5 RECRUITMENT OF IMMUNE CELLS
5.2 Past Numerical Studies; Modeling Deformable Cells
5.3.3. Binary collisions (free-stream cell less than a diameter above substrate)
64
mulching on the utilization rate of N fertilizer by rice have been recently conducted [14]. The authors found that the fertilizer N recovery with normal irrigation cultivation (15.3%) was lower than that of dryland rice without plastic mulching (23.6%) or with plastic mulching (23.1%), and the latter was significantly higher than that with straw mulching (19.1%) or straw plus film mulching (18.4%).
The objective of this study was to investigate the influence of improved irrigation, N fertilization and mulching management practices to enhance sustainable production of rice–
wheat rotations in SW China through better use efficiency of external inputs and reduced environmental pollution.
65 2.1.2. Climatic conditions
The climate is subtropical, with 15–18oC yearly mean temperature, 950–1 200 mm average annual rainfall, 280–320 frost free days and 1 000–1 400 solar hours. The spring and summer drought is a serious constraint for wheat production.
2.1.3. Experimental design/treatments
The treatments of the field experiment 1 are described in Table 2.
TABLE 2. TREATMENTS OF WATER REGIME, NITROGEN AND MULCH MANAGEMENT FOR RICE IN THE FIELD EXPERIMENT
Treatment Water regime Mulching methods Water management
FNL Flooded None Flooded
ANL Non-flooded None Monitoring irrigation
ASL Non-flooded Straw Monitoring irrigation
AML Non-flooded Plastic membrane Monitoring irrigation
aThe same management as traditional flooded paddy rice.
bTransplanting into puddled soil. Irrigation water was applied to rice when the soil water content was lower than 75% of field capacity at commencement of tillering, booting stage, flowering stage and soft dough grain stage.
2.1.4. Field and crop management
The rotation system comprised winter wheat and rice (head crop) using local cultivars of rice (Oryza sativa), Hybrid 527 (2002, 2003), Chuangxiang No 3 (2004, 2005) and winter wheat (Triticum aestivum), cultivar SW3243 for all the growing seasons.
For the rice crop, a total of 180 kg N ha–1 as urea was applied as follows: 30 kg N ha–1 was applied at sowing, 100 kg N ha–1 was applied as a basal application at transplanting and 50 kg N ha–1 was applied as a top dressing at the commencement of tillering. For the wheat crop, a total of 120 kg N ha–1 was split into 60 kg N ha–1 at sowing and a further 60 kg N ha–1 at the commencement of tillering.
Immediately after the wheat harvest, the field was puddled with 40–45 mm of water and 16 plots of 6 × 7 mwere established. These were separated by a plastic membrane buried to 60 cm depth to prevent water movement from one plot to another. Neutron access tubes and suction cups were installed in each plot at 50 and 60 cm depth, respectively. One rectangular stainless steel micro plot of 1.2 × 0.75 m with sides 40 cm high was installed in each plot for the 15N isotopic technique. The top of the micro plot was 15 cm above the soil surface. After harvest of each wheat crop the field was puddled with 40–45 mm of water. The micro plots were moved to a new location in the same plot in each new cropping season. 15N-labelled urea with 5.0 atom % 15N was provided by the International Atomic Energy Agency.
15N-labelled urea and unlabelled urea, at a rate equivalent to 100 kg N ha–1, was applied just before rice transplanting, in micro plots and plots respectively. Phosphorus and potassium fertilizers were also applied at rates equivalent to 75 kg P2O5ha–1 and 75 kg K2O ha–1, respectively. N, P and K fertilizers were applied in the form of urea, superphosphate and
66
potassium sulphate, respectively. All fertilizers were mixed thoroughly with the top 10 cm of soil.
Before wheat seeding, 15N-labelled urea and unlabelled urea (60 kg N ha–1) was diluted with water and sprayed onto the soil surface in the micro plots and plots, respectively.
Phosphorus and potassium fertilizers were applied as above in the planting holes at rates equivalent to 72 kg P2O5ha–1 and 68 kg K2Oha–1, respectively.
