The Effects of Biodegradable Mulch Film on the Growth, Yield, and Water Use Efficiency of Cotton and Maize in an Arid Region

Lu Deng,Yang Yu,Ruide Yu,Haiyan Zhang,Qian Wang

doi:10.3390/su11247039

Abstract

Plastic residual film pollution in China is severe, and the use of degradable mulch film instead of plastic mulch can effectively alleviate this situation. The substitution of common polyethylene plastic mulch film with biodegradable mulch film in the agricultural production of cotton and maize in an arid region was investigated in the present study. Using bare soil as the control, we compared the effects of common polyethylene plastic film and biodegradable mulch film on crop growth, yield, and water use efficiency (WUE) in maize and cotton. The results indicated that: (1) the biodegradable mulch film in this region remained intact for 60 days after being laid down, significantly degrading after 120 days, and was associated with increased soil temperature, moisture conservation, and degradability in comparison to a bare soil control; (2) Both the biodegradable mulch film and the polyethylene plastic film significantly increased various physiological parameters, such as crop height, stalk diameter, and leaf area; (3) The biodegradable mulch film had a significant effect on crop yield by 69.4–76.2% and 65.2–71.9%, respectively, compared to the bare soil control. (4) Compared to the bare soil control, the biodegradable mulch film effectively increased WUE in the crops by 64.5–73.1%. In summary, biodegradable mulch film had comparable results to the common polyethylene plastic film in increasing crop growth, yield, and WUE. As the biodegradable mulch film causes no residual pollution, it is thus preferable to common plastic mulch film for agricultural applications in arid regions and supports the sustainable development of agroecosystems. Therefore, the use of degradable mulch films in agricultural production is more environmentally friendly and more conducive to the sustainable development of agricultural systems.

Highlights

With a total land area of 166 million ha2, of which 63,084,800 ha2 constitute agricultural regions, Xinjiang contributes significantly to agricultural security in China [1]
Controllable biodegradable mulch film to replace common plastic film can increase crop yield, reduce agricultural water consumption compared to bare soil [13,14,15], and effectively resolve the issues related to residual film pollution [4,16]
The major aims of this study were to: (1) investigate whether the positive impacts of biodegradable mulch film in the arid region on crop physiological characteristics could match those of common plastic film; (2) investigate whether biodegradable mulch film in the arid region could significantly increase crop biomass and yield, and whether this differed from common plastic film; (3) comparatively analyze the effect of biodegradable mulch film and common plastic film on water use efficiency (WUE); (4) comparatively analyze the degradation of biodegradable mulch film and common plastic film

Summary

Introduction

With a total land area of 166 million ha, of which 63,084,800 ha constitute agricultural regions, Xinjiang contributes significantly to agricultural security in China [1]. Controllable biodegradable mulch film to replace common plastic film can increase crop yield, reduce agricultural water consumption compared to bare soil [13,14,15], and effectively resolve the issues related to residual film pollution [4,16]. Most of the studies mentioned above only focused on the final crop yield [5,6,19,22,23], rather than tracking the entire crop growth process These studies only focused on the impact of biodegradable mulch film on a single crop and lack a comparative assessment of the effects in different crops [17,18,19]. These studies only assessed the effects of biodegradable mulch film on crop yield and the external environment, rather than focusing on the degradation of the biodegradable mulch film itself

Objectives

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Results

Discussion

Conclusion