title: Rational Phosphorus Application Facilitates the Sustainability of the Wheat/Maize/Soybean Relay Strip Intercropping System.
abstract: Wheat (Triticum aestivum L.)/maize (Zea mays L.)/soybean (Glycine max L.) relay strip intercropping (W/M/S) system is commonly used by the smallholders in the Southwest of China. However, little known is how to manage phosphorus (P) to enhance P use efficiency of the W/M/S system and to mitigate P leaching that is a major source of pollution. Field experiments were carried out in 2011, 2012, and 2013 to test the impact of five P application rates on yield and P use efficiency of the W/M/S system. The study measured grain yield, shoot P uptake, apparent P recovery efficiency (PRE) and soil P content. A linear-plateau model was used to determine the critical P rate that maximizes gains in the indexes of system productivity. The results show that increase in P application rates aggrandized shoot P uptake and crops yields at threshold rates of 70 and 71.5 kg P ha-1 respectively. With P application rates increasing, the W/M/S system decreased the PRE from 35.9% to 12.3% averaged over the three years. A rational P application rate, 72 kg P ha-1, or an appropriate soil Olsen-P level, 19.1 mg kg-1, drives the W/M/S system to maximize total grain yield while minimizing P surplus, as a result of the PRE up to 28.0%. We conclude that rational P application is an important approach for relay intercropping to produce high yield while mitigating P pollution and the rational P application-based integrated P fertilizer management is vital for sustainable intensification of agriculture in the Southwest of China.
authors.affiliation: Department of Plant Nutrition and Microbiology, College of Resource Science, Sichuan Agricultural University, Chengdu, China.
authors.forename: Yuanxue
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.affiliation: Department of Plant Nutrition and Microbiology, College of Resource Science, Sichuan Agricultural University, Chengdu, China.
authors.forename: Tao
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Zhou
authors.affiliation: Department of Plant Nutrition, College of Resource and Environmental Sciences, China Agricultural University, Beijing, China.
authors.forename: Chaochun
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.affiliation: Department of Plant Nutrition and Microbiology, College of Resource Science, Sichuan Agricultural University, Chengdu, China.
authors.forename: Ke
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.affiliation: Department of Plant Nutrition and Microbiology, College of Resource Science, Sichuan Agricultural University, Chengdu, China.
authors.forename: Jing
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.affiliation: Ya'an Agricultural Bureau, Ya'an, China.
authors.forename: Junyu
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Lu
authors.affiliation: Department of Plant Nutrition and Microbiology, College of Resource Science, Sichuan Agricultural University, Chengdu, China.
authors.forename: Kaiwei
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Xu
mesh_terms: D000383:Agriculture / Q000379:methods; D002681:China; D018556:Crops, Agricultural / Q000737:chemistry / Q000378:metabolism; D002523:Edible Grain / Q000737:chemistry / Q000378:metabolism; D005308:Fertilizers; D009584:Nitrogen / Q000378:metabolism; D010758:Phosphorus / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000378:metabolism*; D012987:Soil / Q000737:chemistry*; D013025:Glycine max / Q000737:chemistry / Q000378:metabolism*; D014908:Triticum / Q000737:chemistry / Q000378:metabolism*; D003313:Zea mays / Q000737:chemistry / Q000378:metabolism*
chemical_list: D005308:Fertilizers; D012987:Soil; D010758:Phosphorus; D009584:Nitrogen