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Effects of rainfall harvesting and mulching technologies on water use efficiency and crop yield in the semi-arid Loess Plateau, China

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  • Wang, Yajun
  • Xie, Zhongkui
  • Malhi, Sukhdev S.
  • Vera, Cecil L.
  • Zhang, Yubao
  • Wang, Jinniu

Abstract

In semi-arid areas, crop growth is greatly limited by water. Amount of available water in soil can be increased by surface mulching and other soil management practices. Field experiments were conducted in 2005 and 2006 at Gaolan, Gansu, China, to determine the influence of ridge and furrow rainfall harvesting system (RFRHS), surface mulching and supplementary irrigation (SI) in various combinations on rainwater harvesting, amount of moisture in soil, water use efficiency (WUE), biomass yield of sweet sorghum (Sorghum bicolour L.) and seed yield of maize (Zea mays L.). In conventional fields without RFRHS, gravel-sand mulching produced higher biomass yield than plastic-mulching or straw-mulching. In plastic-mulched fields, an increasing amount of supplemental irrigation was needed to improve crop yield. There was no effect of RFRHS without plastic-covered ridge on rainwater harvesting when natural precipitation was less than 5 mm per event. This was due to little runoff of rainwater from frequent low precipitation showers, and most of the harvested rainwater gathered at the soil surface is lost to evaporation. In the RFRHS, crop yield and WUE were higher with plastic-covered ridges than bare ridges, and also higher with gravel-sand-mulched furrows than bare furrows in most cases, or straw-mulched furrows in some cases. This was most likely due to decreased evaporation with plastic or gravel-sand mulch. In the RFRHS with plastic-covered ridges and gravel-sand-mulched furrows, application of 30 mm supplemental irrigation produced the highest yield and WUE for sweet sorghum and maize in most cases. In conclusion, the findings suggested the integrated use of RFRHS, mulching and supplementary irrigation to improve rainwater availability for high sustainable crop yield. However, the high additional costs of supplemental irrigation and construction of RFRHS for rainwater harvesting need to be considered before using these practices on a commercial scale.

Suggested Citation

  • Wang, Yajun & Xie, Zhongkui & Malhi, Sukhdev S. & Vera, Cecil L. & Zhang, Yubao & Wang, Jinniu, 2009. "Effects of rainfall harvesting and mulching technologies on water use efficiency and crop yield in the semi-arid Loess Plateau, China," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 96(3), pages 374-382, March.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:agiwat:v:96:y:2009:i:3:p:374-382
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Xie, Zhongkui & Wang, Yajun & Jiang, Wenlan & Wei, Xinghu, 2006. "Evaporation and evapotranspiration in a watermelon field mulched with gravel of different sizes in northwest China," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 81(1-2), pages 173-184, March.
    2. Li, Xiao-Yan & Gong, Jia-Dong, 2002. "Effects of different ridge:furrow ratios and supplemental irrigation on crop production in ridge and furrow rainfall harvesting system with mulches," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 54(3), pages 243-254, April.
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    4. Wang, Ya-jun & Xie, Z. K. & Li, Feng-min & Zhang, Zhi-shan, 2004. "The effect of supplemental irrigation on watermelon (Citrullus lanatus) production in gravel and sand mulched fields in the Loess Plateau of northwest China," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 69(1), pages 29-41, September.
    5. Li, Xiao-Yan & Gong, Jia-Dong & Gao, Qian-Zhao & Li, Feng-Rui, 2001. "Incorporation of ridge and furrow method of rainfall harvesting with mulching for crop production under semiarid conditions," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 50(3), pages 173-183, September.
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