Controlled ‐release nitrogen fertilizer management influences grain yield in winter wheat by regulating flag leaf senescence post‐anthesis and grain filling

Improving grain filling to increase grian weight is a crucial means of enhancing grain yield in wheat. The twice-split application of CRNF increased the antioxidant enzyme activities to postpone flag leaf senescence, improved the flag leaf photosynthetic capacity post-anthesis, and enhanced the grainfilling rate and filling duration, especially in the middle and late stage of grainfilling. AbstractControlled-release nitrogen fertilizer (CRNF) is expected to meet the nutrient demands for crop growth with single fertilizer application, so as to achieve high-yield, high-efficiency, and labor-saving cultivation. However, under current CRNF practices, a single application of CRNF in winter wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) usually fails to achieve satisfactory effects due to insufficient nitrogen (N) supply in the later growth stage, contributing to premature leaf senescence and poor grain filling. To determine a reasonable CRNF application strategy for improving the grain weight and yield of winter wheat, the responses of leaf senescence, photosynthetic capacity, grain-filling characteristics, and grain yield to different CRNF types [polymer-coated urea (PCU), sulfur-coated urea (SCU), and urea-formaldehyde (UF)] and fertilization practices [single fertilization (P1) and twice-split fertilization (P2)] were investigated. The results showed that, compared with P1, P2 increased the activities of catalase, peroxidase, and superoxide dismutase, alleviated the accumulation of malondialdehy...

Source: Food and Energy Security - January 31, 2022 Category: Food Science Authors: Quan Ma, Quan Sun, Xinbo Zhang, Fujian Li, Yonggang Ding, Rongrong Tao, Min Zhu, Jinfeng Ding, Chunyan Li, Wenshan Guo, Xinkai Zhu Tags: ORIGINAL ARTICLE Source Type: research