Subsoiling combined with layered nitrogen application optimizes root distribution and increases summer maize grain yield

Subsoiling combined with layered nitrogen application optimizes root distribution and increases summer maize grain yield | Research Square window.SnipcartSettings = { analytics: { enabled: false } }; (function() { var accessVector = localStorage.getItem('access_vector') || ''; window.dataLayer = window.dataLayer || []; if (accessVector) { window.dataLayer.push({ user: { profile: { profileInfo: { snid: accessVector } } } }); } })(); (function(w,d,s,l,i){w[l]=w[l]||[];w[l].push({'gtm.start':new Date().getTime(),event:'gtm.js'});var f=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0],j=d.createElement(s),dl=l!='dataLayer'?'&l='+l:'';j.async=true;j.src='https://www.googletagmanager.com/gtm.js?id='+i+dl;f.parentNode.insertBefore(j,f);})(window,document,'script','dataLayer','GTM-K279D39R'); Browse Preprints In Review Journals COVID-19 Preprints AJE Video Bytes Research Tools Research Promotion AJE Professional Editing AJE Rubriq About Preprint Platform In Review Editorial Policies Our Team Help Center Sign In Submit a Preprint Cite Share Download PDF Research Article Subsoiling combined with layered nitrogen application optimizes root distribution and increases summer maize grain yield Xiang Ling Li, Rui WANG, peng tao Ji, jian Wang, wei xin Dong, and 2 more This is a preprint; it has not been peer reviewed by a journal. https://doi.org/ 10.21203/rs.3.rs-3979277/v1 This work is licensed under a CC BY 4.0 License Status: Posted Version 1 posted You are reading this latest preprint version Abstract Background No-tillage of summer maize after the harvest of winter wheat is the primary agricultural practice on the North China Plain. However, prolonged no-tillage without deep tillage practices negatively impacts soil properties, which is detrimental to the growth and yield of summer maize. Methods Xianyu 688 and Jifeng 2 were used as test materials, no-tillage and surface fertilizing with normal N (BC240), no-tillage and surface fertilizing with N reduction (BC180), subsoiling layered fertilization with normal N (FC240) were designed, and subsoiling layered fertilization with N reduction (FC180), assess root distribution, dry matter accumulation, N absorption and utilization, and grain yield of summer maize. Results The FC240 and FC180 treatments significantly reduced soil bulk density in the 10-50 cm depth soil layer compared to the BC240 and BC180 treatments, and also increased total N content in the 20-50 cm depth soil layer. Root length in the 20-40 cm soil layer significantly increased with the FC240 treatment, along with a notable increase in root exudates, which improved root vitality during later growth stages. Additionally, the FC240 and FC180 treatments enhanced plant dry matter accumulation, N accumulation, and grain yield. Xianyu 688 exhibited increased N uptake efficiency, N fertilizer partial factor productivity, and N harvest index, while Jifeng 2 showed increased N uptake efficiency and N fertilizer partial factor productivity. Conclusion It provided useful enlightenment for selecting suitable maize varieties, formulating effective management strategies and cultivating high N-efficient varieties under the condition of subsoiling combine with layered N application. Summer maize Layered application nitrogen Root distribution Nitrogen efficiency Full Text Cite Share Download PDF Status: Posted Version 1 posted You are reading this latest preprint version Research Square lets you share your work early, gain feedback from the community, and start making changes to your manuscript prior to peer review in a journal. As a division of Research Square Company, we’re committed to making research communication faster, fairer, and more useful. We do this by developing innovative software and high quality services for the global research community. Our growing team is made up of researchers and industry professionals working together to solve the most critical problems facing scientific publishing. Also discoverable on Platform About Our Team In Review Editorial Policies Help Center Resources Author Services Accessibility API Access RSS feed Manage Cookie Preferences © Research Square 2026 | ISSN 2693-5015 (online) Privacy Policy Terms of Service Do Not Sell My Personal Information {"props":{"pageProps":{"initialData":{"identity":"rs-3979277","acceptedTermsAndConditions":true,"allowDirectSubmit":true,"archivedVersions":[],"articleType":"Research Article","associatedPublications":[],"authors":[{"id":274347068,"identity":"609171cd-a721-49f3-9856-b1495d47565f","order_by":0,"name":"Xiang Ling Li","email":"data:image/png;base64,iVBORw0KGgoAAAANSUhEUgAAAZAAAAAyAQMAAABI0h/eAAAABlBMVEX///8AAABVwtN+AAAACXBIWXMAAA7EAAAOxAGVKw4bAAAA1UlEQVRIiWNgGAWjYLCCCgYbHjb25gMHPlQQq+UMQ5ocP8+xxIMzzhCv5bCx5Iwc48O8LUSoNmc/vE3iwB/mxA1nznw4wNvAIM8vdgC/FsuetDKJAzxsiRuO9244ILmDwXDm7AT8Wgxu8JhJf5DgAdpydsMBwzMMCQa3idAiccBAInHDjZwHBxLbiNaSYADyPsOBg0RpOZNWbHHgQAIokA0ONpyRIMIvxw9vvHHgz39QVD7+/KfCRp5fmoAWIDCRQOJI4FSGDIw/EKVsFIyCUTAKRi4AAMCyT1qVTnWJAAAAAElFTkSuQmCC","orcid":"https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0618-8142","institution":"Hebei Normal University of Science and Technology","correspondingAuthor":true,"submittingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Xiang","middleName":"Ling","lastName":"Li","suffix":""},{"id":274347069,"identity":"598d14d7-78a7-4b81-b70a-b4fc16385290","order_by":1,"name":"Rui WANG","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"","correspondingAuthor":false,"submittingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Rui","middleName":"","lastName":"WANG","suffix":""},{"id":274347070,"identity":"bebbd698-b5e3-411a-bb01-5f321c67d17b","order_by":2,"name":"peng tao Ji","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"","correspondingAuthor":false,"submittingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"peng","middleName":"tao","lastName":"Ji","suffix":""},{"id":274347071,"identity":"2be0eb94-b1f2-4657-b930-198eca6229bc","order_by":3,"name":"jian Wang","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"","correspondingAuthor":false,"submittingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"jian","middleName":"","lastName":"Wang","suffix":""},{"id":274347072,"identity":"a5b9281e-21ad-4816-add1-ead116404822","order_by":4,"name":"wei xin Dong","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"","correspondingAuthor":false,"submittingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"wei","middleName":"xin","lastName":"Dong","suffix":""},{"id":274347073,"identity":"aeda38b0-3002-41ce-a1f4-426c4e540820","order_by":5,"name":"pei jun Tao","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"","correspondingAuthor":false,"submittingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"pei","middleName":"jun","lastName":"Tao","suffix":""},{"id":274347074,"identity":"18991eb4-8651-4efd-b777-90c67c0fd6ff","order_by":6,"name":"yue chen Zhang","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"","correspondingAuthor":false,"submittingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"yue","middleName":"chen","lastName":"Zhang","suffix":""}],"badges":[],"createdAt":"2024-02-22 17:08:12","currentVersionCode":1,"declarations":"","doi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-3979277/v1","doiUrl":"https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-3979277/v1","draftVersion":[],"editorialEvents":[],"editorialNote":"","failedWorkflow":false,"files":[{"id":53927420,"identity":"251dfc8a-c1d8-400a-b0be-9f911df72f8c","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2024-04-02 10:10:28","extension":"pdf","order_by":1,"title":"","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"manuscript-pdf","size":286814,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"","description":"","filename":"Manuscript2.8.pdf","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-3979277/v1_covered_17096991-3c27-4f71-8be9-c61981995dd3.pdf"}],"financialInterests":"","formattedTitle":"Subsoiling combined with layered nitrogen application optimizes root distribution and increases summer maize grain yield","fulltext":[],"fulltextSource":"","fullText":"","funders":[],"hasAdminPriorityOnWorkflow":false,"hasManuscriptDocX":false,"hasOptedInToPreprint":true,"hasPassedJournalQc":"","hasAnyPriority":false,"hideJournal":true,"highlight":"","institution":"","isAcceptedByJournal":false,"isAuthorSuppliedPdf":true,"isDeskRejected":"","isHiddenFromSearch":false,"isInQc":false,"isInWorkflow":false,"isPdf":true,"isPdfUpToDate":true,"isWithdrawnOrRetracted":false,"journal":{"display":true,"email":"[email