Effect of Crop Straw Treatments on the Nutrient Uptake of Peach

(Prunus davidiana) Seedlings

Lei Liu

, Lijin Lin

, Yan Huang

, Kewen Huang

and Ting Wang

1,* e

Research Institute of Horticulture, Chengdu Academy of Agriculture and Forestry Sciences, Chengdu, Sichuan, China

College of Horticulture, Sichuan Agricultural University, Chengdu, Sichuan, China

Keywords: Nutrient Absorption, Peach (Prunus davidiana), Straw.

Abstract: The effects of crop straw treatments (rape straw, paddy straw, wheat straw, and corn straw) on the nutrient

uptake of peach [Prunus davidiana (Carr.) Franch] seedlings were analyzed by conducting a pot

experiment. Analysis showed that the nitrogen content in the roots and stems of peach seedlings decreased

with wheat straw addition and that in the roots, stems, and leaves of peach seedlings significantly increased

with rape straw addition compared with that of the control. Phosphorus, potassium, and sodium contents in

the roots, stems, and leaves of peach seedlings with four different straw treatments were more than that of

the control. Paddy straw addition increased the calcium content in roots, stems, and leaves of peach

seedlings, while the other treatments reduced the calcium content in roots, stems, and leaves; magnesium

content showed an opposite pattern. Based on these findings, rape straw addition is considered the most

favourable practice for the nutrient uptake of peach seedlings.

1 INTRODUCTION

Straw is a natural soil conditioner, and straw return-

to-field is a commonly used management practice to

conserve the water and fertilizer. Straw returned into

the soil is decomposed by soil microorganisms under

suitable soil moisture and temperature conditions,

which can release the nutrients and microelements,

such as organic matter, nitrogen (N), phosphorus

(P), and potassium (K), improve soil fertility and

enhance the absorption and utilization of plant

nutrients (Zhu et al., 2010, Gong et al., 2013, van

Asten et al., 2005). Studies have shown significant

positive effects of straw return-to-field in corn, rice,

wheat, and other crops by promoting the growth and

enhancing the yield of those crops (Zheng et al.,

2014, Yao et al., 2019, Hu et al., 2013, Zhang,

Wang, 2013). Straw is also widely used in vegetable

cultivation; its addition increases the chlorophyll

content and antioxidant capacity of cowpea leaves

which resulting the fast growth of cowpea seedlings

https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5606-0035

https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3650-8557

https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2889-5806

https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4977-0853

https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6424-5742

(Chen et al., 2019). Addition of wheat, corn, or

Jerusalem artichoke straw promotes the growth of

cucumber seedlings (Gong et al., 2015), and

application of straw significantly increases sweet

pepper yield (Feng, 2010). In this experiment, the

effects of addition of different types of straw (wheat,

paddy, rape and corn straw) on the nutrient uptake of

peach [Prunus davidiana (Carr.) Franch were

studied. The aim of this study was to select the most

suitable straw for the nutrient uptake of peach

seedlings.

2 MATERIALS AND METHODS

2.1 Materials

Peach seeds were collected from a 10-year-old peach

tree in Chengdu, Sichuan, China. The seeds were

sown in a tray containing a moist substrate [perlite

and vermiculite (V: V, 1:1)] and kept in an artificial

climate chamber under the following conditions: 14-

h day at 25°C, relative humidity 70%, 4000 Lux; and

10-h night at 20°C, relative humidity 90%, 0 Lux (Li

et al., 2020). The Hoagland nutrient solution was

added to the tray to cultivate seedlings. After 1

Liu, L., Lin, L., Huang, Y., Huang, K. and Wang, T.

Effect of Crop Straw Treatments on the Nutrient Uptake of Peach (Prunus davidiana) Seedlings.

DOI: 10.5220/0011236800003443

In Proceedings of the 4th International Conference on Biomedical Engineering and Bioinformatics (ICBEB 2022), pages 569-573

ISBN: 978-989-758-595-1

569

month, when the seedlings reached about 10 cm in

height, they were transplanted into pots.

