Journal of Food, Agriculture and Environment

Effects of mulching on soil temperature and moisture in the rain-fed farmland of summer corn in the Taihang Mountain of China

Author(s):

Jiansheng Cao ^{1, 2}, Xia Zhou ³, Wanjun Zhang ^1*, Changming Liu ¹, Zhijun Liu ⁴

Recieved Date: 2011-09-06, Accepted Date: 2012-01-10

Abstract:

In this research, the effects of wheat straw and plastic film mulching on soil temperature and moisture dynamics in the rain-fed farmland of summer corn were investigated. The experiment was conducted in the Hilly Ecological Experimental Station of Chinese Academy of Sciences located in the lower Taihang Mountain in 2009. The experiment design is a completely randomized design with three treatments. These three treatments are control condition without mulching, mulching by wheat straw and mulching by plastic film. There are three replications for each treatment. Results indicated that soil temperature in the farmland mulched by wheat straw is lower at daytime but higher at night-time than the control condition (without mulching). Over the entire growing season, the accumulated soil temperature in the farmland mulched by wheat straw was lower than the control condition by 22.5ºC. Soil temperature in the farmland mulched by film is higher at both daytime and night-time than the control condition. Over the entire growing season, the accumulated soil temperature in the farmland mulched by film was higher than the control condition by 159.5ºC. The soil moisture in the farmland mulched by wheat straw and film was higher than the control condition, especially at middle and end growing season of summer corn. The mulching helps the soil water move to the deep soil and increases the soil moisture storage. At the end growing season, the soil water content in the farmland mulched by wheat straw and film was higher than the control condition by 15.4% and 17.6%, respectively.

Keywords:

Mulching, rain-fed farmland, soil temperature, soil water content

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Journal: Journal of Food, Agriculture and Environment
Year: 2012
Volume: 10
Issue: 1
Category: Agriculture
Pages: 519-523

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