IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/gam/jsusta/v12y2020i15p6273-d394292.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Maize Straw Strip Mulching as a Replacement for Plastic Film Mulching in Maize Production in a Semiarid Region

Author

Listed:
  • Xuemei Lan

    (Gansu Provincial Key Laboratory of Aridland Crop Science, Lanzhou 730070, China
    College of Agronomy, Gansu Agricultural University, Lanzhou 730070, China)

  • Shouxi Chai

    (Gansu Provincial Key Laboratory of Aridland Crop Science, Lanzhou 730070, China
    College of Agronomy, Gansu Agricultural University, Lanzhou 730070, China)

  • Jeffrey A. Coulter

    (Department of Agronomy and Plant Genetics, University of Minnesota, St. Paul, MN 55108, USA)

  • Hongbo Cheng

    (College of Life Science and Technology, Gansu Agricultural University, Lanzhou 730070, China)

  • Lei Chang

    (Gansu Provincial Key Laboratory of Aridland Crop Science, Lanzhou 730070, China
    College of Agronomy, Gansu Agricultural University, Lanzhou 730070, China)

  • Caixia Huang

    (College of Water Conservancy and Hydropower Engineering, Gansu Agricultural University, Lanzhou 730070, China)

  • Rui Li

    (Gansu Provincial Key Laboratory of Aridland Crop Science, Lanzhou 730070, China
    College of Agronomy, Gansu Agricultural University, Lanzhou 730070, China)

  • Yuwei Chai

    (Gansu Provincial Key Laboratory of Aridland Crop Science, Lanzhou 730070, China
    College of Agronomy, Gansu Agricultural University, Lanzhou 730070, China)

  • Yawei Li

    (Gansu Provincial Key Laboratory of Aridland Crop Science, Lanzhou 730070, China
    College of Agronomy, Gansu Agricultural University, Lanzhou 730070, China)

  • Jiantao Ma

    (Gansu Provincial Key Laboratory of Aridland Crop Science, Lanzhou 730070, China
    College of Agronomy, Gansu Agricultural University, Lanzhou 730070, China)

  • Li Li

    (Gansu Provincial Key Laboratory of Aridland Crop Science, Lanzhou 730070, China
    College of Agronomy, Gansu Agricultural University, Lanzhou 730070, China)

Abstract

Straw strip mulching in maize ( Zea mays L.) production is showing a positive effect with the increasing negative effects coming from crop straw and plastic film residues. Therefore, it is imperative to develop comprehensive utilization of straw, and promote the green development of agriculture in rainfed regions. A dryland field experiment was conducted in semiarid northwestern China in 2017 and 2018 and included three treatments: maize straw strip mulching with alternating strips of mulched and non-mulched soil (MSSM), and double ridge-furrow fully mulched soil with white or black plastic film (DRWP or DRBP, respectively). The results show that the interaction between mulching treatment and year significantly influenced maize silage yield, grain yield, biomass yield, aboveground plant water content at silage maize harvest stage, ears ha −1 , kernels ear −1 , and thousand kernel weight ( p < 0.001, p = 0.002, p < 0.001, p < 0.001, p < 0.001, p < 0.001, p < 0.001, and p < 0.001, respectively). For silage, maize growth under straw strip mulching was greater than that of the double ridge mulching system. Silage yield of MSSM was significantly higher than that of DRWP and DRBP, but maize grain and biomass yields under MSSM were significantly lower those under DRWP and DRBP in 2017 and 2018. Compared with the double ridge mulching system, net economic return from silage with MSSM was significantly increased by 28.31% and 20.85% in 2017 and 2018, respectively, and net economic return from grain was 6.67% lower in 2017 and 2.34% higher in 2018. The MSSM treatment exhibited water-temperature coupling; the MSSM treatment significantly reduced soil temperature in the 0–25 cm soil layer by 1.23–2.14 °C and increased soil water storage in the 0–200 cm soil layer by 9.75 and 24.10 mm in 2017 and 2018, respectively, thereby delaying growth development of maize by about 13 days. Therefore, straw mulch can replace plastic film mulch and serve as an environmentally friendly cultivation method for maize in semiarid rainfed regions.

