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Yield Responses of Wheat to Mulching Practices in Dryland Farming on the Loess Plateau

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  • Li-fang Wang
  • Juan Chen
  • Zhou-ping Shangguan

Abstract

Improving farming practices of soil and water conservation has profound effects on the yield of wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) in dryland farming regions of the Loess Plateau in China. Mulching has proven to be an effective practice to increase crop yield, and possibly contribute to replenishing groundwater. This evaluation study collected and analyzed the data of 1849 observations published in 38 papers using meta-analysis to investigate effects of the mulching practices on wheat yield in terms of different rainfall and regions in comparison with conventional tillage. The main results of the study follow. The effects of the mulching practices were ranked in the order of RFM (ridge–furrow mulching) > MTMC (mulching with two materials combined) > MOM (mulching with other materials) > WSM (wheat straw mulching) > FM (flat mulching). The effects of the mulching practices at the different levels of rainfall during the wheat growing season were in the order: ( (> 250 mm) > (150–250 mm). The effects of the mulching practices in the different regions were in the order of Henan > Shanxi > Shaanxi > Gansu. WSM, MTMC and FM performed better in improving wheat yield for rainfall of 250 mm during the growing season, respectively. The wheat yield with FM, MTMC, MOM and MOM was higher than those with the other mulching practices in Shaanxi, Gansu, Henan and Shanxi. The wheat yield with RFM was 27.4% higher than that with FM, indicating that RFM was the most effective practice to improve wheat yield among all the practices. These findings have important implications for choosing appropriate crop field management to improve wheat yield.

Suggested Citation

  • Li-fang Wang & Juan Chen & Zhou-ping Shangguan, 2015. "Yield Responses of Wheat to Mulching Practices in Dryland Farming on the Loess Plateau," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 10(5), pages 1-15, May.
    • Handle: RePEc:plo:pone00:0127402
    DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0127402
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. 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.
    2. Makurira, H. & Savenije, H.H.G. & Uhlenbrook, S. & Rockström, J. & Senzanje, A., 2011. "The effect of system innovations on water productivity in subsistence rainfed agricultural systems in semi-arid Tanzania," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 98(11), pages 1696-1703, September.
    3. Huang, Yilong & Chen, Liding & Fu, Bojie & Huang, Zhilin & Gong, Jie, 2005. "The wheat yields and water-use efficiency in the Loess Plateau: straw mulch and irrigation effects," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 72(3), pages 209-222, April.
    4. Chen, Suyin & Zhang, Xiying & Sun, Hongyong & Ren, Tusheng & Wang, Yanmei, 2010. "Effects of winter wheat row spacing on evapotranpsiration, grain yield and water use efficiency," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 97(8), pages 1126-1132, August.
    5. Sharma, Sat Pal & Leskovar, Daniel I. & Crosby, Kevin M. & Volder, Astrid & Ibrahim, A.M.H., 2014. "Root growth, yield, and fruit quality responses of reticulatus and inodorus melons (Cucumis melo L.) to deficit subsurface drip irrigation," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 136(C), pages 75-85.
    6. Richter, G.M. & Semenov, M.A., 2005. "Modelling impacts of climate change on wheat yields in England and Wales: assessing drought risks," Agricultural Systems, Elsevier, vol. 84(1), pages 77-97, April.
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    1. Zhang, Shaohui & Wang, Haidong & Sun, Xin & Fan, Junliang & Zhang, Fucang & Zheng, Jing & Li, Yuepeng, 2021. "Effects of farming practices on yield and crop water productivity of wheat, maize and potato in China: A meta-analysis," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 243(C).
    2. Han, Xuyang & Feng, Yu & Zhao, Jie & Ren, Aixia & Lin, Wen & Sun, Min & Gao, Zhiqiang, 2022. "Hydrothermal conditions impact yield, yield gap and water use efficiency of dryland wheat under different mulching practice in the Loess Plateau," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 264(C).
    3. Chai, Yuwei & Chai, Qiang & Yang, Changgang & Chen, Yuzhang & Li, Rui & Li, Yawei & Chang, Lei & Lan, Xuemei & Cheng, Hongbo & Chai, Shouxi, 2022. "Plastic film mulching increases yield, water productivity, and net income of rain-fed winter wheat compared with no mulching in semiarid Northwest China," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 262(C).
    4. 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).
    5. Wang, Naijiang & Chen, Haixin & Ding, Dianyuan & Zhang, Tibin & Li, Cheng & Luo, Xiaoqi & Chu, Xiaosheng & Feng, Hao & Wei, Yongsheng & Siddique, Kadambot H.M., 2022. "Plastic film mulching affects field water balance components, grain yield, and water productivity of rainfed maize in the Loess Plateau, China: A synthetic analysis of multi-site observations," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 266(C).
    6. Zhiqiang Liu & Shengwei Zhang & Wenjie Fan & Lei Huang & Xiaojing Zhang & Meng Luo & Shuai Wang & Lin Yang, 2024. "Associations between Surface Deformation and Groundwater Storage in Different Landscape Areas of the Loess Plateau, China," Land, MDPI, vol. 13(2), pages 1-22, February.
    7. Zhang, Guangxin & Mo, Fei & Shah, Farooq & Meng, Wenhui & Liao, Yuncheng & Han, Juan, 2021. "Ridge-furrow configuration significantly improves soil water availability, crop water use efficiency, and grain yield in dryland agroecosystems of the Loess Plateau," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 245(C).

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