Particle-size effects on soil temperature, evaporation, water use efficiency and watermelon yield in fields mulched with gravel and sand in semi-arid Loess Plateau of northwest China

Zhongkui Xie, Yajun Wang, Guodong Cheng, Sukhdev S. Malhi, Cecil L. Vera, Zhihong Guo and Yubao Zhang

Agricultural Water Management, 2010, vol. 97, issue 6, 917-923

Abstract: Gravel and sand mulch is an effective practice in conserving soil and moisture. However, the proportion of different particle size in this kind of mulch layer is an important factor to be considered in order to obtain optimal results from this practice. From 2005 to 2007, a series of experiments including one with watermelon were conducted in the semi-arid Loess Plateau of northwest China to determine the influence of particle size and its proportion in mulch layer on soil temperature, evapotranspiration, water use efficiency (WUE) and watermelon (Citrullus lanatus L.) yield. The treatments in no-watermelon experiments included particle sizes classified as

Keywords: Gravel-sand; mulch; Particle; size; Soil; temperature; Water; use; efficiency; Watermelon (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2010
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (8)

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