Evapotranspiration partitioning and water productivity of rainfed maize under contrasting mulching conditions in Northwest China

Jing Zheng, Junliang Fan, Fucang Zhang and Qianlai Zhuang

Agricultural Water Management, 2021, vol. 243, issue C

Abstract: Soil mulching can effectively modify crop growth environments and increase crop productivity in rainfed agriculture, and the knowledge about water fluxes within the soil-crop-atmosphere ecosystem is essential for improving water productivity (WP) in water-limited regions such as Northwest China. This study systematically investigated seasonal and inter-annual dynamics of evapotranspiration (ET) partitioning into canopy interception (Ic), soil evaporation (Es) and plant transpiration (Tp) in rainfed maize fields under four mulching conditions (NM: non-mulching, SM: straw mulching, RPBF: plastic-mulched ridge with bare furrow, and RPSF: plastic-mulched ridge with straw-mulched furrow) from June to October in 2015, 2016 and 2017 characterized by various seasonal rainfall distributions. The results showed that seasonal ET was slightly higher under mulching conditions compared with NM during each growing season, but the difference was not statistically significant. Soil mulching decreased Es/ET (22.0–29.8 %, 14.3–19.5 % and 11.3–15.1 % under SM, RPBF and RPSF, respectively) relative to NM (27.6–34.5 %), while it increased Tp/ET (55.8–63.7 %, 63.0–71.0 % and 65.6–73.2 %, respectively) and Ic/ET (13.2–16.0 %, 14.7–17.4 % and 15.4–19.3 %, respectively) relative to NM (52.4–58.7 % and 13.0–15.7 %, respectively). Differences in ET partitioning under contrasting mulching conditions were related largely to variations in leaf area index and soil water stress. Although seasonal ET under various mulching conditions varied among the three seasons (264.8–286.6 mm in 2015, 241.2–242.5 mm in 2016 and 296.6–324.4 mm in 2017), the proportions of Ic (13.0–15.4 %, 13.3–19.3 % and 15.7–17.7 %), Es (11.3–28.3 %, 15.1–34.5 % and 11.4–27.6 %) and Tp (58.7–73.2 %, 52.4–65.6 % and 56.7–70.9 %) to total ET were similar. Soil mulching greatly enhanced maize yield by 9.5–26.1 %, 27.0–186.5 % and 30.8–209.7 % under SM, RPBF and RPSF compared with NM, respectively, resulting in 1.5–15.8 %, 19.0–184.7 % and 20.8–214.8 % higher WP, respectively. It was concluded that soil mulching largely promoted Tp and restrained Es in spite of slight increase in Ic, thereby improving maize yield and WP during the three seasons. The present study gives a better understanding of rainwater cycle and crop water use, which is critical to sustainable management of rainfed agriculture.

Keywords: Rainfed maize; Canopy interception; Soil evaporation; Plant transpiration; Water productivity (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2021
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (24)

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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:eee:agiwat:v:243:y:2021:i:c:s0378377420304923

DOI: 10.1016/j.agwat.2020.106473

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