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Journal of Integrative Agriculture  2023, Vol. 22 Issue (4): 1021-1034    DOI: 10.1016/j.jia.2022.08.017
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Plastic-film-side seeding, as an alternative to traditional film mulching, improves yield stability and income in maize production in semi-arid regions

ZHANG Bing-chao1, HU Han1, GUO Zheng-yu2, GONG Shuai2, SHEN Si1, LIAO Shu-hua1, WANG Xin1, ZHOU Shun-li1#, ZHANG Zhong-dong2#

1 College of Agronomy and Biotechnology, China Agricultural University, Beijing 100193, P.R.China

2 Institute of Maize, Shanxi Agricultural University, Xinzhou 034000, P.R.China

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摘要  

膜下栽培具有保水和增温效果,因而地区春玉米生产中被广泛应用。为了解决春玉米生产中地膜残留和膜下播种“放苗”环节耗费力的问题,我们研发了一种膜侧播种(PSS)技术配套了作业机械。在国西北半干旱地区7年的试验结果表明,与传统膜下播种(PM)相比,PSS每公顷增加6547株有效植株,增产1686公斤。为了进一步探究PSS(i)土壤水分和温度,(ii)玉米生长发育、产量、水利用效率(WUE以及(iii)经济收入和地膜残留的影响,我们在半干旱地区两个点进行了为期两年的试验。土壤温湿度连续监测结果表明,与露地平作(CK)相比,PSS显著提高了玉米生长早期播种带0-20厘米土壤的温度和湿度,提高了籽粒产量(884-1089千克/公顷)和水分利用效率,其效应与PM类似。在经济效益上,PSS的人工投入与CK相当,而PM在释放地膜下的幼苗时需要额外花费960/公顷的人工。总体而言,与CKPM相比,PSS分别增加了5.83%547/公顷)和8.16%748/公顷)的经济收益。在环境方面,PSS实现了近100%的残膜回收,相比之下,连续PM处理3和5,因回收困难没有采取地膜回收的田块分别有96与130千克/公顷残膜残留综上所述,我们认为PSS是一种可以提高产量稳定性和收入实现半干旱地区玉米的可持续生产的生态友好型技术。



Abstract  

Planting under plastic-film mulches is widely used in spring maize production in arid-cold regions for water conservation and warming the soil.  To ameliorate the associated issues such as plastic-film residues and additional labor during the “seedling release” in spring maize production, we have developed a plastic-film-side seeding (PSS) technology with the supporting machinery.  In the semi-arid regions of Northwest China, a 7-year trial demonstrated that PSS increased plant number per hectare by 6 547 and maize yield by 1 686 kg ha–1 compared with the traditional method of seeding under plastic-film mulch (PM).  Two-year experiments were conducted in two semi-arid regions to further understand the effects of PSS on three important aspects of production: (i) the moisture and temperature of soil, (ii) maize development, yield output, and water use efficiency (WUE), and (iii) the revenue and plastic-film residuals in comparison with that of flat planting (CK) and PM.  Continuous monitoring of the soil status demonstrated that, compared with CK, the PSS treatment significantly increased the temperature and moisture of the 0–20 cm soil in the seeding row at the early stage of maize development, and it also promoted grain yield (at 884–1 089 kg ha–1) and WUE, achieving a similar effect as the PM treatment.  Economically, the labor inputs of PSS were equal to CK, whereas the PM cost an additional 960 CNY ha–1 in labor for releasing the seedlings from below the film.  Overall, the PSS system increased profits by 5.83% (547 CNY ha–1 yr–1) and 8.16% (748 CNY ha–1 yr–1) compared with CK and PM, respectively.  Environmentally, PSS achieved a residual film recovery rate of nearly 100% and eliminated 96 to 130 kg ha–1 of residual plastic-film in PM in 3–5 years of maize production.  Collectively, these results show that PSS is an eco-friendly technique for improving yield stability and incomes for the sustainable production of maize in semi-arid regions.

Keywords:  maize       soil water content       soil temperature       yield       plastic-film       semi-arid region  
Received: 19 January 2022   Accepted: 22 April 2022
Fund: 

This work was supported by the earmarked fund for China Agriculture Research System (CARS-02-16 and CARS-02-75) and the National Key Research and Development Program of China (2016YFD0300301).

About author:  ZHANG Bing-chao, E-mail: zhangbingchao@cau.edu.cn; #Correspondence ZHOU Shun-li, Tel: +86-10-62732431, E-mail: zhoushl@cau.edu.cn; ZHANG Zhong-dong, E-mail: zzdyms@163.com

Cite this article: 

ZHANG Bing-chao, HU Han, GUO Zheng-yu, GONG Shuai, SHEN Si, LIAO Shu-hua, WANG Xin, ZHOU Shun-li, ZHANG Zhong-dong. 2023. Plastic-film-side seeding, as an alternative to traditional film mulching, improves yield stability and income in maize production in semi-arid regions. Journal of Integrative Agriculture, 22(4): 1021-1034.

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