Effects of mulch pattern on water use characteristics and yield of dryland spring maize
[Objective]To investigate the effects of different mulching methods on the yield and water use characteristics of spring maize in drylands,in order to provide theoretical support for efficient and envi-ronmentally friendly maize production in semi-arid regions.[Method]Four cultivation methods including straw strip mulch(SM),white film mulch on double ridge(BM),black film mulch on double ridge(HM)and open field without mulch(CK)were established in the dry farming area of Longzhong.[Result]Compared with CK,SM,BM and HM treatments showed an increase of 2.6%～20.9% in 0～200 cm soil moisture during spring maize sowing to maturity.At each growth stage,the amplitude of soil moisture increase was highest in tasseling and silking stage in SM,while BM and HM were highest in seedling stage.Among dif-ferent soil layers,SM,BM and HM increased soil moisture the most in 60～120 cm,60～120 cm and 120～200 cm soil layers respectively.Compared with the control,the mulching treatment reduced water consump-tion by 5.1% in the whole growth period of spring maize,and the SM treatment reduced the water con-sumption of spring maize in the early growth stage(sowing-jointing stage),middle growth stage(jointing stage-filling stage)and late growth stage(filling stage-harvest stage),by 2.4%～50.0%,while the plastic film mulching(BM and HM)reduced the water consumption in the early and late growth stages,and in-creased the water consumption in the middle growth stage.Compared with CK,mulching significantly in-creased grain yield by 22.9%～34.9% and water use efficiency by 33.1%～39.7%,with BM and SM treat-ments having the largest increase.Correlation analysis showed that grain yield of spring maize was highly correlated with spike number(r=0.922**)and hundred grain weight(r=0.833**).[Conclusion]Straw strip mulching can increase soil moisture and yield,reduce water consumption and increase water use effi-ciency,which is a feasible measure for maize production in the drylands of northwest China.
straw strip mulchingplastic film mulchingspring maizewater consumption characteris-ticsyield
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