Plastic Film Mulching Sustains High Maize (Zea mays L.) Grain Yield and Maintains Soil Water Balance in Semiarid Environment

Abstract

Ridge–furrow cultivation with plastic film mulching has been widely used for many years to increase crop yields in semiarid regions. The long-term effects of plastic mulching on crop yield and soil water balance need to be seriously considered to assess the sustainability of this widely used field management technique. A seven-year maize field experiment was conducted during 2012–2018 to estimate the yield sustainability and soil water balance with two treatments—mulching (yes; no) and nitrogen fertilization (yes; no). This resulted in the following four groups—no film mulching, no N application (M0N0); film mulching, no N application (M1N0); no film mulching, N application (M0N1); film mulching and N application (M1N1). Our results show that plastic mulching significantly increased maize yield. A combination of mulching and nitrogen application had the highest sustainability yield index (SYI) of 0.75, which was higher than the other three treatments, with SYI values of 0.31, 0.33, and 0.39, respectively. Plastic film mulching increased soil water content and water storage in both the sowing and harvesting periods and did not cause the formation of dry soil layers. Precipitation storage efficiency (PSE) in the nongrowing season played a key role in maintaining the soil water balance and it was positively affected by plastic film mulching. Our research indicates that plastic mulching and N application could maintain maize yield sustainability and the soil water balance of agriculture in semiarid regions. In addition, we highlight the importance of nongrowing season precipitation, and thus, we suggest that mulching the field land with plastic film throughout the whole year should be adopted by farmers to store more precipitation, which is important to crop growth.

Chlorophyll Fluorescence and Fruit Quality Response of Blueberry to Different Mulches

“…The use of covers is one of the most efficient organic weed control techniques, based upon the use of the crop residue of wheat, corn, rice, as well as polyethylene, biodegradable plastic, among others [4][5][6][7][8]. This technique has mainly been studied in vegetables [9][10][11][12][13][14][15], cereals [13,[15][16][17][18][19], some fruit species [1,4,8,20,21] and in forestry [6]. Several studies have demonstrated effects on weed control [18], fruit yield [6,[13][14][15]18], fruit weight, plant development [1], the absorption and accumulation of nutrients in plants [4,10,11], water use efficiency [4,11,[15][16][17]22], changes in soil temperatures [16,17] and cover effects on root growth [23].…”

“…This technique has mainly been studied in vegetables [9][10][11][12][13][14][15], cereals [13,[15][16][17][18][19], some fruit species [1,4,8,20,21] and in forestry [6]. Several studies have demonstrated effects on weed control [18], fruit yield [6,[13][14][15]18], fruit weight, plant development [1], the absorption and accumulation of nutrients in plants [4,10,11], water use efficiency [4,11,[15][16][17]22], changes in soil temperatures [16,17] and cover effects on root growth [23]. However, it is also necessary to evaluate fruit quality (firmness and size) and physiological characteristics to minimize stress in the plant, influenced by the use of mulches.…”

Optimized Border Irrigation Improved Nitrogen Accumulation, Translocation of Winter Wheat and Reduce Soil Nitrate Nitrogen Residue

“…Therefore, groundwater supplementary irrigation is the main measure to ensure wheat yield. At present, border irrigation is still the main irrigation method in the HPC, but excessive border length leads to high irrigation volume without increasing grain yield [5,6]. For instance, when the border length is between 80 m and 100 m, a single irrigation amount was approximately 100-150 mm, which far exceeds the water availability required for wheat growth.…”

Optimized nitrogen fertilizer application strategies under supplementary irrigation improved winter wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) yield and grain protein yield

“…Wheat is a crucial and global food source that supplies over 45% of calories and over 40% of protein available to the global population. In China, wheat is mostly grown under traditional flood irrigation, which produces high grain yields but requires large quantities of freshwater ( Li et al, 2020 ). Specifically, wheat irrigation accounts for approximately 50% of all agricultural water use in China ( Chen et al, 2020 ).…”