Abstract
Plastic film mulching (PM) has been widely used to improve maize (Zea mays L.) yields and water use efficiency (WUE) in Northeast China, but the effects of PM in a changing climate characterized by highly variable precipitation are not well understood. Six site-year field experiments were conducted in the dry and rainy years to investigate the effects of PM on maize growth, grain yield, and WUE in Northeast China. Compared to crops grown without PM treatment (control, CK), PM significantly increased the grain yield by 15-26% in the dry years, but no significant yield increase was observed in the rainy years. Yield increase in the dry years was mainly due to a large increase in dry matter accumulation pre-silking compared to the CK, which resulted from a greater dry matter accumulation rate due to the higher topsoil temperature and water content. As a result, the WUE of the crops that underwent PM (3.27 kg m-3) treatment was also increased by around 16% compared to the CK, although the overall evapotranspiration was similar between the two treatments. In the rainy years, due to frequent precipitation and scant sunshine, the topsoil temperature and water content in the field that received PM treatment was improved only at some stages and failed to cause higher dry matter accumulation, except at the 8th leaf stage. Consequently, the grain yield and WUE were not improved by PM in the rainy years. In addition, we found that PM caused leaf senescence at the late growth stage in both dry and rainy years. Therefore, in practice, PM should be applied cautiously, especially when in-season precipitation is taken into account.
Highlights
Northeast China is one of the most important maize-producing areas in China, accounting for 31% of the national maize area and 34% of the total amount of maize produced nationally [1]
The objectives of this study were to: (1) evaluate grain yield performance in plants treated with and without plastic film mulching (PM) during dry and rainy years, (2) investigate changes in maize growth and development, and in soil temperature caused by PM during contrasted years, and (3) understand the changes in soil water content and water use efficiency (WUE) caused by PM during dry and rainy years
In the rainy years, the grain yield under PM treatment ranged from 11.8 Mg ha-1
Summary
Northeast China is one of the most important maize-producing areas in China, accounting for 31% of the national maize area and 34% of the total amount of maize produced nationally [1]. Spring maize is one of the most popular grain crops cultivated by local farmers in this region [2]. As an important farming technique, plastic film mulching (PM) in spring maize production. The Effects of Plastic Mulch Film on Maize Production has been widely adopted in the region due to the significant benefits it confers in terms of yield increase and water conservation [3,4]. While the climate has varied greatly in recent years in the region, with substantial variability in annual precipitation [5,6,7], the effects of PM on maize production under different precipitation conditions remains poorly understood. Insight into the effectiveness of PM under variable precipitation conditions could help farmers make informed decisions regarding its utility, and could improve maize production in the region
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