An Opportunity for Regenerative Rice Production: Combining Plastic Film Cover and Plant Biomass Mulch with No-Till Soil Management to Build Soil Carbon, Curb Nitrogen Pollution, and Maintain High-Stable Yield

Shi Hua Lv,Joanne Li,Yu Jiao Dong,Yuan Jiang,Norman Uphoff,Hilario Padilla

doi:10.3390/agronomy9100600

Abstract

China has attained rice sufficiency with the increased use of nitrogen (N) fertilizer, but this has led to serious N pollution. China has the world’s highest use of N with the lowest N use efficiency (NUE). Including livestock production, China’s agriculture sector has surpassed industry as the greatest polluter of water. Using plastic film on raised-beds, combined with improved agronomic practices, can boost rice yield by 50% with 36% less N fertilizer use, 30% higher NUE, and stabilized the yield of 9.75 t ha−1. It also counters the effects of drought and low ambient temperature. A six-year study was conducted combining no-tillage, crop-residue mulch, and plastic cover, alternating organic rice and rapeseed production. All the treatments, fertilized with biogas slurry and rapeseed meal, gave rice yields of 7.0 to 10.7 t ha−1, well above China’s average of 6.5 t ha−1. In this time, soil organic matter increased from 1.6% to 4.2%. In the first four years, the combination of crop-residue mulch with plastic cover had a slightly higher yield than mulch alone. In the fifth and sixth years, the latter treatment surpassed the use of plastic cover with crop-residue mulch. Trials with a biodegradable film show that plastic pollution can be dealt with.

Highlights

Over the past 50 years, China’s agricultural improvement efforts have sought to increase food production to meet the demand of a large and still growing population, with the objective of attaining grain self-sufficiency despite the country’s very limited arable land area, less than 0.1 hectare per capita [1,2]
The excessive use of N fertilizer in rice production combined with the mismanagement of livestock waste has led to severe N pollution problems in China
Using the innovative plastic cover integrated (PCIT) for rice production countervails the constraints of drought and low temperature to achieve high and stable rice yields with lower use of N fertilizer

Summary

Introduction

Over the past 50 years, China’s agricultural improvement efforts have sought to increase food production to meet the demand of a large and still growing population, with the objective of attaining grain self-sufficiency despite the country’s very limited arable land area, less than 0.1 hectare per capita [1,2]. This area has been shrinking, due to rapid industrialization and urbanization while the population continues growing.

Methods

Results

Conclusion