protected]","identity":"researchsquare","isNatureJournal":false,"hasQc":true,"allowDirectSubmit":true,"externalIdentity":"","sideBox":"","snPcode":"","submissionUrl":"/submission","title":"Research Square","twitterHandle":"researchsquare","acdcEnabled":true,"dfaEnabled":false,"editorialSystem":"","reportingPortfolio":"","inReviewEnabled":false,"inReviewRevisionsEnabled":true},"keywords":"Summer maize, Layered application nitrogen; Root distribution; Nitrogen efficiency","lastPublishedDoi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-3979277/v1","lastPublishedDoiUrl":"https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-3979277/v1","license":{"name":"CC BY 4.0","url":"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/"},"manuscriptAbstract":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eBackground\u003c/strong\u003e No-tillage of summer maize after the harvest of winter wheat is the primary agricultural practice on the North China Plain. However, prolonged no-tillage without deep tillage practices negatively impacts soil properties, which is detrimental to the growth and yield of summer maize.\u0026nbsp;\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eMethods\u003c/strong\u003e Xianyu 688 and Jifeng 2 were used as test materials, no-tillage and surface fertilizing with normal N (BC240), no-tillage and surface fertilizing with N reduction (BC180), subsoiling layered fertilization with normal N (FC240)\u0026nbsp;were designed, and subsoiling layered fertilization with N reduction (FC180), assess root distribution, dry matter accumulation, N absorption and utilization, and grain yield of summer maize.\u0026nbsp;\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eResults\u003c/strong\u003e The FC240 and FC180 treatments significantly reduced soil bulk density in the 10-50 cm depth soil layer compared to the BC240 and BC180 treatments, and also\u0026nbsp;increased total N content in the 20-50 cm depth soil layer. Root length in the 20-40 cm soil layer significantly increased with the FC240 treatment, along with a notable increase in root exudates, which improved root vitality during later growth stages. Additionally, the FC240 and FC180 treatments enhanced plant dry matter accumulation, N accumulation, and grain yield. Xianyu 688 exhibited increased N uptake efficiency, N fertilizer partial factor productivity, and N harvest index, while Jifeng 2 showed increased N uptake efficiency and N fertilizer partial factor productivity.\u0026nbsp;\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eConclusion\u003c/strong\u003e It provided useful enlightenment for selecting suitable maize varieties, formulating effective management strategies and cultivating high N-efficient varieties under the condition of subsoiling combine with layered N application.\u003c/p\u003e","manuscriptTitle":"Subsoiling combined with layered nitrogen application optimizes root distribution and increases summer maize grain yield","msid":"","msnumber":"","nonDraftVersions":[{"code":1,"date":"2024-02-26 05:20:10","doi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-3979277/v1","editorialEvents":[{"type":"communityComments","content":0}],"status":"published","journal":{"display":true,"email":"[email protected]","identity":"researchsquare","isNatureJournal":false,"hasQc":true,"allowDirectSubmit":true,"externalIdentity":"","sideBox":"","snPcode":"","submissionUrl":"/submission","title":"Research Square","twitterHandle":"researchsquare","acdcEnabled":true,"dfaEnabled":false,"editorialSystem":"","reportingPortfolio":"","inReviewEnabled":false,"inReviewRevisionsEnabled":true}}],"origin":"","ownerIdentity":"b5f122c8-8808-4301-93b6-8c12d7315d4d","owner":[],"postedDate":"February 26th, 2024","published":true,"recentEditorialEvents":[],"rejectedJournal":[],"revision":"","amendment":"","status":"posted","subjectAreas":[],"tags":[],"updatedAt":"2024-04-02T10:10:13+00:00","versionOfRecord":[],"versionCreatedAt":"2024-02-26 05:20:10","video":"","vorDoi":"","vorDoiUrl":"","workflowStages":[]},"version":"v1","identity":"rs-3979277","journalConfig":"researchsquare"},"__N_SSP":true},"page":"/article/[identity]/[[...version]]","query":{"redirect":"/article/rs-3979277","identity":"rs-3979277","version":["v1"]},"buildId":"zQwnuV7TCBrMSSSToR1PI","isFallback":false,"isExperimentalCompile":false,"dynamicIds":[84888],"gssp":true,"scriptLoader":[]}