Effects of biodegradable mulch on soil water and heat conditions, yield and quality of processing tomatoes by drip irrigation
JIA Hao1,2, WANG Zhenhua1,2,*(), ZHANG Jinzhu1,2, LI Wenhao1, REN Zuoli1, JIA Zhecheng1, WANG Qin1
1College of Water & Architectural Engineering, Shihezi University, Shihezi 832000, China 2Key Laboratory of Modern Water-Saving Irrigation of Xinjiang Production & Construction Group, Shihezi University, Shihezi 832000, China
To combat the problem of residual film pollution and ensure the sustainable development of agriculture in oasis areas, a field experiment was carried out in 2019 at the Wuyi Farm Corps Irrigation Center Test Station in Urumqi, Northwest China. Four types of biodegradable mulches, traditional plastic mulchs and a control group (bare land; referred to as CK) were compared, including a total of six different treatments. Effects of mulching on soil water and heat conditions as well as the yield and quality of processing tomatoes under drip irrigation were examined. In addition, a comparative analysis of economic benefits of biodegradable mulches was performed. Principal component analysis and gray correlation analysis were used to evaluate suitable mulching varieties for planting processing tomatoes under drip irrigation. Our results show that, compared with CK, biodegradable mulches and traditional plastic mulch have a similar effect on retaining soil moisture at the seedling stage but significantly increase soil moisture by 0.5%-1.5% and 1.5%-3.0% in the middle and late growth periods (P<0.050), respectively. The difference in the thermal insulation effect between biodegradable mulch and plastic mulch gradually reduces as the crop grows. Compared with plastic mulch, the average soil temperature at 5-20 cm depth under biodegradable mulches is significantly lowered by 2.04°C-3.52°C and 0.52°C-0.88°C (P<0.050) at the seedling stage and the full growth period, respectively, and the water use efficiency, average fruit yield, and production-investment ratio under biodegradable mulches were reduced by 0.89%-6.63%, 3.39%-8.69%, and 0.51%-6.33% (P<0.050), respectively. The comprehensive evaluation analysis suggests that the black oxidized biological double-degradation ecological mulch made from eco-benign plastic is the optimal film type under the study condition. Therefore, from the perspective of sustainable development, biodegradable mulch is a competitive alternative to plastic mulch for large-scale tomato production under drip irrigation in the oasis.
JIA Hao, WANG Zhenhua, ZHANG Jinzhu, LI Wenhao, REN Zuoli, JIA Zhecheng, WANG Qin. Effects of biodegradable mulch on soil water and heat conditions, yield and quality of processing tomatoes by drip irrigation. Journal of Arid Land, 2020, 12(5): 819-836.
Fig. 1 Daily rainfall, daily air temperature (including daily average, maximum and minimum) and daily relative humidity at the study site during the growth period of processing tomatoes in 2019
Depth (cm)
Soil bulk density (g/cm3)
Field water holding capacity (%)
10
1.35
17.67
20
1.32
17.86
30
1.34
17.57
40
1.36
17.89
50
1.30
18.01
60
1.32
18.12
Table 1 Soil bulk density and field water holding capacity
Treatment
Material1
Appearance
Thickness (mm)
Induction period2 (d)
Manufacture
PE
Polyethylene
Transparent
0.008
Many years
Xinjiang Tianye Co., Ltd.
BM1
PBAT
Black
0.010
45
Guangzhou Kingfa Co., Ltd.
WM1
PBAT
White
0.010
45
Guangzhou Kingfa Co., Ltd.
BM2
EBP
Black
0.010
65
China Tianzhuang Co., Ltd.
WM2
EBP
White
0.010
65
China Tianzhuang Co., Ltd.
Table 2 Properties of the biodegradable and plastic films used in this study
Fig. 2 Planting mode of drip irrigation under mulch for processing tomatoes
Growth period
Duration
Number of days (d)
Irrigation and fertilization cycle (d)
Irrigation and fertilization ratio (%)
Number of irrigation and fertilization
Seedling stage
7 May-5 Jun
30
29
12.5
1
Flowering
6 Jun-26 Jun
20
20
12.5
1
Fruit swelling phase I
27 Jun-20 Jul
24
12
25.0
2
Fruit swelling phase II
21 Jul-10 Aug
20
10
25.0
2
Maturity
11 Aug-5 Sep
27
12
25.0
2
Full growth period
7 May-5 Sep
121
-
100.0
8
Table 3 Irrigation schedule
Fig. 3 Dynamic distribution characteristics of water content in different soil layers of processing tomato seedlings under drip irrigation
Fig. 4 Water content changes during the whole growth period of tomato under drip irrigation with different mulching treatments (0-60 cm)
