IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/agiwat/v225y2019ics0378377419303555.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Exploring optimal soil mulching to enhance yield and water use efficiency in maize cropping in China: A meta-analysis

Author

Listed:
  • Gao, Haihe
  • Yan, Changrong
  • Liu, Qin
  • Li, Zhen
  • Yang, Xiao
  • Qi, Ruimin

Abstract

Global crop yields are limited by the shortage of water resources and nutrient availability. Mulching technology can effectively modify the crop growth environment and crop production due to differences in climatic conditions, spatial distribution characteristics, and cropping systems. Hence, we conducted a meta-analysis to evaluate the eff ;ects of plastic mulching (PM) and straw mulching (SM) on the yield and water use efficiency (WUE) of maize cropping in China using data obtained from 176 peer-reviewed publications. The results showed that plastic mulching significantly increased maize yield (29.24%) and WUE (29.45%). The eff ;ects of mulching on maize were also improved by 12.02% (yield) and 11.43% (WUE). At the regional scale, maize yield and WUE were influenced by diff ;erent planting regions and mulching management practices. Plastic mulching performed best in the North maize region and the Huanghuaihai maize region of China, while straw mulching performed better in the Southern hilly maize region of China. Plastic mulching was the best way to increase maize yield (59.56%) and WUE (29.91%) with mulching in fallow period, and straw mulching was the best way to increase maize yield (12.43%) and WUE (13.21%) with mulching in the growth period. Full plastic mulching could significantly increase maize yield (42.06%), and among different amounts of straw, mulching with 10-15 t ha−1 performed the best, boosting the maize yield by 13.35%. Transparent film and ridge row mulching were more favorable to maize growth and increased crop yield and WUE in the arid and low temperature areas of China. In conclusion, plastic mulching can significantly increase maize yield and WUE, the adoption of mulching practices and management practices has more application prospects.

