Effects of single basal fertilization on yield and nutrient use efficiencies of spring maize in the Middle Reaches of Yangtze River

A field experiment was conducted to study the effects of single basal fertilization on yield, nutrient accumulation, translocation and use efficiency of spring maize in the Middle Reaches of Yangtze River. The results show that the yield difference of spring maize between the single basal fertilization treatment and the conventional fertilization treatment is not significant, while the economic benefit of the single basal fertilization treatment is increased to 1429-1725 Yuan/ha Compared with the conventional fertilization treatment, the amount of dry matter accumulation before the anthesis is significantly decreased under the single fertilization treatment, while the rate of dry matter accumulation is increased after the anthesis, and the total dry matter accumulation and contribution of the dry matters after the anthesis are not significantly different between the two treatments. Compared with the conventional fertilization treatment, the N, P and K accumulations are significantly decreased before the jointing stage under the single fertilization treatment, however, the differences of N, P and K accumulations by spring maize are not significant at the maturation stage because the rate of nutrient accumulations is increased at the middle and later stages. The N translocation amount, translocation efficiency and use efficiency are not significantly different between the two treatments. The single fertilization treatment has no effect on P and K accumulations and translocations by spring maize in the growth stage, but the P and K use efficiencies are increased because the input is decreased.