ABSTRACT Surface drip fertigation can accurately regulate nitrogen application, increase the suitable planting density and reduce the nitrogen input. However, there are few studies on the interaction between planting density and nitrogen fertilizer under drip fertigation. Compared with the local planting density and traditional irrigation and fertilization methods (CK), a two‐year field experiment was conducted using surface drip fertigation with two planting densities (60,000 plants ha −1 and 90,000 plants ha −1 ) and three nitrogen rates (180, 240 and 300 kg ha −1 ). We analyzed nitrogen uptake dynamics and evaluated the effects of density and nitrogen on material accumulation and yield. The results showed that the nitrogen daily accumulation in traditional irrigation and fertilization methods showed a single peak curve, and the nitrogen absorption of surface drip fertigation showed two peaks from the 12th leaf stage to the silking stage (V12‐R1) and from the milk stage to the dough stage (R3–R5). Optimized planting density (90,000 plants ha −1 ) and nitrogen application (240 kg ha −1 ) significantly enhanced population level performance, increasing leaf area duration (25.98%–71.58%), dry matter accumulation (11.19%–175.05%) and nitrogen accumulation (10.29%–131.56%) across growth stages compared to CK. Importantly, this approach maintained the individual plant biomass and the grain development, ultimately boosting the total nitrogen uptake (36.42%) and yield (48.49%) of the population. Our findings highlight the potential of dense planting and surface drip fertigation to optimize the nutrient use efficiency (balancing nutrient supply and population demand), enhance yield, and provide an efficient strategy for high‐yield and high‐efficiency maize planting.
Wu et al. (Thu,) studied this question.