2.2 Experimental Design

The experiment was conducted at the Chengdu

Campus of Sichuan Agricultural University from

April to October 2019. The soil was air-dried and

passed through a 5 mm sieve, and each plastic pot

(21 cm high, 20 cm in diameter) was filled with 3 kg

air-dried soil. Then, the soil in each pot was mixed

with the prepared straw of the studied plants

completely. Thirty-gram straw were applied to each

pot (10 g straw per kg soil), and the soil moisture

was maintained at 80% of field capacity for 1 week.

The five treatments were used in the experiment: no

straw addition (control), addition of rape straw,

addition of paddy straw, addition of wheat straw,

and addition of corn straw. Each treatment was

replicated four times using a completely randomized

design with 10 cm spacing between pots. Four

uniformly seedlings were transplanted into pots and

then cultivated in a greenhouse under the following

conditions: 14-h day (4000 Lux) at 25 °C and 70%

relative humidity and 10-h night (0 Lux) at 20 °C

and 90% relative humidity (Li et al., 2020). All pots

were watered daily to keep the soil moisture content

at 80% field capacity until the plants were harvested.

Once the weed seedlings grew, they were pulled out

immediately.

2.3 Measurement of Parameters

After 60 d cultivated, the whole plants were

harvested, and divided into three parts (roots, stems,

and leaves). These parts were washed with tap water

followed by deionized water (3×). These were

further dried at 80 ℃ to a constant weight. The plant

samples were finely ground and sieved through a

0.149 mm nylon mesh sieve for chemical analysis.

Dried plant samples (1.0 g) were digested in 6 mL

(5:1, v/v) solution with the electric

heating plate at 200 °C until the solution was

transparent, and the solution were used to determine

the total N content by the Kjeldahl method, total P

content by the Mo-Sb anti-colorimetry, total K and

Na contents by the flame photometry, and total Ca

and Mg contents by the atomic absorption

spectrometry according to Bao (Bao 2000). The soil

in each pot was air-dried and ground to particles

with diameter < 0.25 mm for chemical analysis. The

soil alkali-soluble N concentration was determined

by alkali diffusion method, the soil available P

concentration was determined by the Mo-Sb anti-

colorimetry, soil available K and water-soluble Na

concentrations were determined by flame

photometry, and water-soluble Ca and Mg

concentrations in soil were determined by EDTA

titration (Bao, 2000).

2.4 Statistical Analysis

Statistical analyses were performed using SPSS 22.0

statistical software. Data were analysed using a one-

way analysis of variance with the least significant

difference test (p ≤ 0.05).

3 RESULTS

3.1 Major Nutrients of Peach Seedlings

Compared to the control, N content in stems of

peach seedlings with wheat straw addition

decreased, while N, P, and K contents in roots,

stems, and leaves of peach seedlings with other

straw treatments increased or had no significant

differences (Table 1). The N content in roots

(5.03%), stems (19.63%), and leaves (9.87%), of

peach seedlings with rape straw was significantly (p

< 0.05) more than that of the control. The P contents

in roots, stems, and leaves of peach seedlings with

paddy straw were significantly (p < 0.05) more than

that of the control, and P contents were the highest

with straw addition, while K contents were rape

straw.

Table 1: Major nutrients of peach seedlings.

Treatments

Root

(mg g

−1

)

Stem

(mg g

−1

)

Leaf

(mg g

−1

)

Control

1.59±0.03bc 2.14±0.02c 2.33±0.07c

Rape straw

1.67±0.03a 2.56±0.07a 2.56±0.06a

Paddy straw

1.64±0.05ab 2.25±0.05b 2.55±0.04a

Wheat straw

1.57±0.03c 1.78±0.03d 2.47±0.03b

ICBEB 2022 - The International Conference on Biomedical Engineering and Bioinformatics

