliasco, Italy;Department of Land, Air and Water Resources, University of California, Davis, CA 95616-8521, USA;Department of Sustainable Crop Production, Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore, Via Emilia Parmense 84, 29122 Piacenza, Italy;

关键词: maize;    fertilization reduction;    climate change mitigation;    SDG;    Farm to Fork;    food security;   

DOI  :  10.3390/agronomy11030407

来源: DOAJ

【 摘 要 】

Introducing smart and sustainable tools for climate change adaptation and mitigation is a major need to support agriculture’s productivity potential. We assessed the effects of the processed gypsum seed dressing SOP® COCUS MAIZE+ (SCM), combined with a gradient of N fertilization rates (i.e. 0 %, 70 % equal to 160 kg N ha^-1, and 100 % equal to 230 kg N ha^-1) in maize (Zea mays L.), on: (i) grain yield, (ii) root length density (RLD) and diameter class length (DCL), (iii) biodiversity of soil bacteria and fungi, and (iv) Greenhouse Gases (GHGs, i.e. N₂O, CO₂, and CH₄) emission. Grain yield increased with SCM by 1 Mg ha^-1 (+8 %). The same occurred for overall RLD (+12 %) and DCL of very fine, fine, and medium root classes. At anthesis, soil microbial biodiversity was not affected by treatments, suggesting earlier plant-rhizosphere interactions. Soil GHGs showed that (i) the main driver of N losses as N₂O is the N-fertilization level, and (ii) decreasing N-fertilization in maize from 100 % to 70 % decreased N₂O emissions by 509 mg N-N₂O m^-2 y^-1. Since maize grain yield under SCM with 70 % N-fertilization was similar to that under Control with 100 % N-fertilization, we concluded that under our experimental conditions SCM may be used for reducing N input (-30 %) and N₂O emissions (-23 %), while contemporarily maintaining maize yield. Hence, SCM can be considered an available tool to improve agriculture’s alignment to the United Nation Sustainable Development Goals (UN SDGs) and to comply with Europe’s Farm to Fork strategy for reducing N-fertilizer inputs.

【 授权许可】

Unknown