Suggested Citation

  • Gao, Haihe & Yan, Changrong & Liu, Qin & Li, Zhen & Yang, Xiao & Qi, Ruimin, 2019. "Exploring optimal soil mulching to enhance yield and water use efficiency in maize cropping in China: A meta-analysis," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 225(C).
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:agiwat:v:225:y:2019:i:c:s0378377419303555
    DOI: 10.1016/j.agwat.2019.105741
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0378377419303555
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.agwat.2019.105741?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. Dong, Qin’ge & Yang, Yuchen & Yu, Kun & Feng, Hao, 2018. "Effects of straw mulching and plastic film mulching on improving soil organic carbon and nitrogen fractions, crop yield and water use efficiency in the Loess Plateau, China," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 201(C), pages 133-143.
    2. Li, Siyi & Li, Yi & Lin, Haixia & Feng, Hao & Dyck, Miles, 2018. "Effects of different mulching technologies on evapotranspiration and summer maize growth," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 201(C), pages 309-318.
    3. Feng, Yu & Gong, Daozhi & Mei, Xurong & Hao, Weiping & Tang, Dahua & Cui, Ningbo, 2017. "Energy balance and partitioning in partial plastic mulched and non-mulched maize fields on the Loess Plateau of China," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 191(C), pages 193-206.
    4. Liangliang Zhang & Zhao Zhang & Yi Chen & Xing Wei & Xiao Song, 2018. "Exposure, vulnerability, and adaptation of major maize-growing areas to extreme temperature," Natural Hazards: Journal of the International Society for the Prevention and Mitigation of Natural Hazards, Springer;International Society for the Prevention and Mitigation of Natural Hazards, vol. 91(3), pages 1257-1272, April.
    5. Dong, Qin’ge & Yang, Yuchen & Zhang, Tinbin & Zhou, Lifeng & He, Jianqiang & Chau, Henry Wai & Zou, Yufeng & Feng, Hao, 2018. "Impacts of ridge with plastic mulch-furrow irrigation on soil salinity, spring maize yield and water use efficiency in an arid saline area," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 201(C), pages 268-277.
    6. Zand-Parsa, Sh. & Sepaskhah, A.R. & Ronaghi, A., 2006. "Development and evaluation of integrated water and nitrogen model for maize," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 81(3), pages 227-256, March.
    7. Zhou, Lifeng & He, Jianqiang & Qi, Zhijuan & Dyck, Miles & Zou, Yufeng & Zhang, Tibin & Feng, Hao, 2018. "Effects of lateral spacing for drip irrigation and mulching on the distributions of soil water and nitrate, maize yield, and water use efficiency," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 199(C), pages 190-200.
    8. Zhang, Yanqun & Wang, Jiandong & Gong, Shihong & Xu, Di & Sui, Juan & Wu, Zhongdong & Mo, Yan, 2018. "Effects of film mulching on evapotranspiration, yield and water use efficiency of a maize field with drip irrigation in Northeastern China," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 205(C), pages 90-99.
    9. 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.
    10. Zhao, Hong & Xiong, You-Cai & Li, Feng-Min & Wang, Run-Yuan & Qiang, Sheng-Cai & Yao, Tao-Feng & Mo, Fei, 2012. "Plastic film mulch for half growing-season maximized WUE and yield of potato via moisture-temperature improvement in a semi-arid agroecosystem," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 104(C), pages 68-78.
    11. 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.
    12. Daryanto, Stefani & Wang, Lixin & Jacinthe, Pierre-André, 2017. "Can ridge-furrow plastic mulching replace irrigation in dryland wheat and maize cropping systems?," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 190(C), pages 1-5.
    13. Fernandez, Romina & Quiroga, Alberto & Noellemeyer, Elke & Funaro, Daniel & Montoya, Jorgelina & Hitzmann, Bernd & Peinemann, Norman, 2008. "A study of the effect of the interaction between site-specific conditions, residue cover and weed control on water storage during fallow," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 95(9), pages 1028-1040, September.
    14. Wang, Hongli & Zhang, Xucheng & Yu, Xianfen & Hou, Huizhi & Fang, Yanjie & Ma, Yifan, 2018. "Maize–fababean rotation under double ridge and furrows with plastic mulching alleviates soil water depletion," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 207(C), pages 59-66.
    15. Chakraborty, Debashis & Nagarajan, Shantha & Aggarwal, Pramila & Gupta, V.K. & Tomar, R.K. & Garg, R.N. & Sahoo, R.N. & Sarkar, A. & Chopra, U.K. & Sarma, K.S. Sundara & Kalra, N., 2008. "Effect of mulching on soil and plant water status, and the growth and yield of wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) in a semi-arid environment," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 95(12), pages 1323-1334, December.
    16. 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.
    17. Su, Ziyou & Zhang, Jinsong & Wu, Wenliang & Cai, Dianxiong & Lv, Junjie & Jiang, Guanghui & Huang, Jian & Gao, Jun & Hartmann, Roger & Gabriels, Donald, 2007. "Effects of conservation tillage practices on winter wheat water-use efficiency and crop yield on the Loess Plateau, China," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 87(3), pages 307-314, February.
    18. Tavakkoli, Ali Reza & Oweis, Theib Y., 2004. "The role of supplemental irrigation and nitrogen in producing bread wheat in the highlands of Iran," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 65(3), pages 225-236, March.