570

Corn straw

1.65±0.01ab 2.18±0.04bc 2.50±0.02a

Control

2.82 ±0.03c 2.70±0.04e 3.86±0.03d

Rape straw

2.94±0.07c 2.85±0.05d 4.07±0.08c

Paddy straw

5.06±0.11a 4.47±0.11a 5.32±0.06a

Wheat straw

3.30±0.12b 3.47±0.03c 4.37±0.10b

Corn straw

3.39±0.11b 3.62±0.05b 5.22±0.06a

Control

0.65±0.04c 0.74±0.03d 1.14±0.02e

Rape straw

1.52±0.04a 1.61±0.06a 3.36±0.01a

Paddy straw

1.20±0.03b 1.28±0.04b 2.84±0.03c

Wheat straw

0.69±0.04c 1.20±0.03c 1.95±0.05d

Corn straw

1.46±0.03a 1.57±0.06a 3.10±0.09b

Different lowercase letters within a column

indicate significant differences based on one-way

analysis of variance and the least significant

difference test (p ≤ 0.05).

3.2 Secondary Macro of Peach

Seedlings

The content of Ca in roots (17.34%), stems (9.45%),

and leaves (35.87%) of peach seedlings with paddy

straw addition increased significantly (p < 0.05)

compared with that of the control (Table 2). The

content of Ca in roots, stems, and leaves of peach

seedlings decreased with other straw treatments. On

the contrary, Mg content in roots and leaves of

peach seedlings with paddy straw was significantly

(p < 0.05) less than that of the control, and the Mg

content in roots, stems and leaves of peach seedlings

with other straw treatments was significantly (p <

0.05) more. The Mg content in roots, stems, and

leaves of peach seedlings with wheat straw was the

highest among the four straw treatments. The Na

content in roots, stems, and leaves of peach

seedlings treated with four different straws increased

significantly compared with the control. The Na

content in roots, stems, and leaves treated with rape

straw increased by 67.16, 71.22, and 126.38% (p <

0.05), respectively, compared with the control.

3.3 Soil Available Nutrient

Concentration

The addition of wheat straw decreased the

concentration of soil alkali-soluble N, and the

addition of rape and corn straw increased the soil

alkali-soluble N concentration by 35.05 and 3.95%

(p < 0.05) respectively, in which the concentration

of soil alkali-soluble N with rape straw was the

highest (Table 3). The concentrations of soil

available P, available K, and water-soluble Na

increased with all the four straw treatments

compared with the control. Only with paddy straw

addition, the concentration of water-soluble Ca was

significantly (p < 0.05) more than that of the control

(19.68%); however, with other treatments, the

concentration of water-soluble Ca was lower than

that of the control. Compared with the control,

addition of rape, wheat and corn straw significantly

increased the concentration of soil water-soluble

Mg, while the addition of paddy straw significantly

reduced the concentration of soil water-soluble Mg.

Table 2: Secondary macro of peach seedlings.

Treatments

Root

(mg kg

−1

)

Stem

(mg kg

−1

)

Leaf

(mg kg

−1

)

Control

14.76 ±0.34b 18.09±0.38b 18.23 ±0.63b

Rape straw

12.02±0.16d 15.64±0.09d 16.92±0.38b

Paddy straw

17.32±0.10a 19.80±0.70a 24.77±1.00a

Wheat straw

9.04±0.09e 14.74±0.12e 14.40 ±0.58c

Corn straw

13.96±0.27c 16.33±0.27c 17.27±0.90b

Effect of Crop Straw Treatments on the Nutrient Uptake of Peach (Prunus davidiana) Seedlings

571

Control

9.29 ±0.26d 7.15±0.18d 9.38±0.28d

Rape straw

12.49±0.46c 10.22±0.38c 10.81±0.17c

Paddy straw

6.45±0.39e 6.48±0.35d 6.30±0.23e

Wheat straw

19.15±0.17a 17.14±0.72a 13.67±0.38a

Corn straw

13.81±0.87b 11.88±0.21b 12.89±0.52b

Control

0.201±0.003d 0.139±0.008d 0.163±0.003e

Rape straw

0.336±0.018a 0.238±0.004a 0.369±0.011a

Paddy straw

0.228±0.010c 0.194±0.011c 0.323±0.002c

Wheat straw

0.214±0.009cd 0.147±0.005d 0.246±0.009d

Corn straw

0.258±0.011b 0.219±0.010b 0.344±0.012b

Different lowercase letters within a column

indicate significant differences based on one-way

analysis of variance and the least significant

difference test (p ≤ 0.05).

