Optimization of Nitrogen Fertilizer Management in the Yellow River Irrigation Area Based on the Root Zone Water Quality Model

Strategic management of nitrogen fertilizers can not only mitigate agricultural nitrogen pollution but also significantly enhance crop yield and nitrogen use efficiency. This study was designed to determine the optimal nitrogen fertilizer management strategy for the Yellow River irrigation area. Leveraging two years of field data related to soil water nitrogen and summer maize growth indices, parameters for the Root Zone Water Quality Model 2 (RZWQM2) were calibrated and validated. Subsequently, various scenarios were generated to simulate the impacts of different nitrogen application rates and basal chasing ratios on summer maize yield, nitrogen agronomic efficiency, nitrogen physiological efficiency, and nitrogen apparent recovery rate. The Technique for Order of Preference by Similarity to Ideal Solution (TOPSIS) method was employed for a comprehensive evaluation. RZWQM2 can effectively simulate the dynamic changes in soil moisture and nitrogen in the Yellow River irrigation area, and the results indicated that the mean relative error (MRE) between the simulated and observed values varied from 5.77% to 14.09%, and 4.36% to 33.01%, while the root mean square error (RMSE) ranged from 0.016 to 0.037 cm3/cm3, and 0.111 to 1.995 mg/kg. The normalized root mean square error (NRMSE) varied between 6.20% to 14.42% and 5.24% to 17.84%, respectively. The results validate the model’s effectiveness in simulating summer maize yields and nitrogen metrics under varying nitrogen fertilizer management practices. A nitrogen application rate of 180–200 kg/hm2 (expressed in terms of pure nitrogen) in the Yellow River irrigation area could adequately meet the requirements for summer maize production. The recommended nitrogen fertilizer management strategy in the Yellow River irrigation area involves applying 200 kg/hm2 of nitrogen in a 1:2:1 ratio during the sowing, trumpeting, and anthesis stages.