IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/agiwat/v309y2025ics0378377425000472.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Substitute for polyethylene (PE) films: A novel attapulgite super absorbent polymer applied in a semi-humid drought-prone region of the Loess Plateau

Author

Listed:
  • Pan, Xiaofan
  • Zhang, Hengjia
  • Yu, Shouchao
  • Deng, Haoliang
  • Chen, Xietian
  • Zhou, Chenli
  • Li, Fuqiang
  • Li, Haiyan

Abstract

Residual film and microplastics are widely used to prevent soil water loss in arid farming areas of the Loess Plateau, China; however, pollution and farm land quality decline plaque this management strategy. To address this, a field experiment was conducted at the dry farming demonstration site in Huating City, Gansu Province to test a novel amendment of attapulgite super absorbent polymer (A-SAP). We tested different A-SAP dosages: 30 (KL), 45 (KM), and 60 kg ha−1 (KH); different coverage methods: transparent plastic film half mulching (WH), transparent plastic film full mulching (WW), black plastic film half mulching (BH), black plastic film full mulching (BW), and straw mulching (SM), with no film and no application of A-SAP as a control (CK). We built a comprehensive growth evaluation system for spring maize, select the best soil moisture conservation strategy, and provide a theoretical basis for sustainable maize production in the semi-arid area of the Loess Plateau. The results showed that all moisture conserving treatments improved soil quality compared with CK, the application of A-SAP was more conducive to rainwater infiltration during precipitation events, increased the number of soil microorganisms and soil enzyme activity, however, there was no effect of increasing soil temperature. Soil moisture retention strategies increased spring maize plant height, stem diameter, leaf area index, and dry matter accumulation, and regulated yield components, promoting spring maize yield formation, improve water productivity and economic benefits. Taking into account indicators such as soil hydrothermal, soil microbial quantity, soil enzyme activity, spring maize growth, yield, water productivity and economic benefit, the application of 45 kg ha−1 attapulgite super absorbent polymer had the best overall effect. Therefore, the application of 45 kg ha−1 of A-SAP can reduce pollution from residual films and microplastics and realize environmental protection while guaranteeing stable yields of spring maize in the semi-humid drought-prone region of the China’s Loess Plateau.

Suggested Citation

  • Pan, Xiaofan & Zhang, Hengjia & Yu, Shouchao & Deng, Haoliang & Chen, Xietian & Zhou, Chenli & Li, Fuqiang & Li, Haiyan, 2025. "Substitute for polyethylene (PE) films: A novel attapulgite super absorbent polymer applied in a semi-humid drought-prone region of the Loess Plateau," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 309(C).
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:agiwat:v:309:y:2025:i:c:s0378377425000472
    DOI: 10.1016/j.agwat.2025.109333
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0378377425000472
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.agwat.2025.109333?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

