The Effect of Mulching, Tillage and Rotation on Yield in Non‐flooded Compared with Flooded Rice Production

Abstract

AbstractNon‐flooded rice cultivation has been proven to be an effective measure to reduce water consumption in drought areas of Southeast China. However, rice cultivation under non‐flooded conditions leads to less stable productivity and lower grain yield. The objectives of this study were (1) to compare crop performance and yields among flooded and non‐flooded rice over several seasons, (2) to identify the yield performed in non‐flooded rice systems over seasons and whether the options which included no‐tillage, straw mulching and wet‐dry rotation system can narrow the grain yield gap between non‐flooded and traditional flooded condition. The results showed the difference between flooded rice (F) and non‐flooded rice (NF) with straw mulching was much lower than the difference between F and NF without straw mulching. Within late seasons, the difference of aboveground total biomass between non‐flooded rice without mulching and flooded rice gradually widened as the number of cropping seasons increased. Compared with the non‐flooded rice without mulching, straw mulching can reduce the decline of aboveground total biomass and grain yield. The yield difference between F and NF treatments became smaller in no‐tillage plots than complete tillage plots. It suggested that no‐tillage can keep the crop production more stable. In comparison with continuously non‐flooded cultivation, our study indicated that the wet‐dry rotation system can reduce the yield decline under non‐flooded condition.