“…The regulatory mechanisms behind it were most likely attributable to, 1) increase crop yield due to accelerated plant growth, and ultimately lead to reproductive success 15 , 2) promote water availability at critical stages of crop water demand and 3) increase leaf area and biomass accumulation due to improved soil moisture and thermal conditions. With the improvements of grain yield and WUE, net economic income was accordingly increased under film mulching conditions 18, 37 . Therefore, the use of ridge and furrow with film mulching in maize production may serve as a viable tool to reduce production risks associated with extreme climate and to improve farmers’ livelihoods in semiarid areas of EAP.Figure 5The schematic diagram of alternative ridge-furrow unit ( a ) and different mulching materials ( b , c and d ) in both experimental seasons.
…”
Yield-phenology relation is a critical issue affecting rainfed maize field productivity in semiarid east African Plateau (EAP). We first introduced Chinese ridge-furrow mulching (RFM) system to EAP, using three maize cultivars with early-, mid- and late-maturing traits as test materials. A two-year field experiment was conducted in a semiarid farm of Kenya from 2012 to 2013. Three treatments were designed: alternative ridge and furrow with transparent plastic mulching (FT), with black plastic mulching (FB) and without mulching (CK). We found that FT and FB significantly increased soil moisture and accelerated crop maturity across two growing seasons. Leaf area and shoot biomass were increased by 30.2% and 67.5% in FT, 35.2% and 73.5% in FB, respectively, compared with CK. Grain yield, water use efficiency and economic output were increased by 55.6%, 57.5% and 26.7% in FT, and 50.8%, 53.3% and 19.8% in FB, respectively. Optimal yield and economic benefit were observed in late-maturing cultivar due to increased topsoil temperature in FT in 2012 (cool), and in early-maturing cultivar owing to cooling effect in FB in 2013 (warm). Our study suggested RFM system, combined with crop phenology selection, be a promising strategy to boost maize productivity and profitability in semiarid EAP.
“…The regulatory mechanisms behind it were most likely attributable to, 1) increase crop yield due to accelerated plant growth, and ultimately lead to reproductive success 15 , 2) promote water availability at critical stages of crop water demand and 3) increase leaf area and biomass accumulation due to improved soil moisture and thermal conditions. With the improvements of grain yield and WUE, net economic income was accordingly increased under film mulching conditions 18, 37 . Therefore, the use of ridge and furrow with film mulching in maize production may serve as a viable tool to reduce production risks associated with extreme climate and to improve farmers’ livelihoods in semiarid areas of EAP.Figure 5The schematic diagram of alternative ridge-furrow unit ( a ) and different mulching materials ( b , c and d ) in both experimental seasons.
…”
Yield-phenology relation is a critical issue affecting rainfed maize field productivity in semiarid east African Plateau (EAP). We first introduced Chinese ridge-furrow mulching (RFM) system to EAP, using three maize cultivars with early-, mid- and late-maturing traits as test materials. A two-year field experiment was conducted in a semiarid farm of Kenya from 2012 to 2013. Three treatments were designed: alternative ridge and furrow with transparent plastic mulching (FT), with black plastic mulching (FB) and without mulching (CK). We found that FT and FB significantly increased soil moisture and accelerated crop maturity across two growing seasons. Leaf area and shoot biomass were increased by 30.2% and 67.5% in FT, 35.2% and 73.5% in FB, respectively, compared with CK. Grain yield, water use efficiency and economic output were increased by 55.6%, 57.5% and 26.7% in FT, and 50.8%, 53.3% and 19.8% in FB, respectively. Optimal yield and economic benefit were observed in late-maturing cultivar due to increased topsoil temperature in FT in 2012 (cool), and in early-maturing cultivar owing to cooling effect in FB in 2013 (warm). Our study suggested RFM system, combined with crop phenology selection, be a promising strategy to boost maize productivity and profitability in semiarid EAP.