    for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Dong, Qiang & Dang, Tinghui & Guo, Shengli & Hao, Mingde, 2019. "Effects of mulching measures on soil moisture and N leaching potential in a spring maize planting system in the southern Loess Plateau," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 213(C), pages 803-808.
    2. Fernández, J.E. & Alcon, F. & Diaz-Espejo, A. & Hernandez-Santana, V. & Cuevas, M.V., 2020. "Water use indicators and economic analysis for on-farm irrigation decision: A case study of a super high density olive tree orchard," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 237(C).
    3. Sang-Hwan Lee & Min-Suk Kim & Jeong-Gyu Kim & Soon-Oh Kim, 2020. "Use of Soil Enzymes as Indicators for Contaminated Soil Monitoring and Sustainable Management," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(19), pages 1-14, October.
    4. Wang, Naijiang & Ding, Dianyuan & Malone, Robert W. & Chen, Haixin & Wei, Yongsheng & Zhang, Tibin & Luo, Xiaoqi & Li, Cheng & Chu, Xiaosheng & Feng, Hao, 2020. "When does plastic-film mulching yield more for dryland maize in the Loess Plateau of China? A meta-analysis," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 240(C).
    5. Junhong Xie & Linlin Wang & Lingling Li & Sumera Anwar & Zhuzhu Luo & Effah Zechariah & Setor Kwami Fudjoe, 2021. "Yield, Economic Benefit, Soil Water Balance, and Water Use Efficiency of Intercropped Maize/Potato in Responses to Mulching Practices on the Semiarid Loess Plateau," Agriculture, MDPI, vol. 11(11), pages 1-16, November.
    6. Shouyin Hou & Xing Wang & Zhangchi Ji & Haitao Chen & Cheng Zhou, 2022. "Experiments on the Influence of Corn Straw Morphological Combinations on Timely No-Tillage Sowing Soil Temperature and Moisture in Cold Regions," Agriculture, MDPI, vol. 12(9), pages 1-12, September.
    7. Liu, Pei & Wang, Hongli & Li, Linchao & Liu, Xiaoli & Qian, Rui & Wang, Jinjin & Yan, Xiaoqun & Cai, Tie & Zhang, Peng & Jia, Zhikuan & Ren, Xiaolong & Chen, Xiaoli, 2020. "Ridge-furrow mulching system regulates hydrothermal conditions to promote maize yield and efficient water use in rainfed farming area," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 232(C).
    8. Chen, Guangzhou & Wu, Peng & Wang, Junying & Zhang, Peng & Jia, Zhikuan, 2022. "Ridge–furrow rainfall harvesting system helps to improve stability, benefits and precipitation utilization efficiency of maize production in Loess Plateau region of China," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 261(C).
    9. 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).
    10. Fang Yang & Rui Cen & Weiying Feng & Jing Liu & Zhongyi Qu & Qingfeng Miao, 2020. "Effects of Super-Absorbent Polymer on Soil Remediation and Crop Growth in Arid and Semi-Arid Areas," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(18), pages 1-13, September.
    11. 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.
    12. Abdul Waheed & Chuang Li & Murad Muhammad & Mushtaq Ahmad & Khalid Ali Khan & Hamed A. Ghramh & Zhongwei Wang & Daoyuan Zhang, 2023. "Sustainable Potato Growth under Straw Mulching Practices," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(13), pages 1-16, July.
    13. Tianyu Qin & Lan Wang & Jianshe Zhao & Gaifang Zhou & Caihong Li & Liyue Guo & Gaoming Jiang, 2022. "Effects of Straw Mulching Thickness on the Soil Health in a Temperate Organic Vineyard," Agriculture, MDPI, vol. 12(11), pages 1-14, October.
    14. AbdAllah, Ahmed M. & Mashaheet, Alsayed M. & Burkey, Kent O., 2021. "Super absorbent polymers mitigate drought stress in corn (Zea mays L.) grown under rainfed conditions," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 254(C).
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    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. Li, Cheng & Zhang, Yunxin & Wang, Jingui & Feng, Hao & Zhang, Renyou & Zhang, Wenxin & Siddique, Kadambot H.M., 2024. "Considering water-temperature synergistic factors improves simulations of stomatal conductance models under plastic film mulching," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 306(C).
    2. Zheng, Huifang & Mei, Peipei & Wang, Wending & Yin, Yulong & Li, Haojie & Zheng, Mengyao & Ou, Xingqi & Cui, Zhenling, 2023. "Effects of super absorbent polymer on crop yield, water productivity and soil properties: A global meta-analysis," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 282(C).
    3. Razmavaran, Mohammad Hadi & Sepaskhah, Ali Reza & Ahmadi, Seyed Hamid, 2024. "Water footprint and production of rain-fed saffron under different planting methods with ridge plastic mulch and pre-flowering irrigation in a semi-arid region," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 291(C).
    4. Liu, Xiaoli & Wang, Yandong & Zhang, Yuehe & Ren, Xiaolong & Chen, Xiaoli, 2022. "Can rainwater harvesting replace conventional irrigation for winter wheat production in dry semi-humid areas in China?," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 272(C).
