IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/agiwat/v245y2021ics0378377420321065.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Alternating wide ridges and narrow furrows with film mulching improves soil hydrothermal conditions and maize water use efficiency in dry sub-humid regions

Author

Listed:
  • Duan, Chenxiao
  • Chen, Guangjie
  • Hu, Yajin
  • Wu, Shufang
  • Feng, Hao
  • Dong, Qin’ge

Abstract

The ridge-furrow mulching system (RFMS) is widely used to improve crop yields and water use efficiency in arid and semi-arid rainfed agricultural regions. However, the effects of RFMS on hydrothermal states and maize (Zea mays L.) yields in dry sub-humid regions remain unclear. The objective of this study was to determine the influence of ridge-furrow construction and plastic film mulching on soil moisture and temperature, evapotranspiration (ET), maize growth and yield, water use efficiency (WUE), and thermal time use efficiency (TUE) in dry sub-humid regions of the Loess Plateau. A three-year field study was conducted in which four different planting practices were evaluated: (1) alternating wide ridges and narrow furrows with film mulching (WRM), (2) alternating equal-width ridges and furrows with film mulching (ERM), (3) equal row spacing in flat plot with half film mulching (EFM), and (4) conventional flat plot without mulching (CK). The results demonstrated that at early maize growth stages, soil water storage within the 0–200 cm soil profile and soil temperatures were increased for mulching treatments compared with CK. RFMS utilized soil water efficiently by increasing rainwater harvesting efficiency and transpiration while decreasing soil evaporation. RFMS significantly increased soil temperature in the ridges by 4.0–4.4 °C and reduced diurnal soil temperature amplitude in the furrows, thereby increasing soil thermal time. These positive effects of RFMS compared with CK improved maize growth and crop yields because of adequate absorption and utilization of water and thermal resources. RFMS increased average maize yield by 24.9–32.8%, WUE by 34.1–45.7%, and TUE by 15.9–21.1%. The highest grain yield, WUE, and TUE were observed with WRM due to its favorable soil hydrothermal conditions. The WRM treatment is a promising water-saving and high-yielding maize cultivation practice to improve grain yields and resource use efficiency in dry sub-humid regions.

