Effects of different plastic-film mulching practices on maize growth and yield under drip irrigation in sub-humid region ofNortheast China

摘要

The effects of plastic-film mulching practices on plant height, leaf area index (LAI), aboveground plant biomass and grain yield are studied based on a one-year field experiment in the semi-humid region of Northeast China. In the experiment, three plastic-film mulching patterns (no mulch (CK), ridge-furrow mulch (F) and ridge mulch (R)) and three mulching durations (mulching to the end of seeding stage (S), heading stage (H) and maturity stage (M)) were tested. The results showed that plastic-film mulching pattern affected plant height significantly during whole growing season while imposed significant effects on LAI at the beginning and late stages. Plastic-film mulch treatments generally produced higher plant height and LAI before the heading stage. Compared with CK, plant height for RM and FM were improved by 16.9% and 17.9% on 4 July, respectively. Similar SPAD value for all treatments showed that plastic-film mulching practices had insignificant effect on SPAD. Furthermore, higher abovegroundplant biomasses were generally observed for plastic-film mulch treatments. At the seeding stage, aboveground plant biomass of FM and RM were 245% and 242% higher than that of CK, respectively The ANOVA results showed that plastic-film mulching pattern imposed a significant effect on aboveground plant biomass during the seeding stage and filling stage. However, plastic-film mulching measures had no significant effect on the aboveground plant biomass at the end of the growing season. In terms of yield andyield components, plastic-film mulching pattern imposed significant effect on barren ear tip, 100-seed weight and grain yield. Grain yield of FM was 12.3% and 3.0% higher than that of CK and RM, respectively. Meanwhile, plastic-film mulching duration had insignificant effect on yield and yield components. In conclusion, the ridge-furrow full mulch during the whole season is recommended to improve maize production in the sub-humid Northeast China.