Soil mulching significantly enhances yields and water and nitrogen use efficiencies of maize and wheat: a meta-analysis.

Wei Qin,Oene Oenema,Chunsheng Hu

doi:10.1038/srep16210

Wei Qin, Oene Oenema + Show 1 more

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.1038/srep16210

Copy DOI

Abstract

Global crop yields are limited by water and nutrient availability. Soil mulching (with plastic or straw) reduces evaporation, modifies soil temperature and thereby affects crop yields. Reported effects of mulching are sometimes contradictory, likely due to differences in climatic conditions, soil characteristics, crop species, and also water and nitrogen (N) input levels. Here we report on a meta-analysis of the effects of mulching on wheat and maize, using 1310 yield observations from 74 studies conducted in 19 countries. Our results indicate that mulching significantly increased yields, WUE (yield per unit water) and NUE (yield per unit N) by up to 60%, compared with no-mulching. Effects were larger for maize than wheat, and larger for plastic mulching than straw mulching. Interestingly, plastic mulching performed better at relatively low temperature while straw mulching showed the opposite trend. Effects of mulching also tended to decrease with increasing water input. Mulching effects were not related to soil organic matter content. In conclusion, soil mulching can significantly increase maize and wheat yields, WUE and NUE, and thereby may contribute to closing the yield gap between attainable and actual yields, especially in dryland and low nutrient input agriculture. The management of soil mulching requires site-specific knowledge.

Highlights

IntroductionRusinamhodzi, et al.[18] assessed the effect of long-term no tillage, crop rotation and straw mulching on maize grain yield
Rusinamhodzi, et al.[18] assessed the effect of long-term no tillage, crop rotation and straw mulching on maize grain yield. They found that mean maize yield was ~1 ton ha−1 higher with conservation agriculture practices when mean annual precipitation was below 600 mm
The 25th and 75th percentile values indicate that wheat yields ranged from 2.5 to 7.0 ton ha−1 and maize yields ranged from 2.5 to 10 ton ha−1; WUE of wheat ranged from 0.5 to 1.5 kg m−3 and WUE of maize ranged from 0.5 to 2.5 kg m−3; NUE of wheat ranged from 20 to 50 kg kg−1 and NUE of maize from 20 to 80 kg kg−1

Summary

Introduction

Rusinamhodzi, et al.[18] assessed the effect of long-term no tillage, crop rotation and straw mulching on maize grain yield. They found that mean maize yield was ~1 ton ha−1 higher with conservation agriculture practices (with straw mulching) when mean annual precipitation was below 600 mm. A systematic and quantitative assessment of the effects of soil mulching on crop yields, WUE and NUE as function of environmental conditions has not been carried out. We examine the effects of straw and plastic mulching on yield, WUE and NUE of wheat and maize, as function of environmental conditions using a meta-analysis of published results. The objectives of our study were (1) to examine the effects of mulching on wheat and maize yield, WUE and NUE on the basis of results of published studies; (2) to relate variations in the effects of mulching to variations in inputs of water and N, temperature, and to soil organic matter; and (3) to quantify possible interactions between water and N use in yield, WUE and NUE

Objectives

Methods

Results

Discussion

Conclusion