“…Therefore, this study investigates the relationship among the LAI, yield components, and grain yield of maize under different straw retentions and tillage patterns in a wheat-maize rotation system in China and may provide a theoretical basis for high yield in maize production. Consequently, the ability of plastic film mulch to conserve soil water, decrease soil evaporation, improve water use efficiency (Zhang et al, 2013;Zhao et al, 2014), and increase soil temperature (Han et al, 2014) has been reported. Improving water use efficiency through proper cultivation and management has become an urgent issue.…”
The surface mulch effects on maize (Zea mays L.) production are not well studied. Higher yield depends on coordinated development among the yield components of crops. The purpose of this study was to determine whether plastic film combined with four straw management systems (no tillage with straw standing [NTSS]; no tillage with straw covering [NTS]; tillage with straw incorporation [TIS]; and conventional tillage without straw retention [CT]) could boost grain yield of maize via increasing leaf area index and yield components. This study was conducted in a wheat (Triticum aestivum L.)–maize rotation system from 2009 to 2012 in northwestern China. Plastic film combined with straw retention boosted grain yield by 4.5 to 17.5%, especially, NTS had the highest increasing effect, boosted grain yield by 13.7 to 17.5%, and improved harvest index by 5.4 to 8.4%, compared to CT. Plastic film combined with straw retention significantly increased yield components of maize. Among the three straw retention treatments, NTS increased the maize ear number (EN) by 18.1 to 21.0%, increased the kernel number per ear (KNE) by 63.7 to 67.8%, increased the thousand‐kernel weight (TKW) by 8.7 to 9.6%, compared to CT. Straw retention decreased the maize leaf area index (LAI) before the silking stage and increased the LAI after the silking stage, which effectively regulated the growth and development of maize at early and late stages of development, NTS had the best regulating effect. Path analysis indicated that the integrated system with plastic film combined with straw retention increased the maize grain yield by improving the KNE. We conclude that plastic film combined with previous straw covering can be an effective system for boosting crop productivity by improving the yield components and optimizing LAI dynamics under limited resources in arid environments.
“…Developed from traditional plastic‐film‐mulching planting measures, the full‐ridge furrow with film‐mulching cultivation method (FM) integrates ridge‐ditch rain collection and furrow planting techniques, and has been widely used in arid agricultural regions of northwest China (Bu et al., ; Gan et al., ; Kader, Senge, Mojid, & Ito, ; Li, Kang, Li, & Zhang, ; Liu et al., ). Film mulching is confirmed to be a high‐yield and high‐efficiency maize cultivation method in semiarid conditions (Bu et al., ; Liu, Li, Chen, Yang, & Chen, ; Luo et al., ; Wang et al., ; Zhao et al., ). Thus the role of maize root under FM is very interesting, and several FM studies of root development during different growth periods have been reported.…”
Full ridge‐furrow plastic film‐mulching (FM) is a key agriculture drought mitigation technique in the semiarid Loess Plateau of China. The establishment of high‐yield maize (Zea mays L.) population under FM is built on robust plant development and indispensable soil support that generally started from the seedling stage. However, there is still a lack of information on the root‐shoot development of maize seedling under FM. A 2‐yr field experiment was performed in rainfed plots of Loess Plateau experimental station to study the effects of FM on root‐shoot growth of maize seedlings. Root samples were harvested from different soil layers until max rooting depth at V3 and V6 stages to detail the vertical development. Our results implied that FM significantly improved soil hydrothermal conditions and canopy development at V3 and V6 stages. At the V3 stage, there was no significant difference in root biomass between treatments or growth seasons, but root length under FM treatment was decreased by about 17%; moreover, ridge‐furrow without mulching (CK) treatment intended to distribute 4–9% more root biomass in deeper soil layers, and the root biomass per unit length under FM treatment was increased. At the V6 stage, FM brought about significant advantages in root biomass and length. Nonetheless, maize seedlings under FM treatment had a consistently lower root/shoot ratio, higher root efficiency, and higher water use efficiency during the V3–V6 period. In conclusion, FM helped rainfed maize seedlings run a lightweight but high‐efficiency root to support its productive shoot since the very beginning.
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