Relationship between nitrogen accumulation and nitrogen use efficiency of rice under different urea types and management methods

We aimed to clarify the effectiveness of polyaspartic acid (PASP)-urea on nitrogen (N) accumulation and N use efficiency in rice. We compared PASP-urea with conventional urea with two N management methods (farmer's fertilizer practice and optimized N management) in Wenjiang, Sichuan Province, China, in 2014 and 2015. N recovery efficiency (NRE), N agronomic efficiency (NAE), and N partial factor productivity (PFP) decreased with increasing N uptake by the shoot and the stem plus sheath at 14days after transplanting (DAT), while they were positively related to N uptake of the shoot, leaf lamina, and stem plus sheath at the middle and later stages. N use efficiency and N uptake differed according to urea type and N management. PASP-urea increased N accumulation of the shoot by improving N uptake of the leaf lamina and stem plus sheath from DAT 27, contributing to the significant improvement in NRE, NAE, and PFP. PASP-urea with optimized N management markedly improved the N uptake of each organ at the middle and latter stages, leading to increased final N uptake of the shoot, NRE, NAE, and PFP. Using PASP-urea with ONM method is a suitable way for improving both N accumulation and N use efficiency.