title: The effects of plastic film mulching on maize growth and water use in dry and rainy years in Northeast China.
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.
authors.affiliation: Institute of Crop Science, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Beijing, China.
authors.forename: Jie
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Xu
authors.affiliation: Institute of Crop Science, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Beijing, China.
authors.forename: Congfeng
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Li
authors.affiliation: Institute of Agricultural Environment and Research Center, Jilin Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Changchun, China.
authors.forename: Huitao
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.affiliation: Institute of Crop Science, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Beijing, China.
authors.forename: Peilu
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Zhou
authors.affiliation: Institute of Crop Science, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Beijing, China.
authors.forename: Zhiqiang
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Tao
authors.affiliation: College of Agronomy and Biotechnology, China Agricultural University, Beijing, China.
authors.forename: Pu
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.affiliation: Institute of Crop Science, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Beijing, China.
authors.forename: Qingfeng
authors.initials: Q
authors.lastname: Meng
authors.affiliation: Institute of Crop Science, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Beijing, China.
authors.forename: Ming
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Zhao
mesh_terms: D002681:China; D003247:Conservation of Natural Resources; D018556:Crops, Agricultural / Q000254:growth & development*; D060587:Groundwater; D018515:Plant Leaves / Q000254:growth & development; D010969:Plastics; D011891:Rain; D012621:Seasons; D012987:Soil; D062066:Water Resources; D003313:Zea mays / Q000254:growth & development*
chemical_list: D010969:Plastics; D012987:Soil