T
Ground temperature (°C) measured four times a day at different soil depths
5 cm
10 cm
08:00
12:00
16:00
20:00
08:00
12:00
16:00
20:00
PE
24.52±0.228aA
37.35±0.4327aA
46.90±0.696aA
33.18±0.557aA
24.58±0.661aA
32.03±0.278aA
40.28±0.229aA
34.08±0.111aA
BM1
23.80±0.793aAB
36.40±0.307abAB
41.60±0.443bB
32.75±0.514abA
22.93±0.229bB
31.20±0.286bAB
37.18±0.421bB
32.93±0.189bAB
WM1
21.47±0.375bcB
35.50±0.377bcBC
41.53±0.272bB
31.98±0.556abA
22.63±0.354bcB
29.88±0.275cC
36.33±0.175cBC
32.45±0.307bBC
BM2
23.53±0.854abAB
36.30±0.447abABC
41.58±0.316bB
31.65±0.330bA
21.65±0.312cB
29.58±0.085cC
36.00±0.187cCD
31.25±0.284cC
WM2
21.37±0.904cB
34.57±0.549cC
39.88±0.764cB
29.10±0.227cB
21.95±0.185bcB
30.95±0.210bB
35.15±0.171dD
29.40±0.483dD
CK
20.76±0.196dD
36.11±0.150bB
32.54±0.395dD
27.52±0.215dC
20.53±0.135dC
27.86±0.324dD
30.25±0.214eE
26.57±0.389eE
Significance analysis (F test value)
MM
252.463***
59.110***
789.350***
596.652***
269.568***
397.235***
1896.356***
891.112***
T
15 cm
20 cm
08:00
12:00
16:00
20:00
08:00
12:00
16:00
20:00
PE
25.40±0.208aA
30.03±0.193aA
35.03±0.193aA
33.48±0.125aA
24.80±0.245aA
27.20±0.141aA
32.48±0.125aA
31.20±0.141aA
BM1
22.73±0.149bB
29.78±0.221abA
34.90±0.508aAB
30.65±0.393cBC
22.68±0.189cdCD
25.45±0.132cC
29.38±0.144bB
29.18±0.132cC
WM1
22.70±0.261bB
29.53±0.103bA
34.30±0.178abAB
30.20±0.147cC
23.18±0.149cBC
25.23±0.149cC
28.53±0.103cC
28.18±0.149dD
BM2
22.10±0.334bB
30.10±0.108aA
35.05±0.104aA
31.50±0.286bB
23.80±0.123bB
26.30±0.220bB
29.58±0.165bB
30.05±0.150bB
WM2
22.55±0.194bB
29.48±0.144bA
33.65±0.393bB
28.60±0.187dD
22.45±0.132dD
24.25±0.166dD
25.50±0.123dD
27.23±0.155eE
CK
21.25±0.245cC
27.56±0.113bB
29.14±0.209cC
24.28±0.168eE
21.35±0.143eE
26.49±0115bB
27.34±0.167cC
24.12±0.214fF
Significance analysis (F test value)
MM
216.857***
118.962***
547.223***
914.367***
165.322***
238.114***
386.425***
1664.874***
Table 4 Effects of plastic film mulching on ground temperature at different soil depths in processing tomato seedlings (5-20 cm)
Fig. 5 Ground temperature change during the whole growth period of processing tomatoes under drip irrigation with different mulching treatments (5-20 cm)
Fig. 6 Comparison of yield, quality, WUE, and production-investment ratio of tomato fruits processed by drip irrigation under different mulching treatments. ***, P<0.001 level.
T
ST (°C)
MC (% g/g)
FY (t/hm2)
VC
SSg
TA
SSl
SAR
WUE (t/(hm2·mm))
Pr-In
(mg/100 g FW)
PE
38.67
16.63
173.25
30.123
12.598
0.856
5.293
14.732
0.3366
1.8538
BM1
35.55
15.73
166.62
30.395
13.280
0.952
6.010
14.235
0.3282
1.7195
WM1
35.17
15.52
162.34
29.348
12.828
0.882
6.000
14.201
0.3248
1.6850
BM2
35.58
15.87
167.36
31.018
15.450
0.988
6.110
15.779
0.3336
1.7970
WM2
33.54
15.82
158.18
29.033
12.695
0.915
5.987
13.917
0.3143
1.7333
CK
29.82
15.63
138.31
26.635
10.720
1.069
5.760
10.128
0.2781
1.3225
Table 5 Response values of processing tomatoes with drip irrigation under different film treatments
Treatment
Z1
Z2
Z3
Z4
Z5
Rank
PE
2.7974
-2.8429
0.2756
0.0226
-0.0379
1
BM1
0.8040
0.8122
-0.0425
0.4857
0.3119
3
WM1
0.2675
0.5990
-1.2599
0.1935
-0.2495
4
BM2
1.9341
1.8562
1.0878
-0.1286
-0.1544
2
WM2
-0.3019
0.2335
-0.5460
-0.6558
0.1800
5
CK
-5.5011
-0.6580
0.4851
0.0826
-0.0500
6
Table 6 Comprehensive evaluation of different film treatments based on drip irrigation tomato response index
T
S
ST (°C)
MC (% g/g)
FY (t/hm2)
VC
SSg
TA
SSl
SAR
WUE (t/(hm2·mm))
Pr-In
(mg/100 g FW)
RS
X0
38.67
16.63
173.25
31.018
15.450
1.069
6.110
15.779
0.3366
1.8538
PE
X1
38.67
16.63
173.25
30.123
12.598
0.856
5.293
14.732
0.3366
1.8538
BM1
X2
35.55
15.73
166.62
30.395
13.280
0.952
6.010
14.235
0.3282
1.7195
WM1
X3
35.17
15.52
162.34
29.348
12.828
0.882
6.000
14.201
0.3248
1.6850
BM2
X4
35.58
15.87
167.36
31.018
15.450
0.988
6.110
15.779
0.3336
1.7970
WM2
X5
33.54
15.82
158.18
29.033
12.695
0.915
5.987
13.917
0.3143
1.7333
CK
X6
29.82
15.63
138.31
26.635
10.720
1.069
5.760
10.128
0.2781
1.3225
Table 7 Comparing series and reference series of response indices of tomato processing by different film treatments under drip irrigation
Treatment
Correlation degree
Rank
PE
0.5422
1
BM1
0.4934
3
WM1
0.4382
4
BM2
0.5137
2
WM2
0.4045
5
CK
0.3736
6
Table 8 Comprehensive evaluation of different plastic film treatments based on the response indices of processing irrigation tomato
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