Effects of irrigation regime on soil hydrothermal microenvironment, cotton biomass, and yield under non-film drip irrigation system in cotton fields in southern Xinjiang, China

Abstract

Non-film drip irrigation cotton planting mode can effectively solve the problem of residual film pollution in arid areas and promote sustainable agricultural development. However, the research on the efficient irrigation regime and soil hydrothermal microenvironment suitable for non-film drip irrigation cotton planting is scarce. Considering this, using the data monitoring technology based on internet of things sensors, we set 3 different irrigation treatments in 2020–2021. In the flowering and boll setting stage, cotton was watered for 4 times (W4), 6 times (W6), and 8 times (W8) with a single irrigation amount of 69 mm for each of these 3 treatments, and the last time irrigation amount under W8 treatment was 52.2 mm. At the seedling stage, the cotton was not irrigated under each treatment. At the squaring stage, the irrigation times and single irrigation amount were the same under each treatment. The results showed that the average soil water content (SWC) in the 50–110 cm soil layer was increased obviously with the increase in the total irrigation amount. Compared with W4 and W8 treatments, W6 treatment exhibited the highest the soil temperature in the 10–30 cm soil layer in the full boll stage and boll opening stage and the highest soil effective accumulated temperature (SEAT) from initial flowering stage to boll opening stage. The reproductive organ allocation rate in two years was 3.6 % and 2 % higher under W6 than under W8, respectively. With the increase of total irrigation amount, the cotton yield was increased, but the irrigation water use efficiency (IWUE) was decreased. The highest cotton yield was achieved under W8 treatment, but it was not significantly different from that under W6 treatment, while IWUE was significantly lower under W8 than under W6. The effective air temperature (EAT) had the greatest positive impact on the average effective soil temperature (EST) in 10–50 cm soil layer, while the cumulative irrigation amount (CIA) had a negative impact on average EST in 10–50 cm soil layer. Evapotranspiration (ET) and SEAT were positively correlated with biomass accumulation amount and lint yield. In summary, the irrigation regimes of 2 times of irrigation at the squaring stage with a single irrigation amount of 45 mm and 6 times of irrigation at the flowering and boll setting stage with a single irrigation amount of 69 mm can be applied to the non-film cotton cultivation mode in southern Xinjiang. Our findings provide a reference for the application of agricultural internet of things technology in soil hydrothermal microenvironment of non-film cotton fields in Xinjiang.