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Volume 15
Issue 14
10.3390/agriculture15141554
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Article

Straw Returning Combined with Application of Sulfur-Coated Urea Improved Rice Yield and Nitrogen Use Efficiency Through Enhancing Carbon and Nitrogen Metabolism

by
Guangxin Zhao
1,
Kaiyu Gao
1,
Ming Gao
1,
Xiaotian Xu
1,
Zeming Li
1,
Xianzhi Yang
1,
Ping Tian
1,
Xiaoshuang Wei
1,
Zhihai Wu
1,2,* and
Meiying Yang
3
1
Faculty of Agronomy, Jilin Agricultural University, Changchun 130118, China
2
Jilin Province Green and High Quality Japonica Rice Engineering Research Center, Jilin Agricultural University, Changchun 130118, China
3
College of Life Science, Jilin Agricultural University, Changchun 130118, China
*
Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Agriculture 2025, 15(14), 1554; https://doi.org/10.3390/agriculture15141554 (registering DOI)
Submission received: 5 June 2025 / Revised: 11 July 2025 / Accepted: 17 July 2025 / Published: 19 July 2025
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Effects of Crop Management on Yields)
Versions Notes

Abstract

Straw returning inhibits tillering at the early stage of rice growth and thus affects grain yield. Sulfur-coated urea (SCU) has been expected to increase nitrogen use efficiency (NUE) and yield, save labor input, and reduce environmental pollution in crop production. Nevertheless, the sulfur coatings of SCU are easy to break and then shorten the nutrient release cycle. Whether there was a complementary effect between straw returning and SCU in NUE and grain yield had remained elusive. To investigate the effects of straw returning combined with the application of SCU on NUE and rice yield, a two-year field experiment was conducted from 2022 to 2023 with three treatments (straw returning combined with conventional urea (SRU), no straw returning combined with SCU (NRS), straw returning combined with SCU (SRS)). We found that straw returning combined with the application of SCU increased rice yield and NUE significantly. Compared with SRU and NRS, SRS treatments significantly increased grain yield by 14.61–16.22%, and 4.14–7.35%, respectively. Higher effective panicle numbers per m2 and grain numbers per panicle were recorded in NRS and SRS treatments than SRU. SRS treatment increased nitrogen recovery efficiency by 79.53% and 22.97%, nitrogen agronomic efficiency by 18.68% and 17.37%, and nitrogen partial factor productivity by 10.51% and 9.81% compared with SRU and NRS treatment, respectively. The enhanced NUE in SRS was driven by higher leaf area index, SPAD value, net photosynthetic rate, carbon metabolic enzyme (RuBP and SPS) activity, nitrogen metabolic enzyme (NR, GS, and GOGAT) activity, sucrose and nitrogen content in leaves, and nitrogen accumulation in plant during grain filling. Moreover, the improved yield in SRS was closely related to superior NUE. In conclusion, straw returning combined with application of SCU boosted grain yield and NUE via enhanced carbon–nitrogen metabolism during the late growth period in rice.
Keywords: grain yield; nitrogen assimilation; nitrogen use efficiency; photosynthetic capacity; slow-release fertilizer; straw returning grain yield; nitrogen assimilation; nitrogen use efficiency; photosynthetic capacity; slow-release fertilizer; straw returning

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MDPI and ACS Style

Zhao, G.; Gao, K.; Gao, M.; Xu, X.; Li, Z.; Yang, X.; Tian, P.; Wei, X.; Wu, Z.; Yang, M. Straw Returning Combined with Application of Sulfur-Coated Urea Improved Rice Yield and Nitrogen Use Efficiency Through Enhancing Carbon and Nitrogen Metabolism. Agriculture 2025, 15, 1554. https://doi.org/10.3390/agriculture15141554

AMA Style

Zhao G, Gao K, Gao M, Xu X, Li Z, Yang X, Tian P, Wei X, Wu Z, Yang M. Straw Returning Combined with Application of Sulfur-Coated Urea Improved Rice Yield and Nitrogen Use Efficiency Through Enhancing Carbon and Nitrogen Metabolism. Agriculture. 2025; 15(14):1554. https://doi.org/10.3390/agriculture15141554

Chicago/Turabian Style

Zhao, Guangxin, Kaiyu Gao, Ming Gao, Xiaotian Xu, Zeming Li, Xianzhi Yang, Ping Tian, Xiaoshuang Wei, Zhihai Wu, and Meiying Yang. 2025. "Straw Returning Combined with Application of Sulfur-Coated Urea Improved Rice Yield and Nitrogen Use Efficiency Through Enhancing Carbon and Nitrogen Metabolism" Agriculture 15, no. 14: 1554. https://doi.org/10.3390/agriculture15141554

APA Style

Zhao, G., Gao, K., Gao, M., Xu, X., Li, Z., Yang, X., Tian, P., Wei, X., Wu, Z., & Yang, M. (2025). Straw Returning Combined with Application of Sulfur-Coated Urea Improved Rice Yield and Nitrogen Use Efficiency Through Enhancing Carbon and Nitrogen Metabolism. Agriculture, 15(14), 1554. https://doi.org/10.3390/agriculture15141554

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