Highly active biostimulant Paecilomyces variotii extracts reduced controlled-release urea application while maintaining rice yield.

ABSTRACT

BACKGROUND: The high cost of controlled-release urea (CRU) has prompted this study to explore whether the amount of CRU can be reduced by adding biostimulants while maintaining or increasing rice yield. A 2 year field experiment was conducted with CRU at three levels (60%, 80%, and 100% of the recommended nitrogen (N) fertilizer) and a novel biostimulant Paecilomyces variotii extract (ZNC), to investigate their synergistic effects on yield, nitrogen use efficiency (NUE), and net profitability of rice. RESULTS: Controlled-release urea achieved a significantly higher gain yield and NUE than conventional urea with the same N level, which could be attributed to its N supply. Even if the N level of CRU was reduced by 40%, both rice yield and net profit were still significantly higher than for the full amount of urea. Paecilomyces variotii extract sprayed on the surface of CRU at a dose of only 87.5 mL ha-1 exhibited ultra-high effectiveness by increasing the panicles, the N accumulation, and the rice yield. Controlled-release urea enriched by ZNC achieved significantly higher gain yield than CRU alone, increasing the yield by 9.2% and 8.7%, respectively, in 2 years under the full recommended N rate. The combination of 80% CRU and ZNC showed no significant difference in rice yield from treatment with 100% CRU, indicating that the rate of CRU could be reduced by ZNC. The application of ZNC further increased NUE, N partial factor productivity, and net profit. CONCLUSION: The CRU and ZNC combination provided a feasible approach for reducing N input while maintaining rice yield and agricultural sustainability. © 2021 Society of Chemical Industry.