Irrigated rice in China accounts for nearly 30% of global rice production using about 7% of global nitrogen (N) consumption. Poor fertilizer-N use efficiency (FNUE) of this system has become a threat to environment. The International Rice Research Institute (IRRI) has coordinated a project on Reaching Toward Optimum Productivity (RTOP) since 1997. The goal of RTOP project is to improve nutrient management strategies of irrigated rice system through on-farm research, demonstration and extension in major rice growing countries in Asia. Now, RTOP project has 14 sites across Asia including five sites in the provinces of Jiangsu, Hubei, Zhejiang, Hunan, and Guangdong in China. RTOP research in China suggests that the improper timing and rate of N application were largely responsible for poor FNUE of rice crop in China. Indigenous N supply capacity of rice fields in major rice growing areas in China was very high, but farmers did not adjust the N rate for the high soil N supply. The site-specific nutrient management (SSNM) technology has demonstrated the potential to reduce N rate by 30% and improve agronomic N use efficiency (AEN) by 50% in major rice growing areas in China. In 2004, SSNM demonstration and participatory farmer research on SSNM are being conducted in 347 farmers’ fields in the five sites in China. In order to increase FNUE of irrigated rice at the national level in China, government agricultural extension services and policy makers at all administration levels must implement necessary policy interventions to accelerate the adoption of improved N management technology.

    作　　者：彭少兵, Roland BURESH, 黄Jianliang, 杨Jianchang , ZHONG Xuhua, ZOU Yingbin, 王Guanghuo, 胡瑞发, SHEN Jiangbo；
    作者单位：国际水稻研究所，华中农业大学，扬州大学，广东农科院水稻所，湖南农业大学，浙江大学，中国科学院农业政策研究中心；
    论文来源：水稻可持续生产——政策、技术与推广国际会议（中国杭州，2004年）。