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In common nutrient management in peach orchards in China, a large amount of nitrogen fertilizer is used. However, low nitrogen absorption and utilization rate results in nitrogen loss and greenhouse gas emissions, which is not favorable for cleaner production in peach orchards. In this experiment, nitrogen leaching, ammonia volatilization, greenhouse gas emissions under bag-controlled release fertilizer (BCRF) were evaluated. In addition, the impact of BCRF on soil nutrient status in peach orchards, peach root system growth, nitrogen absorption and utilization rate, fruit quality, and the potential for using BCRF in major peach-producing areas in China to reduce the amount of nitrogen fertilizer application were also investigated. Results showed that BCRF maintained a stable supply of nutrients to soil, decreased nitrogen leaching, ammonia volatilization and greenhouse gas emissions while nitrogen loss was significantly reduced from peach orchard soil. Also, BCRF reduced the combined global warming potential at 20-, 100-, and 500-years. A 5-year study revealed that application of BCRF promoted the formation of a dense root system in peach trees by the development of fine roots and a more concentrated root distribution. This extended the lifespan of the root system and improved fruit quality. 15N tracer experiments showed that BCRF significantly increased the absorption and utilization rate of nitrogen by peach trees. BCRF reduced the amount of nitrogen fertilizers applied by 65–82% compared to common fertilizer application methods without decreasing peach yield, so it has huge potential for reducing the amount of nitrogen fertilizer used as well as fertilizer input costs in peach production. The results showed that BCRF has huge application potential as a new, environmentally friendly, low-cost, and efficient fertilizer for cleaner production in peach orchards. Image 1048 • Bag-controlled release fertilizer can maintain stable supply of nutrients to soil. • HighlightsHighlightBag-controlled release fertilizer decreases nitrogen leaching, ammonia volatilization from peach orchard soil. • Bag-controlled release fertilizer would reduce greenhouse gas emissions and the combined global warming potential. • Bag-controlled release fertilizer promotes the formation of a dense root system of peach trees. • Bag-controlled release fertilizer has a huge potential for reducing the nitrogen applied amount in peach production. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Glycine:urea (7:3) treatments significantly promoted root development. • Glycine:urea (7:3) treatments significantly promoted the absorption of NO 3 −. • Denitrification activity was lower at Glycine:urea (7:3) treatments. • Glu and Asp are the main forms of nitrogen transport in peach trees. The mechanism of how glycine combined with urea affects the development of peach trees through nitrogen absorption and metabolism is still unclear. In this study, we investigated the transformation of nitrogen in soil, the nitrogen absorption in roots, and the transformation and transportation of nitrogen in the peach tree at different treatment (no nitrogen fertilizer (CK), urea (T1), glycine (T2), glycine:urea (1:1) (T3), glycine:urea (3:7) (T4), and glycine:urea (7:3) (T5)). Compared with CK, the total dry weight of T5 and T2 was significantly increased by 22.95% and 19.09%, while it was lower at T3. The root activity of T5 was significantly higher than CK by 169.27%. The residual NH 4 + in the soil was consistent with the application ratio of urea, while the conversion of NO 3 − was promoted at T5. Under T5, soil amo A and nif H abundance was higher, while the nir K abundance was higher under T1 and T3. In addition, urease activity was higher at T1, while phosphatase, catalase, and dehydrogenase activities were higher at T5. The NO 3 − content in the root was higher at T5. In roots, the activities of GDH, GOGAT and GS were significantly increased at T5 and T2, while the NR activities of T5 and T1 were significantly increased by 34.60% and 33.64% compared with CK. The aspartic acid and glutamic acid were the main forms of nitrogen transport in wild peaches. PLS-PM analysis showed that nitrogen use efficiency had a very significant direct positive effect on the biomass of peach trees. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Peach had a higher utilization rate of glycine compared with urea. • Glycine:urea (7:3) treatments significantly increased the biomass of peach. • Glycine and glycine:urea (7:3) treatments led to higher rubisco activity in leaves. • High-dose of glycine promoted the accumulation of sucrose in leaves and fruits. The unreasonable use of urea and its low nitrogen use efficiency limit peach fruit yield and quality. In this study, six different fertilization treatments—no nitrogen fertilizer, urea (T1), glycine (T2), glycine:urea (1:1) (T3), glycine:urea (3:7) (T4), and glycine:urea (7:3) (T5)—were used to explore the effects of glycine and urea on the growth, photosynthesis, sucrose metabolism, and fruit development of peach. Peach had a higher utilization rate of glycine compared with urea; combined application of glycine-urea improved the utilization rate of urea compared with T1. T5 significantly increased the biomass of peach. High-dose glycine (T2 and T5) promoted the opening of stomata and the efficiency of photosynthetic electron transfer, which increased the net photosynthetic rate (P n). In addition, the activity of Rubisco was higher in leaves on wild peach treated with T2 and T5, which increased the fixation of CO 2. Under high-dose glycine treatment, the lower cell wall invertase activity in leaves and the higher cell wall invertase activity in fruits promoted the transfer of sucrose from source to sink. In addition, high-dose glycine treatment led to higher sucrose phosphate synthase activity in leaves and fruits, which improved the accumulation of soluble sugar in the fruit. The higher sucrose transport efficiency increased the single fruit weight, soluble solid content and ratio of sugar to acid in peach fruits under high-dose glycine treatment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]