Abstract: A field experiment was conducted in dryland farming areas of Shouyang, Shanxi Province to determine the effectiveness of different types of fertilizers and the reduced fertilization. The results showed that the effectiveness of the four treatments in increasing grain yield, the benefit and N fertilizer use efficiency in turn was as follows: Enhanced Efficiency Compound Fertilizer (EECF), Common Compound Fertilizer (CCF), Enhanced Efficiency Urea (EEU) and Common Uurea (CU). The plant growth, N and K uptake for corn, and the soil available N and P by the treatment EECF were better than that by the treatment EEU. The N use efficiencies for treatment EECF and EEU were 13.1%-27.3% and 0.9%-14.2% respectively which were better than for treatment CF. There was no significant decrease in grain yield for the N application reduced by 15%. NUE for the enhanced efficiency fertilizer was the best, and there was no significant difference between 85% N and 100% N urea application. The grain yield difference between 70% N and 55% N application was not significant and the N use efficiency was better by the reduced N application. The results also suggested that the target for reducing investment, increasing benefits and controlling pollution source from the loss of overuse N could be realized through the rational use of different types of fertilizers and fertilizer reduction.

Key words: Dryland, Dryland, N fertilizer use efficiency, Reduced fertilization