A Sustainable Iron Carbon Fertilization Strategy to Increase Grain Production and Mitigate Nitrate Pollution

We reported a new iron carbon (FeC) fertilization strategy that achieved a triple effect of grain yield increase, N pollution mitigation, and fertilizer decrease. Field and pot experiments confirmed that the FeC fertilization increased rice yield by 21.6 % and reached a N use efficiency of 80.2 + 6.5 % with a 50 % decrease of fertilizer compared to urea fertilization. We found the specifically adsorbed Fe (II) ions with low redox potential on the iron plaque was the main active species in the abiotic process. These findings revealed that FeC fertilization can be served as the next-generation fertilization strategy for future agricultural ecosystems to ensure food security and N supply.