    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. Qin, Xiaoliang & Huang, Tiantian & Lu, Chen & Dang, Pengfei & Zhang, Miaomiao & Guan, Xiao-kang & Wen, Peng-fei & Wang, Tong-Chao & Chen, Yinglong & Siddique, Kadambot H.M., 2021. "Benefits and limitations of straw mulching and incorporation on maize yield, water use efficiency, and nitrogen use efficiency," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 256(C).
    2. Zheng, Jing & Fan, Junliang & Zhou, Minghua & Zhang, Fucang & Liao, Zhenqi & Lai, Zhenlin & Yan, Shicheng & Guo, Jinjin & Li, Zhijun & Xiang, Youzhen, 2022. "Ridge-furrow plastic film mulching enhances grain yield and yield stability of rainfed maize by improving resources capture and use efficiency in a semi-humid drought-prone region," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 269(C).
    3. René Rietra & Marius Heinen & Oene Oenema, 2022. "A Review of Crop Husbandry and Soil Management Practices Using Meta-Analysis Studies: Towards Soil-Improving Cropping Systems," Land, MDPI, vol. 11(2), pages 1-31, February.
    4. Aziiba Emmanuel Asibi & Falong Hu & Zhilong Fan & Qiang Chai, 2022. "Optimized Nitrogen Rate, Plant Density, and Regulated Irrigation Improved Grain, Biomass Yields, and Water Use Efficiency of Maize at the Oasis Irrigation Region of China," Agriculture, MDPI, vol. 12(2), pages 1-14, February.
    5. Zheng, Jing & Fan, Junliang & Zhang, Fucang & Wu, Lifeng & Zou, Yufeng & Zhuang, Qianlai, 2021. "Estimation of rainfed maize transpiration under various mulching methods using modified Jarvis-Stewart model and hybrid support vector machine model with whale optimization algorithm," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 249(C).
    6. Zhang, Fan & Chen, Mengru & Fu, Jintao & Zhang, Xiangzhu & Li, Yuan & Shao, Yating & Xing, Yingying & Wang, Xiukang, 2023. "Coupling effects of irrigation amount and fertilization rate on yield, quality, water and fertilizer use efficiency of different potato varieties in Northwest China," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 287(C).
    7. Thidar, Myint & Gong, Daozhi & Mei, Xurong & Gao, Lili & Li, Haoru & Hao, Weiping & Gu, Fengxue, 2020. "Mulching improved soil water, root distribution and yield of maize in the Loess Plateau of Northwest China," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 241(C).
    8. Ye, Hong-Lian & Chen, Zhi-Gang & Jia, Ting-Ting & Su, Qian-Wei & Su, Shu-Chai, 2021. "Response of different organic mulch treatments on yield and quality of Camellia oleifera," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 245(C).
    9. Wang, Xiquan & Nie, Jiangwen & Wang, Peixin & Zhao, Jie & Yang, Yadong & Wang, Shang & Zeng, Zhaohai & Zang, Huadong, 2021. "Does the replacement of chemical fertilizer nitrogen by manure benefit water use efficiency of winter wheat – summer maize systems?," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 243(C).
    10. Shuang Liu & Geping Luo & Hao Wang, 2020. "Temporal and Spatial Changes in Crop Water Use Efficiency in Central Asia from 1960 to 2016," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(2), pages 1-18, January.
    11. Yin, Tao & Yao, Zhipeng & Yan, Changrong & Liu, Qi & Ding, Xiaodong & He, Wenqing, 2023. "Maize yield reduction is more strongly related to soil moisture fluctuation than soil temperature change under biodegradable film vs plastic film mulching in a semi-arid region of northern China," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 287(C).
    12. Wang, Wangtian & Ma, Li & Wu, Junyan & Sun, Wancang & Ali, Shahzad & Yang, Gang & Pu, Yuanyuan & Liu, Lijun & Fang, Yan, 2023. "Cultivation practices with various mulching materials to regulate chlorophyll fluorescence, cuticular wax, and rapeseed productivity under semi-arid regions," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 288(C).
    13. Li, Cheng & Luo, Xiaoqi & Li, Yue & Wang, Naijiang & Zhang, Tibin & Dong, Qin’ge & Feng, Hao & Zhang, Wenxin & Siddique, Kadambot H.M., 2023. "Ridge planting with transparent plastic mulching improves maize productivity by regulating the distribution and utilization of soil water, heat, and canopy radiation in arid irrigation area," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 280(C).
    14. Meixia Liu & Menglu Wang & Congwei Sun & Hui Wu & Xueqing Zhao & Enke Liu & Wenyi Dong & Meiling Yan, 2023. "Self-Regulation of Soil Enzyme Activity and Stoichiometry under Nitrogen Addition and Plastic Film Mulching in the Loess Plateau Area, Northwest China," Agriculture, MDPI, vol. 13(5), pages 1-11, April.
    15. Zhenqing Xia & Guixin Zhang & Shibo Zhang & Qi Wang & Yafang Fu & Haidong Lu, 2021. "Efficacy of Root Zone Temperature Increase in Root and Shoot Development and Hormone Changes in Different Maize Genotypes," Agriculture, MDPI, vol. 11(6), pages 1-13, May.
    16. Zheng, Jing & Fan, Junliang & Zhang, Fucang & Guo, Jinjin & Yan, Shicheng & Zhuang, Qianlai & Cui, Ningbo & Guo, Li, 2021. "Interactive effects of mulching practice and nitrogen rate on grain yield, water productivity, fertilizer use efficiency and greenhouse gas emissions of rainfed summer maize in northwest China," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 248(C).
    17. Linlin Ye & Yuanxiao Xu & Guofeng Zhu & Wenhao Zhang & Yinying Jiao, 2023. "Effects of Different Mulch Types on Farmland Soil Moisture in an Artificial Oasis Area," Land, MDPI, vol. 13(1), pages 1-17, December.

