Cattle Manure Application and Combined Straw Mulching Enhance Maize ( Zea mays L.) Growth and Water Use for Rain-Fed Cropping System of Coastal Saline Soils

Yifu Zhang, Wancheng Wang, Wei Yuan, Ruihong Zhang and Xiaobo Xi
Additional contact information
Yifu Zhang: School of Mechanical Engineering, Yangzhou University, Yangzhou 225127, China
Wancheng Wang: School of Mechanical Engineering, Yangzhou University, Yangzhou 225127, China
Wei Yuan: School of Mechanical Engineering, Yangzhou University, Yangzhou 225127, China
Ruihong Zhang: School of Mechanical Engineering, Yangzhou University, Yangzhou 225127, China
Xiaobo Xi: School of Mechanical Engineering, Yangzhou University, Yangzhou 225127, China

Agriculture, 2021, vol. 11, issue 8, 1-14

Abstract: Appropriate agronomic management is vital for the soil fertility and crop output of coastal salt-affected farmlands. Cattle manure incorporation and straw mulching are targeted as effective methods that can improve soil structure and stimulate crop growth, respectively. However, the combined application of manure and straw into salt-affected soils is less documented, especially with limited water supplement. In this study, a 3-year field experiment (2016–2018) was conducted in Binhai district, Tianjin, China to evaluate the effects of traditional tillage without manure and straw mulching application (TT), cattle manure incorporation (CM), straw mulching (SM), and CM combined with SM (CM + SM) on soil physiochemical properties, maize ( Zea mays L.) growth, and water use efficiency. TT represented traditional cultivation in the study area without manure and straw application, as a control. All four treatments were carried out in a randomized block design with three replicates. The results demonstrate that CM treatment relieved salinity, decrease bulk density, and thereby stimulated root development. SM also has the advantage of improving salinity via 3-year implementation. Throughout the 3-year cultivation, CM + SM crop yields increased by >14.3% and grain water use index (GWUI) improved by >14.7% in comparison to TT treatment due to the improvement in soil properties. These benefits in soil properties, crop yield, and water use are important for minimizing salt constraints and realizing regional agro-ecological values.

Keywords: coastal soils; organic manure incorporation; straw mulching; salt accumulation; crop growth (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: Q1 Q10 Q11 Q12 Q13 Q14 Q15 Q16 Q17 Q18 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2021
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

Downloads: (external link)
https://www.mdpi.com/2077-0472/11/8/745/pdf (application/pdf)
https://www.mdpi.com/2077-0472/11/8/745/ (text/html)

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:gam:jagris:v:11:y:2021:i:8:p:745-:d:609486

Access Statistics for this article

Agriculture is currently edited by Ms. Leda Xuan

More articles in Agriculture from MDPI
Bibliographic data for series maintained by MDPI Indexing Manager ().