Green Manure and Straw Return绿肥与秸秆还田
Green manure refers to crops grown specifically to be ploughed in or cut and used as fertilizer, such as Chinese milk vetch, vetch and common vetch. Straw return is the practice of returning chopped crop straw to the soil after harvest. Both are routes for the multiple substitution of organic nutrient resources.
Key points
- Green manure and straw return are the principal means of implementing the substitution pathway in China's Action Plan for Fertilizer Reduction by 2025 — the multiple substitution of nutrient sources.
- Straw typically has a high C/N ratio, and soil micro-organisms compete with the crop for nitrogen during decomposition, so a modest nitrogen application is needed to adjust the ratio.
- Timing and quantity determine the pattern of nutrient release from green manure: ploughing in too early gives insufficient biomass, too late and the stems have lignified and break down slowly.
- The benefit of straw return is seen in rising soil organic matter and improved structure, and it appears only after several consecutive years of practice.
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- Category：Application technology
- Definition basis：Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, Action Plan for Chemical Fertilizer Reduction and Efficiency by 2025
Updated：Oct 19, 2026