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Bentonite and straw amendments enhance water-nutrient retention and yield of oat in Loess Plateau drylands
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Xin-hui BAI, Jun-zhen MI*, Jing-hui LIU, Jin-jin WANG, Bao-ping ZHAO, Lan-ying ZHANG, Yu-jia CAO, Xin-yi ZHANG
Journal of Plant Nutrition and Fertilizers | 2026, 32(5) : 1080 - 1095
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Journal of Plant Nutrition and Fertilizers | 2026, 32(5): 1080-1095
Research paper
Bentonite and straw amendments enhance water-nutrient retention and yield of oat in Loess Plateau drylands
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Xin-hui BAI, Jun-zhen MI*, Jing-hui LIU, Jin-jin WANG, Bao-ping ZHAO, Lan-ying ZHANG, Yu-jia CAO, Xin-yi ZHANG
Affiliations
  • College of Agronomy, Inner Mongolia Agricultural University, Hohhot, Inner Mongolia 010019, China
Published: 2026-05-25 doi: 10.11674/zwyf.2025361
Outline
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Objectives

The dry-farming soil of the Loess Plateau is characterized by poor structure and weak water and nutrient retention capacity. The application of exogenous organic and inorganic substances is a key technology for improving soil quality and increasing crop yield in this area. This study explored the synergistic effects of the combined application of bentonite and straw on enhancing soil structure, water and nutrient retention capacity, and crop yield in oat fields within this region.

Methods

A long-term field experiment was established in 2019 in the dryland farming region of the Loess Plateau in Inner Mongolia. It comprised four treatments: no bentonite or straw application (CK), bentonite application alone (OB), straw application alone (OS), and combined application of bentonite and straw (H). Soil samples were collected from the soil profile after oat harvest in 2023 to determine soil aggregate composition, bulk density, porosity, available nutrient content, soil water storage, and crop yield and its components. Correlation and principal component analyses were conducted to identify the factors influencing yield.

Results

Compared with CK, the other three treatments significantly improved soil structure, water and nutrient retention capacity, and oat yield, with the following order of effectiveness H>OS>OB (P<0.05). The H treatment significantly increased the content of >2 mm and 0.25−2 mm macroaggregates by 33.06% and 37.54%, respectively, reduced bulk density by 6.43%, and increased porosity by 7.86%. These improvement effect extended to the 20−40 cm soil layer. In addition, the contents of alkali-hydrolyzable nitrogen, available potassium, and available phosphorus were significantly increased by 6.89%, 17.28%, and 30.82%, respectively. The H treatment exhibited the highest water-use efficiency and rainfall-use efficiency, increasing them by 36.84% and 35.25%, respectively, compared with CK, both at a significant level. Panicle number per unit area, grains per panicle, 1000-grain weight, biological yield, and grain yield were all significantly higher than those of the control. The increase in biological yield reached 34.42%. Correlation and principal component analysis showed that yield was significantly positively correlated with >2 mm and 0.25−2 mm aggregate content, aggregate stability, and nutrient content, with alkali-hydrolyzable nitrogen and 0.25−2 mm aggregate as the main positive influencing factors.

Conclusions

In dryland oat fields on the Loess Plateau, a one-time basal application of bentonite (18000 kg/hm2) combined with annual straw incorporation (6000 kg/hm2) can synergistically enhance the content of macroaggregates in the 0−40 cm soil layer, improve soil structural stability, reduce bulk density in deeper soil layers, increase porosity, and significantly elevate soil available nutrient content and soil water storage. This ultimately increases oat yield and water-use efficiency, achieving a synergistic effect of soil structure improvement, enhanced water and nutrient retention capacity, and increased oat yield. This approach can serve as an effective technical pathway for enhancing regional farmland productivity and resource-use efficiency.

dryland oat  /  returning straw to the field  /  bentonite  /  soil physical and chemical properties  /  yield
Xin-hui BAI, Jun-zhen MI, Jing-hui LIU, Jin-jin WANG, Bao-ping ZHAO, Lan-ying ZHANG, Yu-jia CAO, Xin-yi ZHANG. Bentonite and straw amendments enhance water-nutrient retention and yield of oat in Loess Plateau drylands[J]. Journal of Plant Nutrition and Fertilizers, 2026 , 32 (5) : 1080 -1095 . DOI: 10.11674/zwyf.2025361
Year 2026 volume 32 Issue 5
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Article Info
doi: 10.11674/zwyf.2025361
  • Receive Date:2025-01-13
  • Online Date:2026-07-16
  • Published:2026-05-25
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History
  • Received:2025-01-13
  • Accepted:2025-03-08
Affiliations
    College of Agronomy, Inner Mongolia Agricultural University, Hohhot, Inner Mongolia 010019, China
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表12种不同金属材料的力学参数

Family
属数
Number of
genus
种数
Number of
species
占总种数比例
Percentage of
total species (%)

Genus
种数
Number of
species
占总种数比例
Percentage of total
species (%)
鹅膏菌科Amanitaceae 2 11 5.26 鹅膏菌属 Amanita 10 4.78
小菇科 Mycenaceae 2 12 5.74 丝盖伞属 Inocybe 5 2.39
多孔菌科 Polyporaceae 8 14 6.70 蜡蘑属 Laccaria 5 2.39
红菇科 Russulaceae 3 23 11.00 小皮伞属 Marasmius 6 2.87
小菇属 Mycena 11 5.26
光柄菇属 Pluteus 5 2.39
红菇属 Russula 17 8.13
栓菌属 Trametes 5 2.39
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