Rice seed was sown after 15N-urea was applied at 30 kg N ha–1, and mixed with the soil in the micro plot. A similar procedure was used with unlabelled urea in the rest of the plot. Wheat seeds were no till sown into holes spaced 10 cm apart within rows spaced either 25 cm or 15 cm apart.
After basal fertilization either a thin plastic film or 5 000 kg ha–1 of straw was mulched onto the corresponding plots and micro plots. Rice seedlings were transplanted at a spacing of 20 cm in rows 30 cm apart.
The flooded rice treatment received 106, 118, 555 and 754 mm of irrigation water and 572, 643, 590 and 349 mm of rainfall in the 2002, 2003, 2004 and 2005 seasons. Wheat received 170, 190, 337 and 481 mm of rainfall in the 2002/03, 2003/04, 2004/05 and 2005/06 seasons, respectively.
An application of urea at 50 or 60 kg N ha–1 was applied at the commencement of tillering of rice, and wheat, respectively. The 15N-urea or unlabelled urea was diluted with water and sprayed onto the soil surface for all treatments.
Monitoring of soil water status was made using a neutron probe. Approximately every 10 days during the rice season, and every month in the wheat season, the volumetric water content at 0–10, 10–20, 20–30, 30–40 and 40–50 cm was measured by a NMG-3D neutron probe, and soil water was removed from the suction cups for measurement of nitrate concentration.
Calibration of counts of slow neutrons and soil water content were undertaken at several locations in the plots. Immediately after counting, soil was sampled from 0–10, 10–
20, 20–30, 30–40 and 40–50 cm and oven dried at 105oC for determination of gravimetric soil water content. The following linear equation was used for calibration:
θ = a + b (R / Rs)
Where: θ is the volumetric water content (cm3 cm–3), a is the intercept, b is the slope, R is the actual count rate and Rs is the standard count rate, measured in the shield.
2.1.5. Harvesting, sampling and analysis
Rice harvests were made from 1.0 m2 areas at maximum tillering, 50% flowering, soft dough stage, and maturity. All aboveground parts of plants in the micro plots were carefully cut, oven dried at 105°C for half an hour and at 70°C until dryness. After drying, dry matter yields and yield components were measured. After separation, the plant samples were ground, and total N concentration of the grain, husk and straw was measured by the Kjeldahl method, and 15N abundance was determined with a MAT 251 Mass Spectrometer. Soil in the micro plots was sampled at 0–20, 20–40 and 40–60 cm, dried at room temperature and total N and
15N abundance measured.
Wheat was harvested one week after 50% flowering (Z-30), at the dough grain stage and at maturity. One m2 of above ground plant parts were cut for measurement of dry matter and nitrogen concentration. Yield component characteristics were determined at the maturity harvest. Plant and soil samples from the micro plots were collected and processed as for rice.
67 2.1.6. Evaluation parameters
Water use efficiency, WUE (kg grain ha–1 mm–1 water) was calculated as:
WUE = G / (I + R)
Where G is grain yield in kg ha–1 and I and R are irrigation and rainfall in mm.
or WUE can be expressed as: kg grain m–3 water = kg grain ha–1 mm–1 water / 10
NUE (%) = 100 x (Total excess 15N uptake by crop / total 15N excess of fertilizer applied) 2.1.7. Statistical analysis
All the data were subjected to analysis of variance (ANOVA) using the SAS package and the statistical comparison of means was made using the Duncan Multiple Range Test (DMRT) at P<0.05.
2.2. EXPERIMENT 2
Experiment 2 was conducted during the 2005 rice season and subsequent 2005/06 wheat season. All treatments and field management operations were similar to those described above for Experiment 1 except for the forms of fertilizer N used to compare the fate of ammonium-N and nitrate-N under the experimental conditions.
15N labelled NH4+-N as (15NH4)2SO4 with 9.8 atom % 15N abundance and 15N labelled NO3–N as K15NO3 with 10.0 atom % 15N abundance provided by the Shanghai Chemical Research Institute were the fertilizer N sources applied.
3. RESULTS AND DISCUSSION