Suggested Citation

  • 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.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:12:y:2020:i:15:p:6273-:d:394292
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/12/15/6273/pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/12/15/6273/
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    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. Chen, Yuzhang & Chai, Shouxi & Tian, Huihui & Chai, Yuwei & Li, Yawei & Chang, Lei & Cheng, Hongbo, 2019. "Straw strips mulch on furrows improves water use efficiency and yield of potato in a rainfed semiarid area," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 211(C), pages 142-151.
    3. Chakraborty, Debashis & Garg, R.N. & Tomar, R.K. & Singh, Ravender & Sharma, S.K. & Singh, R.K. & Trivedi, S.M. & Mittal, R.B. & Sharma, P.K. & Kamble, K.H., 2010. "Synthetic and organic mulching and nitrogen effect on winter wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) in a semi-arid environment," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 97(5), pages 738-748, May.
    4. 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.
    5. Jiang, Rui & Li, Xiao & Zhu, Wei & Wang, Kun & Guo, Sheng & Misselbrook, Tom & Hatano, Ryusuke, 2018. "Effects of the ridge mulched system on soil water and inorganic nitrogen distribution in the Loess Plateau of China," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 203(C), pages 277-288.
    6. Li, Rong & Hou, Xianqing & Jia, Zhikuan & Han, Qingfang & Ren, Xiaolong & Yang, Baoping, 2013. "Effects on soil temperature, moisture, and maize yield of cultivation with ridge and furrow mulching in the rainfed area of the Loess Plateau, China," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 116(C), pages 101-109.
    7. Pishgar Komleh, S.H. & Keyhani, A. & Rafiee, Sh. & Sefeedpary, P., 2011. "Energy use and economic analysis of corn silage production under three cultivated area levels in Tehran province of Iran," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 36(5), pages 3335-3341.
    8. Wang, Yajun & Xie, Zhongkui & Malhi, Sukhdev S. & Vera, Cecil L. & Zhang, Yubao & Wang, Jinniu, 2009. "Effects of rainfall harvesting and mulching technologies on water use efficiency and crop yield in the semi-arid Loess Plateau, China," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 96(3), pages 374-382, March.
    9. Yin, Huajun & Zhao, Wenqiang & Li, Ting & Cheng, Xinying & Liu, Qing, 2018. "Balancing straw returning and chemical fertilizers in China: Role of straw nutrient resources," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 81(P2), pages 2695-2702.
    10. 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.
    11. Yuhe Ji & Guangsheng Zhou & Qijin He & Lixia Wang, 2018. "The Effect of Climate Change on Spring Maize ( Zea mays L.) Suitability across China," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 10(10), pages 1-10, October.
    12. Akhtar, Kashif & Wang, Weiyu & Khan, Ahmad & Ren, Guangxin & Afridi, Muhammad Zahir & Feng, Yongzhong & Yang, Gaihe, 2019. "Wheat straw mulching offset soil moisture deficient for improving physiological and growth performance of summer sown soybean," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 211(C), pages 16-25.
    13. Hanjra, Munir A. & Qureshi, M. Ejaz, 2010. "Global water crisis and future food security in an era of climate change," Food Policy, Elsevier, vol. 35(5), pages 365-377, October.
    14. 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)

    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, 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).
    2. 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).
    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. 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).
    5. 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).
    6. 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).
    7. 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.
    8. 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.
    9. 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.
    10. 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).
    11. 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.
    12. Amin, M.G. Mostofa & Mahbub, S.M. Mubtasim & Hasan, Md. Moudud & Pervin, Wafa & Sharmin, Jinat & Hossain, Md. Delwar, 2023. "Plant–water relations in subtropical maize fields under mulching and organic fertilization," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 286(C).
    13. 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.
    14. Xiukang, Wang & Zhanbin, Li & Yingying, Xing, 2015. "Effects of mulching and nitrogen on soil temperature, water content, nitrate-N content and maize yield in the Loess Plateau of China," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 161(C), pages 53-64.
    15. 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.
    16. 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).
    17. 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).
    18. Zhang, Dengkui & Wang, Qi & Zhou, Xujiao & Liu, Qinglin & Wang, Xiaoyun & Zhao, Xiaole & Zhao, Wucheng & He, Chenggang & Li, Xiaoling & Li, Guang & Chen, Jin, 2020. "Suitable furrow mulching material for maize and sorghum production with ridge-furrow rainwater harvesting in semiarid regions of China," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 228(C).
    19. 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).
    20. Chuanjuan Wang & Jiandong Wang & Yanqun Zhang & Shanshan Qin & Yuanyuan Zhang & Chaoqun Liu, 2022. "Effects of Different Mulching Materials on the Grain Yield and Water Use Efficiency of Maize in the North China Plain," Agriculture, MDPI, vol. 12(8), pages 1-15, July.

    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:gam:jsusta:v:12:y:2020:i:15:p:6273-:d:394292. 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: MDPI Indexing Manager (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.mdpi.com .

    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.