    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. 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).
    2. Feng, Yu & Hao, Weiping & Gao, Lili & Li, Haoru & Gong, Daozhi & Cui, Ningbo, 2019. "Comparison of maize water consumption at different scales between mulched and non-mulched croplands," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 216(C), pages 315-324.
    3. 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).
    4. Quan, Hao & Wu, Lihong & Ding, Dianyuan & Yang, Zhenting & Wang, Naijiang & Chen, Guangjie & Li, Cheng & Dong, Qin'ge & Feng, Hao & Zhang, Tibin & Siddique, Kadambot H.M., 2022. "Interaction between soil water and fertilizer utilization on maize under plastic mulching in an arid irrigation region of China," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 265(C).
    5. Li, Cheng & Luo, Xiaoqi & Wang, Naijiang & Wu, Wenjie & Li, Yue & Quan, Hao & Zhang, Tibin & Ding, Dianyuan & Dong, Qin’ge & Feng, Hao, 2022. "Transparent plastic film combined with deficit irrigation improves hydrothermal status of the soil-crop system and spring maize growth in arid areas," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 265(C).
    6. 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).
    7. Xuemei Lan & Shouxi Chai & Jeffrey A. Coulter & Hongbo Cheng & Lei Chang & Caixia Huang & Rui Li & Yuwei Chai & Yawei Li & Jiantao Ma & Li Li, 2020. "Maize Straw Strip Mulching as a Replacement for Plastic Film Mulching in Maize Production in a Semiarid Region," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(15), pages 1-26, August.
    8. Wang, Jun & Ghimire, Rajan & Fu, Xin & Sainju, Upendra M. & Liu, Wenzhao, 2018. "Straw mulching increases precipitation storage rather than water use efficiency and dryland winter wheat yield," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 206(C), pages 95-101.
    9. Zhang, Zhe & Zhang, Yanqing & Sun, Zhanxiang & Zheng, Jiaming & Liu, Enke & Feng, Liangshan & Feng, Chen & Si, Pengfei & Bai, Wei & Cai, Qian & Yang, Ning & van der Werf, Wopke & Zhang, Lizhen, 2019. "Plastic film cover during the fallow season preceding sowing increases yield and water use efficiency of rain-fed spring maize in a semi-arid climate," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 212(C), pages 203-210.
    10. Wang, Huan & Fan, Jun & Fu, Wei & Du, Mengge & Zhou, Gu & Zhou, Mingxing & Hao, Mingde & Shao, Ming'an, 2022. "Good harvests of winter wheat from stored soil water and improved temperature during fallow period by plastic film mulching," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 274(C).
    11. Wang, Yunqi & Guo, Tongji & Qi, Liuran & Zeng, Huanyu & Liang, Yuexin & Wei, Shikun & Gao, Fuli & Wang, Lixin & Zhang, Rui & Jia, Zhikuan, 2020. "Meta-analysis of ridge-furrow cultivation effects on maize production and water use efficiency," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 234(C).
    12. 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.
    13. 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.
    14. Wang, Donglin & Feng, Hao & Li, Yi & Zhang, Tibin & Dyck, Miles & Wu, Feng, 2019. "Energy input-output, water use efficiency and economics of winter wheat under gravel mulching in Northwest China," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 222(C), pages 354-366.
    15. 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).
    16. 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.
    17. Thidar, Myint & Gong, Daozhi & Mei, Xurong & Gao, Lili & Li, Haoru & Hao, Weiping & Gu, Fengxue, 2020. "Mulching improved soil water, root distribution and yield of maize in the Loess Plateau of Northwest China," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 241(C).
    18. Fu, Wei & Fan, Jun & Hao, Mingde & Hu, Jinsheng & Wang, Huan, 2021. "Evaluating the effects of plastic film mulching patterns on cultivation of winter wheat in a dryland cropping system on the Loess Plateau, China," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 244(C).
    19. 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.
    20. 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).

    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:225:y:2019:i:c:s0378377419303555. 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.