Exploring optimal soil mulching to enhance maize yield and water use efficiency in dryland areas in China
| Autor: | Chen Wenliang, Qin Wei, Li Nana, Chi Baoliang, Wang Yu-guo, Liang Gaimei |
|---|---|
| Jazyk: | angličtina |
| Rok vydání: | 2018 |
| Předmět: |
0106 biological sciences
mulch Plastic film Soil Science dryland 04 agricultural and veterinary sciences Soil Biology Straw precipitation 01 natural sciences Arid maize yield Nutrient Agronomy Soil water 040103 agronomy & agriculture 0401 agriculture forestry and fisheries Environmental science Water-use efficiency Agronomy and Crop Science Mulch Water use Bodembiologie 010606 plant biology & botany |
| Zdroj: | Acta Agriculturae Scandinavica Section B: Soil and Plant Science 68 (2018) 3 Acta Agriculturae Scandinavica Section B: Soil and Plant Science, 68(3), 273-282 |
| ISSN: | 0906-4710 |
| Popis: | Water and nutrient availability significantly limits global crop production, especially for dryland agriculture in arid and semi-arid regions. To explore the optimal soil mulching options for the Loess Plateau in China, a 3-year field study was conducted to investigate the effects of various soil mulching practices on soil temperature and the water use and grain yield of spring maize. The treatments included traditional flat farming (CK), narrow plastic film mulch (NM), wide plastic film mulch (WM) and narrow plastic film mulch + maize straw mulch between rows (MS). The results showed that MS treatment increased consistently soil temperature during the initial stages of maize growth, and more importantly, it reduced diurnal temperature variation. MS also increased in soil water storage by 10.1%, leading to the highest water use efficiency (WUE = 30.9 kg ha−1 mm−1) over CK on 3 year average. MS significantly increased maize yield and net income of farmers by up to 20%, compared to CK. In conclusion, optimisation of soil mulching strategies significantly enhanced crop yield and water productivity in dryland agriculture in China. Our study provides important guidance for exploring better soil management practice for dryland agriculture in the other regions of the world. |
| Databáze: | OpenAIRE |
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