Determination of critical nitrogen concentration and dilution curve based on leaf area index for summer maize

Injudicious nitrogen (N) fertilizer application has increased the risk of environmental pollution and decreased grain yields, farm profits, and N use efficiency. The plant based N diagnostic tools can be used to optimize N management of summer maize production. This study was designed to develop and validate a leaf area index (LAI) based critical N (Nc) dilution curve and to establish a theoretical framework to link the relationship of LAI and plant dry matter (DM) based curves, as well as to compare the differences between LAI, plant DM and growth stage-based Nc curves. Six field experiments were set with a range of N application rates (0–320 kg N ha−1) and plant densities (6 to 8 × 104 plants ha-1) using four summer maize cultivars (Zhengdan958, Denghai605, Xundan20, and Denghai661) in Henan province of China. LAI and plant N concentration (PNC) were determined from V6 to R1 stages in each experiment for the development of the Nc curve. LAI and PNC ranged from 1.28 to 6.12 and 1.34% to 3.31% under different N levels, respectively. Allometric relationships between LAI, plant DM, and critical N uptake (Nuc) were developed under non-N-limiting treatments. The relationship between Nc and LAI during vegetative growth period was described by a power function (Nc = 3.84LAI−0.45). N nutrition index (NNI) increased with the increasing N application rate and ranged from 0.56 and 1.23 across different N treatments. Our results validated that plant N uptake was proportional with LAI, and the allometric parameter between LAI and plant DM of summer maize was close to the theoretical value 2/3. The newly developed LAI-based Nc curve could identify plant N status (N-limiting and non-N-limiting) during key N requirement period of summer maize and can be used for precision N management for summer maize grown in China.