干旱区生态环境知识资源中心

A three-year field experiment was conducted to determine how integrating different furrow-applied mulches would influence the yield and water use efficiency (WUE) for corn (Zea mays L.) cultivated under a plastic-covered ridge and furrow rainwater harvesting (PRFRH) system in semi-arid lands of China’s Loess Plateau. The effect of the mulching treatments in combination with PRFRH was compared to the conventional flat (control, T-1). The furrow-applied mulching treatments and their designation were: none or bare furrow (T-2); liquid film (T-3); 8% biodegradable film (T-4); 10-cm thick layer of corn stover (T-5); and 0.08mm thick plastic film (T-6). Corn was planted in the furrows on either side of the plastic-covered ridges of the plots for treatments T-2 though T-6. Soil moisture was measured gravimetrically on auger samples taken at 6 locations in each plot at intervals of 20cm from the 0 to 200cm depth. In all years, soil moisture storage at the 0100cm depth was significantly higher (p<0.05) in the T-2 to T-6 treatment plots compared to T-1. No such effect was observed for the 100200cm depths. The integrated use of PRFRH and furrow-applied mulching performed better than the bare furrow treatment increasing the three-year average grain yield and harvest index (HI). WUE decreases followed the order: T-6>T-4>T-3>T-2>T-5>T-1, indicating that mulching most likely reduced soil evaporation losses and suggesting that integrated PRFRH+mulch systems has potential to increase crop sustainability in this semiarid region.