    5. Wang, Haidong & Wang, Naijiang & Quan, Hao & Zhang, Fucang & Fan, Junliang & Feng, Hao & Cheng, Minghui & Liao, Zhenqi & Wang, Xiukang & Xiang, Youzhen, 2022. "Yield and water productivity of crops, vegetables and fruits under subsurface drip irrigation: A global meta-analysis," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 269(C).
    6. Song, Qilong & Zhang, Fangfang & Li, Xin & Yue, Shanchao & Luo, Zhuzhu & Li, Shiqing, 2024. "Understanding of maize root responses to changes in water status induced by plastic film mulching cultivation on the Loess Plateau, China," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 301(C).
    7. 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).
    8. Nicolette Matthews & Bennie Grové & Johannes Hendrikus Barnard, 2025. "Economic Analysis of Segmented Soil Salinity Management Using Current Irrigation Technology," Agriculture, MDPI, vol. 15(8), pages 1-14, April.
    9. Arbizu-Milagro, Julia & Castillo-Ruiz, Francisco J. & Tascón, Alberto & Peña, Jose M., 2023. "Effects of regulated, precision and continuous deficit irrigation on the growth and productivity of a young super high-density olive orchard," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 286(C).
    10. Cameira, Maria do Rosário & Rodrigo, Isabel & Garção, Andreia & Neves, Manuela & Ferreira, Antónia & Paredes, Paula, 2024. "Linking participatory approach and rapid appraisal methods to select potential innovations in collective irrigation systems," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 299(C).
    11. Wang, Haidong & Cheng, Minghui & Liao, Zhenqi & Guo, Jinjin & Zhang, Fucang & Fan, Junliang & Feng, Hao & Yang, Qiliang & Wu, Lifeng & Wang, Xiukang, 2023. "Performance evaluation of AquaCrop and DSSAT-SUBSTOR-Potato models in simulating potato growth, yield and water productivity under various drip fertigation regimes," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 276(C).
    12. Darouich, Hanaa & Karfoul, Razan & Ramos, Tiago B. & Moustafa, Ali & Shaheen, Baraa & Pereira, Luis S., 2021. "Crop water requirements and crop coefficients for jute mallow (Corchorus olitorius L.) using the SIMDualKc model and assessing irrigation strategies for the Syrian Akkar region," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 255(C).
    13. Feng, Z.Y. & Qin, T. & Du, X.Z. & Sheng, F. & Li, C.F., 2021. "Effects of irrigation regime and rice variety on greenhouse gas emissions and grain yields from paddy fields in central China," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 250(C).
    14. Zhang, Qingsong & Sun, Jiahao & Dai, Changlei & Zhang, Guangxin & Wu, Yanfeng, 2024. "Sustainable development of groundwater resources under the large-scale conversion of dry land into rice fields," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 298(C).
    15. Xue, Run & Zhang, Chuan & Yan, Haofang & Disasa, Kinde Negessa & Lakhiar, Imran Ali & Akhlaq, Muhammad & Hameed, Muhammad Usman & Li, Jun & Ren, Jiangtao & Deng, Shuaishuai & Wang, Biyu & Bao, Rongxua, 2025. "Determination of the optimal frequency and duration of micro-spray patterns for high-temperature environment tomatoes based on the Fuzzy Borda model," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 307(C).
    16. Wen, Shenglin & Cui, Ningbo & Wang, Yaosheng & Gong, Daozhi & Xing, Liwen & Wu, Zongjun & Zhang, Yixuan & Zhao, Long & Fan, Junliang & Wang, Zhihui, 2024. "Optimizing deficit drip irrigation to improve yield,quality, and water productivity of apple in Loess Plateau of China," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 296(C).
    17. Hou, Chenli & Tian, Delong & Xu, Bing & Ren, Jie & Hao, Lei & Chen, Ning & Li, Xianyue, 2021. "Use of the stable oxygen isotope method to evaluate the difference in water consumption and utilization strategy between alfalfa and maize fields in an arid shallow groundwater area," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 256(C).
    18. Liu, Haijun & Yin, Congyan & Gao, Zhuangzhuang & Hou, Lizhu, 2021. "Evaluation of cucumber yield, economic benefit and water productivity under different soil matric potentials in solar greenhouses in North China," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 243(C).
    19. Zhang, Tibin & Zou, Yufeng & Kisekka, Isaya & Biswas, Asim & Cai, Huanjie, 2021. "Comparison of different irrigation methods to synergistically improve maize’s yield, water productivity and economic benefits in an arid irrigation area," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 243(C).
    20. Mojtaba Dolatkordestani & Mansour Taghvaei & Andrea Mastinu, 2023. "Effective Treatments for the Successful Establishment of Milkweed ( Calotropis procera L.) under Water Deficit," Land, MDPI, vol. 12(11), pages 1-15, October.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    ;
    ;
    ;
    ;
    ;
    ;
    ;

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    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:309:y:2025:i:c:s0378377425000472. 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.