Root distribution and growth of cotton as affected by drip irrigation with saline water

Abstract:The Tarim River Basin, the largest area of Chinese cotton production, is receiving increased attention because of serious environmental problems. At two experimental stations (Korla and Aksu), we studied the influence of salinity on cotton yield. Soil chemical and physical properties, soil water content, soil total suction and matric suction, cotton yield and water use efficiency under plastic mulched drip irrigation in different saline soils was measured during cotton growth season. The salinity (mS·cm −1 ) were 17-25 (low) at Aksu and Korla, 29-50 (middle) at Aksu and 52-62 (high) at Aksu for ECe (Electrical conductivity measured in saturation-paste extract of soil) over the 100 cm soil profile. The soil water characteristic curves in different saline soils showed that the soil water content (15%-23%) at top 40 cm soil, lower total suction power (below 3500 kPa) and lower matric suction (below 30 kPa) in low saline soil at Korla had the highest water use efficiency (10 kg·ha

“…at Shihezi in Xinjiang [47]. Southern Xinjiang had an average cotton yield over three years from 3.6 to 5.1 t·ha with a low EC in the top 30 cm soil from 3 to 11 dS·m −1 [43].…”

Section: Water Use Efficiency In Different Saline Soilsmentioning

confidence: 97%

Water Use Efficiency in Saline Soils under Cotton Cultivation in the Tarim River Basin

Zhao

Othmanli

Schiller

et al. 2015

“…To quantify the influence of the planting pattern on soil water and ECe distribution during the driest period, at 97 DAS (boll-setting stage), soil samples were taken from three locations, the unmulched midpoint between the wide rows that were 90 cm apart, the midpoint between the two neighboring plants along the row, and the mulched midpoint between the narrow rows that were 60 cm apart, to a depth of 80 cm in 10 cm increments for the three planting patterns ( Figure 6). In addition, to evaluate soil water content and ECe dynamics under different planting patterns, we also monitored soil moisture and ECe at 10 cm intervals in the 0-60 cm layer for F and MD and the 20-80 cm layer for RF underneath the emitter before (0 h) and after (12,24,48,72, and 120 h) the second drip irrigation event (54 DAS, squaring stage) for each plot.…”

Section: Soil Water Content and Ecementioning

confidence: 99%

“…Previous research has shown that RLD can effectively reflect root water uptake ability, and root growth can be influenced by the distribution of soil water content and EC e [48]. In this study, the RLD of RF was the highest, and the RLD of these three planting patters was higher in the mulched area than in the unmulched area, which could be attributed to the higher water content and lower EC e in both RF and the mulched area that provided a suitable soil environment for root growth.…”

Section: Rf Promoted Cotton Growth and Improved Lint Yieldmentioning

confidence: 99%

Impacts of Ridge-Furrow Planting on Salt Stress and Cotton Yield under Drip Irrigation

Sun

Feng

et al. 2017

Flat (F), mini-ditch (MD), and ridge-furrow (RF) are three conventional cotton planting patterns that are usually adopted around the world, yet soil and crop responses to these three patterns are poorly studied, as is their suitability for increasing yield for coastal areas in Eastern China. The effects of three planting methods on water and salt dynamics as well as on growth and lint yield of cotton (Gossypium hirsutum L.) were investigated in a saline field in Bohai Rim, China, to select the best planting pattern for cultivating coastal saline fields of Eastern China. Soil moisture in the root zone with RF was 11.9% and 12.1% higher than with F and MD, whereas the electrical conductivity of a saturated soil extract (EC e ) in the root zone with RF was 18.0% and 13.8% lower than with MD and F, respectively, during the growth period, which indicated that RF could efficiently collect rainfall and leach salt in the root zone. After drip irrigation, the infiltration and salt-leaching depth with RF were both deeper than that with F and MD. The stand establishment of MD was the highest (80.3%) due to the greenhouse effect from film mulching, and was 12.8% and 4.6% higher than that with F and RF, respectively. Growth indicators and lint yield demonstrated that RF was superior to F and MD because of the higher soil moisture and lower EC e . The lint yield was significantly higher in RF, suggesting that RF can be an optimal planting pattern for agricultural reclamation in similar saline-alkaline areas around the world.

“…Direct-seeded cotton exhibits a typical taproot system, whereas transplanted cotton roots spread outward in the shape of a claw with approximately 2-3 dominant lateral roots [10]. Several studies examining cotton roots under different irrigation methods have focused on direct-seeded cotton roots [11][12][13][14][15][16][17]. Hulugalle et al [11] investigated the fine root (<2 mm diameter) production and mortality of cotton in furrow irrigation systems in Australia, and noted that cotton could not tolerate waterlogged conditions, so most of the fine roots were located in the top 0.5 m of the soil.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…BI is the most widely used traditional irrigation method on the NCP [30]. SDI can be employed across a wide range of topographies for frequent and uniform water application and dramatically increases WUE compared with traditional irrigation systems [17,31]. The root parameters based on the measured data in the field experiment were applied into the HYDRUS-2D model.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Root Development of Transplanted Cotton and Simulation of Soil Water Movement under Different Irrigation Methods

Zhang

Liu

Sun

et al. 2017

Abstract:Winter wheat and cotton are the main crops grown on the North China Plain (NCP). Cotton is often transplanted after the winter wheat harvest to solve the competition for cultivated land between winter wheat and cotton, and to ensure that both crops can be harvested on the NCP. However, the root system of transplanted cotton is distorted due to the restrictions of the seedling aperture disk before transplanting. Therefore, the investigation of the deformed root distribution and water uptake in transplanted cotton is essential for simulating soil water movement under different irrigation methods. Thus, a field experiment and a simulation study were conducted during 2013-2015 to explore the deformed roots of transplanted cotton and soil water movement using border irrigation (BI) and surface drip irrigation (SDI). The results showed that SDI was conducive to root growth in the shallow root zone (0-30 cm), and that BI was conducive to root growth in the deeper root zone (below 30 cm). SDI is well suited for producing the optimal soil water distribution pattern for the deformed root system of transplanted cotton, and the root system was more developed under SDI than under BI. Comparisons between experimental data and model simulations showed that the HYDRUS-2D model described the soil water content (SWC) under different irrigation methods well, with root mean square errors (RMSEs) of 0.023 and 0.029 cm 3 cm −3 and model efficiencies (EFs) of 0.68 and 0.59 for BI and SDI, respectively. Our findings will be very useful for designing an optimal irrigation plan for BI and SDI in transplanted cotton fields, and for promoting the wider use of this planting pattern for cotton transplantation.