Effects of different cultivation models and nitrogen application rates on N absorption and translocation of watermelons in arid regions

DUAN Zhenjiao; XUE Liang; MA Zhongming; ZHAO Anyu

doi:10.16861/j.cnki.zggc.2025.0414

Abstract：A field experiment was conducted to investigate the influence of the synergistic effects between different culti-vation patterns and nitrogen fertilizer management in dryland farming areas on nitrogen utilization and quality in water-melon.A segmented experimental design was employed,with four cultivation modes,namely,covered surface cropping(TD),full-film furrow sowing(TG),full-film ridge sowing(RM),and full-film furrow sowing(GM)and three nitrogen application levels:0 kg·hm-2(N0),120 kg·hm-2(N120),and 240 kg·hm-2(N240).The dynamic change characteristics of dry matter accumulation and nitrogen absorption and translocation of watermelon under different cultivation patterns and nitrogen application rates were analyzed.The results showed that when the nitrogen application rate was 240 kg·hm-2,the dry matter mass,aboveground nitrogen accumulation and yield of the full-film ridge-furrow sowing treatment were 4 384.61 kg·hm-2,4.74 g·plant1 and 40 798.51 kg·hm-2,respectively,reaching the maximum values,which were 15.75％,19.70％and 27.16％higher than those of the traditional flat planting with mulch,respectively.The nitrogen trans-location from leaves and stems to fruits after fruit setting in full-film ridge-furrow seeding accounted for 14.04％-16.89％and 4.08％-7.13％of the nitrogen accumulation in mature fruits,respectively,which were higher than those in other culti-vation patterns at the same nitrogen application level.When the nitrogen application rate was 240 kg·hm-2,the transloca-tion rates of leaves and stems reached 28.07％and 40.73％,respectively,and the contribution rates of nitrogen translocat-ed from leaves and stems to fruits were 16.89％and 7.13％,respectively,which were the highest among all treatments.The full-film ridge-furrow sowing and the nitrogen application rate of 240 kg·hm-2 enhances nitrogen reserve during the vegetative growth stage and promotes nitrogen uptake in the reproductive growth stage,which was a high-yield and high-quality cultivation pattern and nitrogen management scheme for field-grown watermelon production in the dryland area of eastern Gansu.