Increase in cotton yield through improved leaf physiological functioning under the soil condition of reduced chemical fertilization compensated by the enhanced organic liquid fertilization

Xiaojuan Shi; Xianzhe Hao; Aziz Khan; Nannan Li; Junhong Li; Feng Shi; Yu Tian; Jaya Nepal; Jun Wang; Honghai Luo

doi:10.3389/fpls.2023.1225939

Increase in cotton yield through improved leaf physiological functioning under the soil condition of reduced chemical fertilization compensated by the enhanced organic liquid fertilization

Front Plant Sci. 2023 Aug 23:14:1225939. doi: 10.3389/fpls.2023.1225939. eCollection 2023.

Authors

Xiaojuan Shi¹, Xianzhe Hao², Aziz Khan¹, Nannan Li¹, Junhong Li¹, Feng Shi¹, Yu Tian¹, Jaya Nepal³, Jun Wang², Honghai Luo¹

Affiliations

¹ Key Laboratory of Oasis Eco-Agriculture, Xinjiang Production and Construction Group, Shihezi University, Shihezi, Xinjiang, China.
² Soil and Water Research Institute, Xinjiang Academy Agricultural and Reclamation Science, Shihezi, China.
³ Department of Soil, Water and Ecosystem Sciences, Indian River Research and Education Center, Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences The University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences (UF/IFAS), Fort Pierce, FL, United States.

Abstract

Introduction: Low agricultural nutrient input efficiency remains a significant impediment for crop production globally. To address this issue in cotton agroecosystems, there is a need to develop sustainable crop nutrient management strategies to achieve high crop yields. We hypothesized that organic liquid fertilizer (OF) combined with reduced chemical fertilizer (CF) would enhance cotton yield by improving leaf functioning and soil properties. However, the underlying mechanism and its related process is poorly understood.

Methods: This study explored the effects of OF combined with reduced CF on cotton yield, physiology and soil properties. Treatments included a single application of CF (CF: N, P₂O₅ and K₂O applied at 228, 131 and 95 kg ha^-1) and combined applications of OF and CF (OF_0.6-OF_1.4) in the following ratios: OF_0.6, OF+60% CF; OF_0.8, OF+80% CF; OF_1.0, OF+100% CF; OF_1.2, OF+120% CF; OF_1.4, OF+140% CF.

Results and discussion: The result showed that compared with CF, OF_0.8, OF_1.0 and OF_1.2 increased soil organic matter (SOM) content by 9.9%, 16.3% and 23.7%, respectively. Compared with CF, the OF_0.6, OF_0.8, OF_1.0, and OF_1.2 treatments increased leaf area (LA) by 10.6-26.1%, chlorophyll content (Chl content) by 6.8-39.6%, and the efficiency of photosystem II (PSII) light energy (Y(II)), electron transfer rate of PSII (ETR) and photochemical quenching (qP) by 3.6-26.3%, 4.7-15.3% and 4.3-9.8%, respectively. The OF_0.8 treatment increased net photosynthetic rate (P _n), stomatal conductance (G _s) and transpiration rate (E) by 22.0%, 27.4% and 26.8%, respectively, resulting in higher seed cotton yield. The seed cotton yield and economic coefficient were positively correlated with P _n, E, G _s and Y(II) from the full boll stage to the boll opening stage. In summary, the OF_0.8 treatment can maintain a high SOM content and photosynthetic performance with reduced chemical fertilizer input without sacrificing yield. The integration of OF+80% CF (OF_0.8) is a promising nutrient management strategy for highly efficient cotton production under mulch drip irrigation systems.

Keywords: economic coefficient; organic liquid fertilizer; photosynthetic performance; seed yield; sustainable agriculture.

Grants and funding

We are grateful to the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant number 32260539).