J Sci Food Agric. 2021 Apr 10. doi: 10.1002/jsfa.11248. Online ahead of print.
ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND: Plastic film mulch is widely used to improve crop yield and water use efficiency (WUE, yield per unit evapotranspiration) in the semi-arid regions. It is commonly applied as partial-film mulch (PM: at least 50% soil cover) or full-film mulch (FM: complete soil cover). The PM has lower economic and environmental cost; hence it would be a superior technology provided it delivers similar gains in yield and water use efficiency in relation to FM.
RESULTS: To solve contradictory results from individual studies, we compared FM and PM in a meta-analysis of 100 studies with 1881 comparisons (685 for wheat; 1196 for maize). Compared with bare ground, FM and PM both increased yield of wheat (20-26%) and maize (37-52%), and WUE of wheat (16-20%) and maize (38-48%), with statistically undistinguishable differences between PM and FM. The increases in crop yield and WUE were stronger at elevation >1000 m, with annual precipitation<400 mm, and on loess soil, especially for maize.
CONCLUSIONS: We concluded that partial-film mulch could replace full-film mulch to return similar yield and WUE improvement, with reduced cost and environmental pollution. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.
PMID:33838057 | DOI:10.1002/jsfa.11248
