title: Effect of Different Mulches under Rainfall Concentration System on Corn Production in the Semi-arid Areas of the Loess Plateau.
abstract: The ridge and furrow farming system for rainfall concentration (RC) has gradually been popularized to improve the water availability for crops and to increase the water use efficiency (WUE), thereby stabilizing high yields. In the RC system, plastic-covered ridges are rainfall harvesting zones and furrows are planting zones. In this study, we optimized the mulching patterns for RC planting to mitigate the risks of drought during crop production in semi-arid agricultural areas. We conducted a four-year field study to determine the effects on corn production of mulching with 0.08-mm plastic film, maize straw, 8% biodegradable film, liquid film, bare furrow, and conventional flat (CF) farming. We found that RC significantly increased (P > 0.05) the soil moisture storage in the top 0-100 cm layer and the topsoil temperature (0-10 cm) during the corn-growing season. Combining RC with mulching further improved the rain-harvesting, moisture-retaining, and yield-increasing effects in furrows. Compared with CF, the four-year average yield increased by 1497.1 kg ha(-1) to 2937.3 kg ha(-1) using RC with mulch treatments and the WUE increased by 2.3 kg ha(-1) mm(-1) to 5.1 kg ha(-1) mm(-1).
authors.affiliation: Institute of Water Saving Agriculture in Arid Areas of China, Northwest A&F University, Yangling, Shaanxi 712100, China.|Key Laboratory of Crop Physi-ecology and Tillage Science in Northwestern Loess Plateau, Ministry of Agriculture, Northwest A&F University, Yangling, Shaanxi 712100, China.
authors.forename: Xiaolong
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Ren
authors.affiliation: Institute of Water Saving Agriculture in Arid Areas of China, Northwest A&F University, Yangling, Shaanxi 712100, China.|Key Laboratory of Crop Physi-ecology and Tillage Science in Northwestern Loess Plateau, Ministry of Agriculture, Northwest A&F University, Yangling, Shaanxi 712100, China.
authors.forename: Peng
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.affiliation: Institute of Water Saving Agriculture in Arid Areas of China, Northwest A&F University, Yangling, Shaanxi 712100, China.|Key Laboratory of Crop Physi-ecology and Tillage Science in Northwestern Loess Plateau, Ministry of Agriculture, Northwest A&F University, Yangling, Shaanxi 712100, China.
authors.forename: Xiaoli
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.affiliation: Institute of Water Saving Agriculture in Arid Areas of China, Northwest A&F University, Yangling, Shaanxi 712100, China.
authors.forename: Jingjing
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Guo
authors.affiliation: Institute of Water Saving Agriculture in Arid Areas of China, Northwest A&F University, Yangling, Shaanxi 712100, China.|Key Laboratory of Crop Physi-ecology and Tillage Science in Northwestern Loess Plateau, Ministry of Agriculture, Northwest A&F University, Yangling, Shaanxi 712100, China.
authors.forename: Zhikuan
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Jia
mesh_terms: D002681:China; D003889:Desert Climate; D017753:Ecosystem; D006813:Humidity; D011891:Rain; D012987:Soil / Q000737:chemistry; D013696:Temperature; D014867:Water; D014934:Wood / Q000737:chemistry*; D003313:Zea mays / Q000254:growth & development*
chemical_list: D012987:Soil; D014867:Water