Suggested Citation

  • Duan, Chenxiao & Chen, Guangjie & Hu, Yajin & Wu, Shufang & Feng, Hao & Dong, Qin’ge, 2021. "Alternating wide ridges and narrow furrows with film mulching improves soil hydrothermal conditions and maize water use efficiency in dry sub-humid regions," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 245(C).
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:agiwat:v:245:y:2021:i:c:s0378377420321065
    DOI: 10.1016/j.agwat.2020.106559
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0378377420321065
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.agwat.2020.106559?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Ren, Xiaolong & Jia, Zhikuan & Chen, Xiaoli, 2008. "Rainfall concentration for increasing corn production under semiarid climate," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 95(12), pages 1293-1302, December.
    2. Li, Xiao-Yan & Gong, Jia-Dong, 2002. "Effects of different ridge:furrow ratios and supplemental irrigation on crop production in ridge and furrow rainfall harvesting system with mulches," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 54(3), pages 243-254, April.
    3. Mo, Fei & Wang, Jian-Yong & Ren, Hong-Xu & Sun, Guo-Jun & Kavagi, Levis & Zhou, Hong & Nguluu, Simon N. & Gicheru, Patrick & Cheruiyot, Kiprotich W. & Xiong, You-Cai, 2018. "Environmental and economic benefits of micro–field rain–harvesting farming system at maize (Zea mays L.) field scale in semiarid east African Plateau," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 206(C), pages 102-112.
    4. Li, S.X. & Wang, Z.H. & Li, S.Q. & Gao, Y.J. & Tian, X.H., 2013. "Effect of plastic sheet mulch, wheat straw mulch, and maize growth on water loss by evaporation in dryland areas of China," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 116(C), pages 39-49.
    5. Fisher, P. D., 1995. "An alternative plastic mulching system for improved water management in dryland maize production," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 27(2), pages 155-166, June.
    6. Bu, Ling-duo & Liu, Jian-liang & Zhu, Lin & Luo, Sha-sha & Chen, Xin-ping & Li, Shi-qing & Lee Hill, Robert & Zhao, Ying, 2013. "The effects of mulching on maize growth, yield and water use in a semi-arid region," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 123(C), pages 71-78.
    7. Deng, Xi-Ping & Shan, Lun & Zhang, Heping & Turner, Neil C., 2006. "Improving agricultural water use efficiency in arid and semiarid areas of China," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 80(1-3), pages 23-40, February.
    8. Ding, Dianyuan & Zhao, Ying & Feng, Hao & Hill, Robert Lee & Chu, Xiaosheng & Zhang, Tibin & He, Jianqiang, 2018. "Soil water utilization with plastic mulching for a winter wheat-summer maize rotation system on the Loess Plateau of China," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 201(C), pages 246-257.
    9. Jia, Qianmin & Sun, Lefeng & Mou, Hongyan & Ali, Shahzad & Liu, Donghua & Zhang, Yan & Zhang, Peng & Ren, Xiaolong & Jia, Zhikuan, 2018. "Effects of planting patterns and sowing densities on grain-filling, radiation use efficiency and yield of maize (Zea mays L.) in semi-arid regions," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 201(C), pages 287-298.
    10. Zhang, Jiyang & Sun, Jingsheng & Duan, Aiwang & Wang, Jinglei & Shen, Xiaojun & Liu, Xiaofei, 2007. "Effects of different planting patterns on water use and yield performance of winter wheat in the Huang-Huai-Hai plain of China," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 92(1-2), pages 41-47, August.
    11. Zhang, Lei & Zhu, Xueqin & Heerink, Nico & Shi, Xiaoping, 2014. "Does output market development affect irrigation water institutions? Insights from a case study in northern China," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 131(C), pages 70-78.
