Effect of Different Fertilizer Rates on Water Consumption and WUE of Soybean at Black Soil Region

An experiment with different NPK dosages was performed on the black soil aiming to study the effect on water consumption and water use efficiency (WUE) of soybean. The results showed that fertilizer application could significantly increase WUE of soybean. Of all the treatments adopted, when P and K fertilizers met needs, water consumption and WUE increased with the N fertilizer increasing. In contrast, when N and K fertilizers met needs the amount of P fertilizer showed a parabolic relationship with water consumption and WUE. And when N and P fertilizers met needs K fertilizer showed a parabolic relationship with water consumption. In addition, significantly positive correlations were observed between water consumption and yield of soybean, and between WUE and the yield.