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Journal of Integrative Agriculture  2023, Vol. 22 Issue (5): 1277-1290    DOI: 10.1016/j.jia.2022.09.023
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Review on the fully mulched ridge–furrow system for sustainable maize production on the semi-arid Loess Plateau
WANG Jin-bin1, XIE Jun-hong1, LI Ling-ling1, ADINGO Samuel2
1 State Key Laboratory of Aridland Crop Science/College of Agronomy, Gansu Agricultural University, Lanzhou 730070, P.R.China
2 College of Forestry, Gansu Agricultural University, Lanzhou 730070, P.R.China
3 Faculty of Applied Sciences, University for Development Studies, Navrongo-Upper East 00233, Ghana
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摘要  全覆膜沟垄栽培技术促进降雨利用效率和玉米产量提高,已在黄土高原半干旱区大面积推广应用,然而,玉米高产出导致土壤养分和水分耗竭,从而影响该技术的可持续性,因此,有必要进一步对该技术进行优化,确保其可持续发展。本文综述了全覆膜沟垄栽培技术的发展、增产机制、负面影响、优化措施及其相互关系。我们提出以粮饲兼用玉米替代普通玉米,秋季覆膜或地膜冬留春揭,少免耕结合秸秆还田,轮作或间作冬季油菜(Brassica campestris L.)、谷子(Setaria italica)胡麻(Linum usitatissimum L.),氮肥减量,有机肥代替部分化肥,使用生物降解或耐候性薄膜以及机械化化生产。这些措施的整合有助于构建环境友好、优质和可持续的覆膜栽培技术体系,促进旱作农业高质量发展,为黄土高原半干旱区农业发展带来新的机遇。




Abstract  

The fully mulched ridge–furrow (FMRF) system has been widely used on the semi-arid Loess Plateau of China due to its high maize (Zea mays L.) productivity and rainfall use efficiency.  However, high outputs under this system led to a depletion of soil moisture and soil nutrients, which reduces its sustainability in the long run.  Therefore, it is necessary to optimize the system for the sustainable development of agriculture.  The development, yield-increasing mechanisms, negative impacts, optimization, and their relations in the FMRF system are reviewed in this paper.  We suggest using grain and forage maize varieties instead of regular maize; mulching plastic film in autumn or leaving the mulch after maize harvesting until the next spring, and then removing the old film and mulching new film; combining reduced/no-tillage with straw return; utilizing crop rotation or intercropping with winter canola (Brassica campestris L.), millet (Setaria italica), or oilseed flax (Linum usitatissimum L.); reducing nitrogen fertilizer and partially replacing chemical fertilizer with organic fertilizer; using biodegradable or weather-resistant film; and implementing mechanized production.  These integrations help to establish an environmentally friendly, high quality, and sustainable agricultural system, promote high-quality development of dryland farming, and create new opportunities for agricultural development in the semi-arid Loess Plateau.

Keywords:  fully mulched ridge-furrow system       semiarid Loess Plateau       maize productivity       farming system       sustainability  
Received: 28 April 2022   Accepted: 26 August 2022
Fund: This work was supported by the Major Special Research projects in Gansu Province, China (22ZD6NA009), the National Key R&D Program of China (2022YFD1900300), the State Key Laboratory of Aridland Crop Science, Gansu Agricultural University, China (GSCS-2022-Z02), the Fostering Foundation for the Excellent Ph.D. Dissertation of Gansu Agricultural University, China (YB2020002), the Innovation Star Project for Excellent Graduate Student of Department of Education of Gansu Province, China (2021CXZX-369), the Young Instructor Fund Project of Gansu Agricultural University, China (GAU-QDFC-2020-03), and the Science and Technology Project of Gansu Province, China (20JR5RA033).

About author:  WANG Jin-bin, E-mail: 1335794569@qq.com; #Correspondence LI Ling-ling, Tel: +86-931-7631145, E-mail: lill@gsau.edu.cn

Cite this article: 

WANG Jin-bin, XIE Jun-hong, LI Ling-ling, ADINGO Samuel. 2023. Review on the fully mulched ridge–furrow system for sustainable maize production on the semi-arid Loess Plateau. Journal of Integrative Agriculture, 22(5): 1277-1290.

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