    12. Li, S.X. & Wang, Z.H. & Li, S.Q. & Gao, Y.J., 2015. "Effect of nitrogen fertilization under plastic mulched and non-plastic mulched conditions on water use by maize plants in dryland areas of China," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 162(C), pages 15-32.
    13. Li, Weiwei & Xiong, Li & Wang, Changjiang & Liao, Yuncheng & Wu, Wei, 2019. "Optimized ridge–furrow with plastic film mulching system to use precipitation efficiently for winter wheat production in dry semi–humid areas," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 218(C), pages 211-221.
    14. Li, X.-Y. & Zhao, W.-W. & Song, Y.-X. & Wang, W. & Zhang, X.-Y., 2008. "Rainfall harvesting on slopes using contour furrows with plastic-covered transverse ridges for growing Caragana korshinskii in the semiarid region of China," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 95(5), pages 539-544, May.
    15. Liu, Yi & Li, Shiqing & Chen, Fang & Yang, Shenjiao & Chen, Xinping, 2010. "Soil water dynamics and water use efficiency in spring maize (Zea mays L.) fields subjected to different water management practices on the Loess Plateau, China," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 97(5), pages 769-775, May.
    16. Qi Wang & Enhe Zhang & Fengmin Li & Fengrui Li, 2008. "Runoff Efficiency and the Technique of Micro-water Harvesting with Ridges and Furrows, for Potato Production in Semi-arid Areas," Water Resources Management: An International Journal, Published for the European Water Resources Association (EWRA), Springer;European Water Resources Association (EWRA), vol. 22(10), pages 1431-1443, October.
    17. Shilong Piao & Philippe Ciais & Yao Huang & Zehao Shen & Shushi Peng & Junsheng Li & Liping Zhou & Hongyan Liu & Yuecun Ma & Yihui Ding & Pierre Friedlingstein & Chunzhen Liu & Kun Tan & Yongqiang Yu , 2010. "The impacts of climate change on water resources and agriculture in China," Nature, Nature, vol. 467(7311), pages 43-51, September.
    18. Hu, Yajin & Ma, Penghui & Zhang, Binbin & Hill, Robert L. & Wu, Shufang & Dong, Qin’ge & Chen, Guangjie, 2019. "Exploring optimal soil mulching for the wheat-maize cropping system in sub-humid drought-prone regions in China," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 219(C), pages 59-71.
    19. Li, Xiao-Yan & Gong, Jia-Dong & Gao, Qian-Zhao & Li, Feng-Rui, 2001. "Incorporation of ridge and furrow method of rainfall harvesting with mulching for crop production under semiarid conditions," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 50(3), pages 173-183, September.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Du, Xiangbei & Wei, Zhi & Kong, Lingcong & Zhang, Ligan, 2022. "Optimal bed width for wheat following rice production with raised-bed planting in the Yangtze River Plain of China," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 269(C).
    2. Guixin Zhang & Shibo Zhang & Zhenqing Xia & Mengke Wu & Jingxuan Bai & Haidong Lu, 2023. "Effects of Biodegradable Film and Polyethylene Film Residues on Soil Moisture and Maize Productivity in Dryland," Agriculture, MDPI, vol. 13(2), pages 1-17, January.
    3. Ruofan Li & Juanjuan Ma & Xihuan Sun & Xianghong Guo & Lijian Zheng, 2021. "Simulation of Soil Water and Heat Flow under Plastic Mulching and Different Ridge Patterns," Agriculture, MDPI, vol. 11(11), pages 1-20, November.
    4. Duan, Chenxiao & Chen, Jifei & Li, Jiabei & Su, Shunshun & Lei, Qi & Feng, Hao & Wu, Shufang & Zhang, Tibin & Siddique, Kadambot H.M. & Zou, Yufeng, 2022. "Biomaterial amendments combined with ridge–furrow mulching improve soil hydrothermal characteristics and wolfberry (Lycium barbarum L.) growth in the Qaidam Basin of China," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 259(C).
    5. Zhang, Guangxin & Dai, Rongcheng & Ma, Wenzhuo & Fan, Hengzhi & Meng, Wenhui & Han, Juan & Liao, Yuncheng, 2022. "Optimizing the ridge–furrow ratio and nitrogen application rate can increase the grain yield and water use efficiency of rain-fed spring maize in the Loess Plateau region of China," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 262(C).