Table 3: Soil available nutrient concentration.

Treatments

Alkali-soluble

(

−1

)

Available P

(

−1

)

Available K

(

−1

)

Water-soluble

(

−1

)

Water-soluble

(

−1

)

Water-soluble

(

−1

)

Control

224.07±2.77bc 22.46±0.87d 18.47±2.47c 92.88±2.66b 8.52±1.01c 10.96±0.42c

Rape straw

302.60±9.83a 24.99±0.96c 70.36±0.52a 84.84±3.20cd 13.20±0.33b 17.27±1.07a

Paddy straw

227.19±3.99bc 32.37±1.13a 49.43±4.44b 111.16±4.70a 7.29±0.11d 11.86±0.52bc

Wheat straw

219.23±4.82c 29.96±1.30b 46.37±4.38b 79.72±1.16d 8.41 ±0.50a 11.49±0.55bc

Corn straw

232.92±5.72b 30.49±0.87ab 48.40±3.54b 89.86±3.13bc 13.59±0.23b 12.43±0.20b

Different lowercase letters within a column

indicate significant differences based on one-way

analysis of variance and the least significant

difference test (p ≤ 0.05).

4 DISCUSSION

This other study shows that the concentrations of

organic matter, total N, total P, available N, and

available K in the soil increase significantly after

straw return (Mu et al., 2012). In this study, the

concentrations of soil organic matter, available P,

available K, and water-soluble Na with four straw

additions were more than those of the control.

Moreover, nutrient absorption by peach seedlings

was different with different straw treatments. This

may be due to coexistence of multiple nutrient

elements in the same soil environment, when plants

absorb and utilize the nutrient elements, and there is

a synergistic and antagonistic effect (Xu et al.,

2006). The addition of wheat straw decreased the

concentration of soil alkali-soluble N, whereas other

treatments increased the concentration, which was

similar to the N content of roots and stems of peach

seedlings with wheat straw. The P, K, and Na

contents in roots, stems, and leaves of peach

seedlings in all treatments were consistent with the

P, K, and Na concentrations in soil. Studies have

confirmed the interaction among N, P, and K, and

deficiency in any of these three nutrients will affect

the absorption and utilization of the other two

nutrients (Zhu et al., 2016). In this study, the N, P,

and K contents in peach seedlings with wheat straw

addition did not show any interaction. Among the

four treatments, rape straw addition resulted in the

lowest available P concentration in the soil;

however, P content in the roots, stems, and leaves of

peach seedlings was the highest, probably because

the nutrients in the soil promoted the growth of

peach seedlings. N promotes plant photosynthesis

and increases plant nutrient accumulation, while its

deficiency affects the formation, transport, and

accumulation of photosynthetic products (Yang et

al., 2017, Pettigrew, 2008). In this study, alkali-

soluble N concentration of soil and N content in

roots, stems, and leaves of peach seedlings were the

highest with rape straw addition, and the

photosynthetic pigment content of the peach

seedlings with the same treatment was the highest. A

previous study in tobacco showed that the Ca

content of leaves increased significantly with

ICBEB 2022 - The International Conference on Biomedical Engineering and Bioinformatics

572

increase in exchangeable Ca concentration in the

soil, and the Mg concentration increased with

increase in exchangeable Mg concentration in the

soil (Xu et al., 2007). Here, the water-soluble Ca

concentration in the soil and the Ca content in roots,

stems, and leaves of peach seedlings were

comparable. Rape and corn straw addition

significantly increased the water-soluble Mg

concentration in soil, while paddy and wheat straw

addition significantly reduced the water-soluble Mg

concentration. However, Mg content in roots, stems,

and leaves of peach seedlings decreased

significantly only with wheat straw addition.

Combined with the previous study, rape straw

addition was proven most conducive to the growth

of peach seedlings.

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

This work was financially supported by the

Integrated Research and Application of New

Varieties and Technologies of Horticultural Crops

(2020-YF09-00055-SN).

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