Does no-tillage affect nutrient uptake and utilization by irrigated rice? Results from a long-term experiment

This study was carried out to determine whether no-tillage (NT) affects the nutrient uptake and utilization by irrigated rice. A fixed field experiment was conducted at the Experimental Farm of Hunan Agricultural University, Hunan Province, China during 2004 13. In each year, a hybrid rice cultivar Liangyoupeijiu was grown under a factorial combination of two tillage practices: Conventional tillage (CT) and NT, and two establishment methods: Transplanting and direct seeding. Across 10 years and 2 establishment methods, NT had no significant effect on plant N and K uptake but significantly increased plant P uptake by 7% compared with CT. There was no significant change in grain yield under NT relative to CT. The plant N, P and K uptake and grain yield responses to NT were not significantly affected by experimental duration and establishment method.