Effects of different mulching methods on soil water,heat and salt dynamics and spring corn growth and yield in the dry zone of northwest China
This study aims to explore the effects of different mulching methods on soil water,heat and salt migration patterns and maize growth/yield in farmland.Field experiments were conducted at the National Field Scientific Observatory for Efficient Water Use in Agricultural Oasis in Wuwei,Gansu Province,from April to September in 2022 and 2023.Field monitoring of crop growth and soil environment were conducted under the conditions of non-mulching(M0),full mulching(M1)and strip mulching(M2)to investigate the effects of field mulching conditions on soil water,heat and salt dynamics and crop growth.Results show that the full mulching could contribute to water retention,evapotranspiration and salt suppression.The strip mulching could result in uneven distribution of water and salinity due to the presence of bare strips.Under the non-mulching treatment,the soil water storage and salinity in the shallower soil layer were obviously affected by rainfall and irrigation.While it is beneficial for salt leaching with large precipitation,the soil evaporation was more effective,which was unfavorable to water and moisture retention,meanwhile it may lead to secondary salinization.Soil effective cumulative temperatures in the 5,20,40,and 80 cm soil layers were 5.7,58.4,113.7,and 142.5℃ and 19.1,83.5,108.8,and 155.9℃ higher under the M1 and M2 treatments compared with M0,therefore,the full-mulching and strip-mulching treatments advanced the crop phenological period by 7～10 d,increased the growth rate of plant height and leaf area index,and reached peak values earlier.The total water consumption during the reproductive period of the crop was the lowest under the full mulching treatment,followed by strip mulching,and the highest in the non-mulching treatment.Field mulching could effectively reduce the ineffective water consumption in the early reproductive period of maize.Maize consumed a lot of water from jointing stage to filling stage with modal coefficients of water consumption ranging from 13.18%to 42.69%,and less water from seedling to jointing stage and from jointing stage to maturity with modal coefficients of water consumption ranging from 3.15%to 18.79%.The yields of the full mulching treatments increased by 2.9%-8.0%compared with the non-mulching treatments,while there was no significant difference in yield between the strip mulching and non-mulching treatments.The study shows that the both full mulching and strip mulching treatments can reduce the total water consumption during the maize growth period and improve water productivity,and help prevent secondary soil salinization.However,the long-term use of mulch film results in a large amount of film residue in the soil,which,when accumulated to a certain amount,may diminish the advantages of mulching and increase the potential risk of yield reductions.
plastic film mulchingsoil water/heat/salt dynamicsmaizeyieldwater productivity
万方数据
维普
