Optimizing Growth and Yield in Mulched Cotton Through Aerated Subsurface Drip Irrigation in Southern Xinjiang

Yuxi Zhang, Baolin Yao (), Peining Niu, Zhu Zhu, Yan Mo (), Fayong Li and Sanmin Sun
Additional contact information
Yuxi Zhang: College of Water Resources and Architectural Engineering, Tarim University, Alar 843300, China
Baolin Yao: College of Water Resources and Architectural Engineering, Tarim University, Alar 843300, China
Peining Niu: College of Water Resources and Architectural Engineering, Tarim University, Alar 843300, China
Zhu Zhu: College of Water Resources and Architectural Engineering, Tarim University, Alar 843300, China
Yan Mo: State Key Laboratory of Simulation and Regulation of Water Cycle in River Basin, China Institute of Water Resources and Hydropower Research, Beijing 100048, China
Fayong Li: College of Water Resources and Architectural Engineering, Tarim University, Alar 843300, China
Sanmin Sun: College of Water Resources and Architectural Engineering, Tarim University, Alar 843300, China

Agriculture, 2025, vol. 15, issue 2, 1-18

Abstract: This study investigates the impact of Aerated Subsurface Drip Irrigation (ASDI) on the growth and yield of mulched cotton, aiming to identify the optimal water-air combination pattern for ASDI in cotton cultivation. Conducted during 2021–2022, the experimental setup involved two aeration modes (aerated A 1 and unaerated A 0 ) and four irrigation quotas (W 1 , W 2 , W 3 , and W 4 ), organized in a two-factor randomized block design resulting in eight distinct treatments. The findings revealed that ASDI significantly promoted soil moisture depletion from 0 to 40 cm during the cotton flowering and boll opening stages. Specifically, aerated A 1 reduced soil water content by 5.84% to 7.83% during the flowering stage and 7.45% to 13.39% during the boll opening stage compared to unaerated A 0 . Additionally, both aerating and increasing irrigation quotas not only enhanced the cotton leaf area index (LAI) but also delayed leaf area decay, contributing to prolonged photosynthetic activity. Aerating also favorably influenced the distribution of above-ground biomass in cotton towards budding and boll stages, with the biomass share of buddings, flowers, and bolls averaging 62.98% under aerated conditions versus 62.27% under non-aerated conditions during the boll opening stage. Furthermore, aerating combined with increased irrigation quotas resulted in higher seed cotton yields, with aerated irrigation boosting yields by 1.79% in 2021 and 4.43% in 2022 compared to non-aerated irrigation. This approach also increased cotton’s water demand and average daily water consumption significantly ( p < 0.01). Importantly, aerating improved IWUE, achieving 1.72 kg/m 3 in 2021 and 1.62 kg/m 3 in 2022 for ASDI, versus 1.69 kg/m 3 and 1.57 kg/m 3 for unaerated subsurface drip irrigation, respectively. In conclusion, from a water conservation and yield enhancement perspective, an irrigation quota of 337.4 mm during the reproductive stage under ASDI is recommended as an effective strategy for “one film three tubes and six rows” mulched cotton in Southern Xinjiang.

Keywords: aerated subsurface drip irrigation; leaf area index; yield; irrigation water use efficiency (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: 2025
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations:

Downloads: (external link)
https://www.mdpi.com/2077-0472/15/2/135/pdf (application/pdf)
https://www.mdpi.com/2077-0472/15/2/135/ (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:15:y:2025:i:2:p:135-:d:1563390

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 ().