Effects of different ridge-furrow mulching systems on yield and water use efficiency of summer maize in the Loess Plateau of China

doi:10.1007/s40333-021-0081-6

Journal of Arid Land

2021, Vol. 13

Issue (9): 947-961 DOI: 10.1007/s40333-021-0081-6

Research article

Effects of different ridge-furrow mulching systems on yield and water use efficiency of summer maize in the Loess Plateau of China

CHEN Pengpeng¹, GU Xiaobo¹^,^*(

), LI Yuannong¹^,^*(

), QIAO Linran², LI Yupeng¹, FANG Heng¹, YIN Minhua³, ZHOU Changming⁴

¹Key Laboratory of Agricultural Soil and Water Engineering in Arid and Semiarid Areas of Ministry of Education, Northwest A&F University, Yangling 712100, China
²College of Art and Science, Georgia State University, Atlanta 30341, USA
³College of Water Conservancy and Hydropower Engineering, Gansu Agricultural University, Lanzhou 730070, China
⁴College of Land Resources and Environment, Jiangxi Agricultural University, Nanchang 330045, China

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Abstract

Ridge-furrow film mulching has been proven to be an effective water-saving and yield-improving planting pattern in arid and semi-arid regions. Drought is the main factor limiting the local agricultural production in the Loess Plateau of China. In this study, we tried to select a suitable ridge-furrow mulching system to improve this situation. A two-year field experiment of summer maize (Zea mays L.) during the growing seasons of 2017 and 2018 was conducted to systematically analyze the effects of flat planting with no film mulching (CK), ridge-furrow with ridges mulching and furrows bare (RFM), and double ridges and furrows full mulching (DRFFM) on soil temperature, soil water storage (SWS), root growth, aboveground dry matter, water use efficiency (WUE), and grain yield. Both RFM and DRFFM significantly increased soil temperature in ridges, while soil temperature in furrows for RFM and DRFFM was similar to that for CK. The largest SWS was observed in DRFFM, followed by RFM and CK, with significant differences among them. SWS was lower in ridges than in furrows for RFM. DRFFM treatment kept soil water in ridges, resulting in higher SWS in ridges than in furrows after a period of no water input. Across the two growing seasons, compared with CK, RFM increased root mass by 10.2% and 19.3% at the jointing and filling stages, respectively, and DRFFM increased root mass by 7.9% at the jointing stage but decreased root mass by 6.0% at the filling stage. Over the two growing seasons, root length at the jointing and filling stages was respectively increased by 75.4% and 58.7% in DRFFM, and 20.6% and 30.2% in RFM. Relative to the jointing stage, the increased proportions of root mass and length at the filling stage were respectively 42.8% and 94.9% in DRFFM, 63.2% and 115.1% in CK, and 76.7% and 132.1% in RFM, over the two growing seasons, showing that DRFFM slowed down root growth while RFM promoted root growth at the later growth stages. DRFFM treatment increased root mass and root length in ridges and decreased them in 0-30 cm soil layer, while RFM increased them in 0-30 cm soil layer. Compared with CK, DRFFM decreased aboveground dry matter while RFM increased it. Evapotranspiration was reduced by 9.8% and 7.1% in DRFFM and RFM, respectively, across the two growing seasons. Grain yield was decreased by 14.3% in DRFFM and increased by 13.6% in RFM compared with CK over the two growing seasons. WUE in CK was non-significantly 6.8% higher than that in DRFFM and significantly 22.5% lower than that in RFM across the two growing seasons. Thus, RFM planting pattern is recommended as a viable water-saving option for summer maize in the Loess Plateau of China.

Key words： ridge-furrow mulching summer maize soil water storage soil temperature root mass root length

Received: 03 February 2021 Published: 10 September 2021

Corresponding Authors: * GU Xiaobo (E-mail: guxiaobo@nwafu.edu.cn);LI Yuannong (Email: liyuannong@163.com)

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	CHEN Pengpeng
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	YIN Minhua
	ZHOU Changming

Cite this article:

CHEN Pengpeng, GU Xiaobo, LI Yuannong, QIAO Linran, LI Yupeng, FANG Heng, YIN Minhua, ZHOU Changming. Effects of different ridge-furrow mulching systems on yield and water use efficiency of summer maize in the Loess Plateau of China. Journal of Arid Land, 2021, 13(9): 947-961.

URL:

http://jal.xjegi.com/10.1007/s40333-021-0081-6 OR http://jal.xjegi.com/Y2021/V13/I9/947

Fig. 1 Meteorological data (average air temperature and precipitation) and irrigation volume during the summer maize growing seasons in 2017 (a) and 2018 (b). SS, seedling stage; JS, jointing stage; TS, tasseling stage; FS, filling stage; MS, maturity stage.

Fig. 2 Schematic diagrams of three planting patterns (a, b, and c) and root sampling (d). CK, flat planting with no mulching; RFM, ridge-furrow with ridges mulching and furrows bare; DRFFM, double ridges and furrows full mulching.

Fig. 3 Average soil temperature at depth of 5-25 cm for different treatments during the growing seasons in 2017 (a) and 2018 (b). DAS, days after sowing. The furrow of DRFFM (or RFM) represents the average soil temperature in furrows of DRFFM (or RFM); the ridge of DRFFM (or RFM) represents the average soil temperature in ridges of DRFFM (or RFM). Different lowercase letters at the same time indicate significant differences among treatments at P<0.05 level. Bars mean standard errors.

Fig. 4 Diurnal variations of average soil temperature at 5-25 cm depth at the jointing (a, c) and filling stages (b, d) in 2017 and 2018 for different treatments. Bars represent the standard errors.

Fig. 5 Dynamics of soil water storage (SWS) at depth of 0-100 cm for CK, DRFFM, and RFM treatments in 2017 (a) and 2018 (b). Different lowercase letters at the same time indicate significant differences among treatments at P<0.05 level. Bars represent the standard errors.

Fig. 6 Dynamics of SWS at 0-100 cm depth in furrows and ridges on the first and the seventh day after the rainfall event for DRFFM and RFM at the jointing and filling stages in 2017 (a, b, e, f) and 2018 (c, d, g, h). The first and the seventh day after the rainfall event was 12 July and 3 August at the jointing stage, respectively, and was 17 September and 23 September at the filling stage, respectively, in 2017. The first and the seventh day after the rainfall event was 13 July and 20 July at the jointing stage, respectively, and was 23 August and 30 August at the filling stage, respectively, in 2018. Bars represent the standard errors.

Table 1 Root mass and root length under different planting patterns at the jointing and filling stages in 2017 and 2018

Fig. 7 Vertical distribution of root mass at the jointing and filling stages for CK, DRFFM, and RFM treatments in 2017 (a, b) and 2018 (c, d). Different lowercase letters within the same soil depth indicate significant differences among treatments at P<0.05 level. Bars mean standard errors.

Fig. 8 Vertical distribution of root length at the jointing and filling stages for CK, DRFFM, and RFM treatments in 2017 (a, b) and 2018 (c, d). Different lowercase letters within the same soil depth indicate significant differences among treatments at P<0.05 level. Bars mean standard errors.

Fig. 9 Dry matter of stem, leaf, ear, and aboveground part for CK, DRFFM, and RFM treatments in 2017 (a, c, e, g) and 2018 (b, d, f, h). Different lowercase letters within the same growth stage indicate significant differences among treatments at P<0.05 level. Bars mean standard errors.

Table 2 Yield components, grain yield, ET, and WUE for CK, DRFFM and RFM treatments in 2017 and 2018


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