Migration of Microplastics in the Rice–Duckweed System under Different Irrigation Modes

Cheng Hong, Zhenchang Wang (), Minghao Tian, Yuexiong Wang, Jinjing Liu, Xiaoman Qiang, Umidbek Masharifov and Kexin Chen
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Cheng Hong: College of Agricultural Science and Engineering, Hohai University, Nanjing 210098, China
Zhenchang Wang: College of Agricultural Science and Engineering, Hohai University, Nanjing 210098, China
Minghao Tian: College of Agricultural Science and Engineering, Hohai University, Nanjing 210098, China
Yuexiong Wang: College of Agricultural Science and Engineering, Hohai University, Nanjing 210098, China
Jinjing Liu: College of Agricultural Science and Engineering, Hohai University, Nanjing 210098, China
Xiaoman Qiang: Key Laboratory of Crop Water Use and Regulation, Farmland Irrigation Research Institute, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Science, Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, Xinxiang 453003, China
Umidbek Masharifov: College of Agricultural Science and Engineering, Hohai University, Nanjing 210098, China
Kexin Chen: College of Agricultural Science and Engineering, Hohai University, Nanjing 210098, China

Agriculture, 2024, vol. 14, issue 9, 1-16

Abstract: Microplastic (MP) pollution in agriculture is garnering growing concern due to its potential detrimental impact on soil properties and crop growth, particularly affecting staple food crops such as rice. Irrigation plays a crucial role in the migration of MPs. However, limited research has focused on how different irrigation modes affect the migration of MPs in paddy fields. To simulate real-world conditions, in this experiment, two different irrigation modes were set: shallow–frequent irrigation (FWI, I 0 ) and controlled irrigation (CI, I 1 ). The experiment also included treatments with and without duckweed (D 0 and D 1 , respectively), as well as treatments with and without MPs (M 0 and M 1 ). This resulted in a total of eight treatments: I 0 M 0 D 0 , I 0 M 0 D 1 , I 1 M 0 D 0 , I 1 M 0 D 1 , I 0 M 1 D 0 , I 0 M 1 D 1 , I 1 M 1 D 0 , and I 1 M 1 D 1 . Our findings indicated that compared to CI, FWI significantly increased the MP concentration in the leakage but reduced the numbers of MPs in the first soil layer and adhered by duckweed. Notably, dry–wet cycles under CI induced soil cracking, and the MP concentrations in cracked areas were significantly higher than those of crack-free soil. Moreover, compared with the MP-free treatment, MP treatments significantly influenced rice root growth, such as enhancing the average root diameter by 13.44%, root volume by 46.87%, root surface area by 30.81%, and biomass aboveground by 26.13%, respectively. The abundance of some microorganisms was also significantly influenced by the relative mobility (R M ) of MPs. Furthermore, the root length was positively correlated with Planctomycetota. Meanwhile, Actinobacteriota was negatively correlated with the root surface area, root volume, and branch number, and Bacteroidota was negatively correlated with the number of root tips. However, further research is needed to elucidate how MPs influence microorganisms and, in turn, affect rice root growth.

Keywords: MPs; migration; paddy system; irrigation (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: 2024
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