Effects of Partial Replacement of Nitrogen Fertilizer with Organic Fertilizer on Rice Growth, Nitrogen Utilization Efficiency and Soil Properties in the Yangtze River Basin

Cake fertilizer and dairy manure were used as experimental materials to carry out a 9-year (2012–2020) field experiment in the main rice production areas in the Yangtze River basin. Different fertilization modes were used (no fertilization, CK; chemical fertilizer application alone, HY; reduced fertilization with chemical fertilizer application, RF; cake fertilizer replacement of nitrogen fertilizer, CFR; and dairy manure replacement of nitrogen fertilizer, DMR). Changes in the total rice yield, yield components, absorption of nitrogen, soil pH, organic matter, total nitrogen, and soil bulk density under different fertilization treatments were analyzed. The results show that organic fertilizer replacement leads to a stable and high rice yield. The 9-year average rice yields of the CFR and DMR treatments were 60.0% and 61.5% higher than that of CK. The nitrogen uptake of the CFR and DMR treatments was also higher than that of the other treatments. The nitrogen recovery efficiency in the current season could be increased by 16.37–22.89%, and after 9 years of testing, the soil total nitrogen contents of CFR and DMR increased by 0.23–0.85 g·kg(−1) compared to the other treatments. The available P and K contents of DMR increased by 30.17 mg·kg(−1) and 22.02 mg·kg(−1) compared with HY, respectively. The soil bulk density was reduced by 0.08 g·cm(−3). Generally, the effects of dairy manure replacement were better than those of cake fertilizer. This is an important method that can be used to fertilize the soil and foster sustainable soil utilization in the rice-growing area of the Yangtze River Basin, as a long-term partial replacement for chemical nitrogen fertilizer.