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Duan, Chenxiao & Chen, Jifei & Li, Jiabei & Su, Shunshun & Lei, Qi & Feng, Hao & Wu, Shufang & Zhang, Tibin & Siddique, Kadambot H.M. & Zou, Yufeng, 2022. "Biomaterial amendments combined with ridge–furrow mulching improve soil hydrothermal characteristics and wolfberry (Lycium barbarum L.) growth in the Qaidam Basin of China," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 259(C).
    2. Hu, Yajin & Ma, Penghui & Zhang, Binbin & Hill, Robert L. & Wu, Shufang & Dong, Qin’ge & Chen, Guangjie, 2019. "Exploring optimal soil mulching for the wheat-maize cropping system in sub-humid drought-prone regions in China," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 219(C), pages 59-71.
    3. Hu, Yajin & Ma, Penghui & Duan, Chenxiao & Wu, Shufang & Feng, Hao & Zou, Yufeng, 2020. "Black plastic film combined with straw mulching delays senescence and increases summer maize yield in northwest China," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 231(C).
    4. Li, Yue & Chen, Hao & Feng, Hao & Dong, Qin’ge & Wu, Wenjie & Zou, Yufeng & Chau, Henry Wai & Siddique, Kadambot H.M., 2020. "Influence of straw incorporation on soil water utilization and summer maize productivity: A five-year field study on the Loess Plateau of China," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 233(C).
    5. He, Zhihao & Gong, Kaiyuan & Zhang, Zhiliang & Dong, Wenbiao & Feng, Hao & Yu, Qiang & He, Jianqiang, 2022. "What is the past, present, and future of scientific research on the Yellow River Basin? —A bibliometric analysis," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 262(C).
    6. Munyasya, Alex Ndolo & Koskei, Kiprotich & Zhou, Rui & Liu, Shu-Tong & Indoshi, Sylvia Ngaira & Wang, Wei & Zhang, Xu-Cheng & Cheruiyot, Wesly Kiprotich & Mburu, David Mwehia & Nyende, Aggrey Bernard , 2022. "Integrated on-site & off-site rainwater-harvesting system boosts rainfed maize production for better adaptation to climate change," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 269(C).
    7. Wang, Jialin & Pan, Zhihua & Pan, Feifei & He, Di & Pan, Yuying & Han, Guolin & Huang, Na & Zhang, Ziyuan & Yin, Wenjuan & Zhang, Jiale & Peng, Ruiqi & Wang, Zizhong, 2020. "The regional water-conserving and yield-increasing characteristics and suitability of soil tillage practices in Northern China," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 228(C).
    8. Hu, Yajin & Ma, Penghui & Wu, Shufang & Sun, Benhua & Feng, Hao & Pan, Xiaolian & Zhang, Binbin & Chen, Guangjie & Duan, Chenxiao & Lei, Qi & Siddique, Kadambot H.M. & Liu, Boyang, 2020. "Spatial-temporal distribution of winter wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) roots and water use efficiency under ridge–furrow dual mulching," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 240(C).
    9. Zhang, Runze & Lei, Tong & Wang, Yunfeng & Xu, Jiaxing & Zhang, Panxin & Han, Yan & Hu, Changlu & Yang, Xueyun & Sadras, Victor & Zhang, Shulan, 2022. "Responses of yield and water use efficiency to the interaction between water supply and plastic film mulch in winter wheat-summer fallow system," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 266(C).
    10. Ali, Shahzad & Xu, Yueyue & Ahmad, Irshad & Jia, Qianmin & Ma, Xiangcheng & Sohail, Amir & Manzoor, & Arif, Muhammad & Ren, Xiaolong & Cai, Tie & Zhang, Jiahua & Jia, Zhikuan, 2019. "The ridge-furrow system combined with supplemental irrigation strategies to improves radiation use efficiency and winter wheat productivity in semi-arid regions of China," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 213(C), pages 76-86.
    11. Zhang, Xudong & Li, Zhimin & Siddique, Kadambot H.M. & Shayakhmetova, Altyn & Jia, Zhikuan & Han, Qingfang, 2020. "Increasing maize production and preventing water deficits in semi-arid areas: A study matching fertilization with regional precipitation under mulch planting," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 241(C).
    12. Ding, Dianyuan & Zhao, Ying & Feng, Hao & Hill, Robert Lee & Chu, Xiaosheng & Zhang, Tibin & He, Jianqiang, 2018. "Soil water utilization with plastic mulching for a winter wheat-summer maize rotation system on the Loess Plateau of China," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 201(C), pages 246-257.
    13. Zhao, Xiao & Gu, Xiaobo & Yang, Zhichao & Li, Yuannong & Zhang, Li & Zhou, Jiaming, 2022. "Effects of soil preparation and mulching practices together with different urea applications on the water and nitrogen use of winter wheat in semi-humid and drought-prone areas," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 263(C).
    14. Kashif AKHTAR & Weiyu WANG & Ahmad KHAN & Guangxin REN & Muhammad Zahir AFRIDI & Yongzhong FENG & Gaihe YANG, 2018. "Wheat straw mulching with fertilizer nitrogen: An approach for improving soil water storage and maize crop productivity," Plant, Soil and Environment, Czech Academy of Agricultural Sciences, vol. 64(7), pages 330-337.
    15. Ali, Shahzad & Jan, Amanullah & Zhang, Peng & Khan, Muhammad Numan & Cai, Tei & Wei, Ting & Ren, Xiaolong & Jia, Qianmin & Han, Qingfang & Jia, Zhikuan, 2016. "Effects of ridge-covering mulches on soil water storage and maize production under simulated rainfall in semiarid regions of China," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 178(C), pages 1-11.
    16. Zhang, Guangxin & Dai, Rongcheng & Ma, Wenzhuo & Fan, Hengzhi & Meng, Wenhui & Han, Juan & Liao, Yuncheng, 2022. "Optimizing the ridge–furrow ratio and nitrogen application rate can increase the grain yield and water use efficiency of rain-fed spring maize in the Loess Plateau region of China," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 262(C).
    17. Gu, Xiao-Bo & Li, Yuan-Nong & Du, Ya-Dan, 2018. "Effects of ridge-furrow film mulching and nitrogen fertilization on growth, seed yield and water productivity of winter oilseed rape (Brassica napus L.) in Northwestern China," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 200(C), pages 60-70.
    18. Zhang, Yan & Ma, Qian & Liu, Donghua & Sun, Lefeng & Ren, Xiaolong & Ali, Shahzad & Zhang, Peng & Jia, Zhikuan, 2018. "Effects of different fertilizer strategies on soil water utilization and maize yield in the ridge and furrow rainfall harvesting system in semiarid regions of China," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 208(C), pages 414-421.
    19. Wu, Yang & Jia, Zhikuan & Ren, Xiaolong & Zhang, Yan & Chen, Xin & Bing, Haoyang & Zhang, Peng, 2015. "Effects of ridge and furrow rainwater harvesting system combined with irrigation on improving water use efficiency of maize (Zea mays L.) in semi-humid area of China," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 158(C), pages 1-9.
    20. Li, Weiwei & Xiong, Li & Wang, Changjiang & Liao, Yuncheng & Wu, Wei, 2019. "Optimized ridge–furrow with plastic film mulching system to use precipitation efficiently for winter wheat production in dry semi–humid areas," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 218(C), pages 211-221.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:eee:agiwat:v:245:y:2021:i:c:s0378377420321065. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Catherine Liu (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.elsevier.com/locate/agwat .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.