Yield and Nitrogen Uptake under Reduced Nitrogen Fertilizer during Early Growth of Rice in the Rice-Barley Double Cropping System

N fertilizer required by rice could be reduced greatly in the rice-barley double cropping system than in the rice single cropping system. This study was conducted to investigate how much of the N fertilizer during the early stage of rice in the rice-barley double cropping system, could be saved compared to that in the rice single cropping system. This experiment was carried out at the paddy field of the National Crop Experiment Station in Suwon, Korea during three years from 1999 to 2001. Amounts of soil mineral nitrogen (SMN) and SPAD values of rice leaf during rice growing season in the rice-barley double cropping system were higher than those in the rice single cropping system under the same amount of N application during two years. Yield and N uptakes of rice at harvesting time were also higher in the rice-barley double cropping system than in the rice single cropping system during two years. Yield and N uptake of rice in the rice single cropping system were decreased when basal N fertilizer was omitted, but those reductions were not found by either omitting basal N fertilizer or omitting N fertilizer at tillering stage in the rice-barley double cropping system during 2000 and 2001. But yield and N uptakes of rice were decreased by 70 kg/10a and 2kgN/10a by the omission of both N application at basal and tillering stages in the rice-barley double cropping system in 2002. It was concluded that N fertilizer as much as tillering N fertilizer could be saved in the rice-barley double cropping system.