Table 4 Significance of NH4+-N content in different soil layers under different fertilization timing sequences in 2020–2021.

From: Effect of different NPK fertilization timing sequences management on soil-petiole system nutrient uptake and fertilizer utilization efficiency of drip irrigation cotton

Growth stage

Soil depth

2020 Soil NH4+-N content (mg/kg)

2021 Soil NH4+-N content (mg/kg)

S1

S2

S3

S4

S5

S6

S7

S1

S2

S3

S4

S5

S6

S7

FBS

0–20

6.32b

6.74a

6.41b

6.24b

6.34b

6.79a

4.22c

7.09e

8.87a

6.85e

7.35d

7.90c

8.43b

6.33f

20–40

5.77a

5.68ab

5.66abc

5.27d

5.42bcd

5.39cd

4.07e

6.83b

6.33cd

6.77b

6.58bc

7.51a

7.33a

6.08d

40–60

5.40ab

4.47d

4.98c

5.66a

4.29de

5.22bc

3.97e

6.80a

6.18b

6.67a

6.38ab

6.41ab

6.11b

5.45c

FFS

0–20

7.32d

8.19b

7.15d

7.81c

8.02bc

8.72a

6.31e

9.62c

10.81a

9.38c

10.04b

10.11b

10.29b

8.39d

20–40

6.30d

7.77b

7.75b

7.13c

8.27a

6.85c

5.97d

8.07d

9.17b

7.35e

8.29d

9.56a

8.82c

7.19e

40–60

7.39b

5.30d

7.83a

6.24c

6.02c

5.96c

5.05d

8.79ab

8.18c

8.95a

8.46bc

7.52d

8.25c

7.27d

PBS

0–20

4.55d

5.38b

4.73cd

4.93c

5.32b

6.25a

4.27e

6.95de

7.60b

6.77e

7.16cd

7.39bc

8.67a

6.24f

20–40

4.13b

4.32b

4.95a

4.87a

5.03a

3.34c

3.06c

6.43c

6.67c

6.28c

7.06b

7.88a

6.56c

5.57d

40–60

5.21a

4.21b

5.23a

4.35b

4.16b

3.35c

2.38d

7.74a

6.83c

7.95a

7.28b

6.25d

7.05bc

5.73e

BOS

0–20

8.04a

8.09a

7.95a

8.06a

8.07a

8.08a

7.82a

9.17bc

9.60ab

9.18bc

9.28ab

9.31ab

9.63a

8.84c

20–40

6.73c

6.92bc

7.16b

6.87bc

7.65a

6.38d

6.38d

8.12b

8.38b

7.61c

8.09b

9.23a

8.16b

7.61c

40–60

5.90a

5.93a

6.06a

5.99a

5.94a

5.78a

4.86b

8.64a

8.15b

8.69a

8.17b

7.97b

8.13b

7.08c

  1. Different lowercase letters mean significant differences (P < 0.05) among the different fertilization timing sequence under the same soil layer. FBS, FFS, PBS and BOS represent full bud stage, full flower stage, peak boll stage and boll opening stage, respectively.