Abstract
Increasing crop productivity in semiarid areas is essential for ensuring future food security. We hypothesized that crop yield could be increased by using plastic film mulching to reduce evaporation and increase plant density. A 3‐yr field experiment was conducted on the Loess Plateau of China to evaluate the effects of soil temperature and water content on maize ( Zea mays L.) grain yield (GY) and water‐use efficiency (WUE). Film mulching promoted maize growth and development by increasing the soil temperature and water content, particularly during the early growth season. At harvest, the mulched treatments had higher kernel numbers per ear (KN) and greater 1000‐kernel weight (KW) than non‐mulched treatment. Furthermore, mulching allowed the optimum plant population to be increased from 65,000 to 85,000 plants ha −1 . Compared with mulching for the entire growing season, removing the film at the silking stage decreased the plant senescence rate and slightly increased the final KN and KW, thus further increasing the GY by 0.6 to 1.2 Mg ha −1 . Although the WUE showed no significant difference among the three mulched treatments (34.0–47.2 kg ha −1 mm −1 ), these values were markedly higher than that in the non‐mulched treatment (20.3–29.6 kg ha −1 mm −1 ). We conclude that film mulching together with increased plant density can increase semiarid maize yields and water‐use efficiency.
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Claims 9
Claim · model-written summary
Film mulch increased soil temperature and water content early in the season.
- Treatment
- Film mulchinge0
- Outcome
- soil temperature and water contente0
- Direction
- increasinge0
- Qualifier
- particularly during the early growth seasone0
Zea maysNot reportedComparator
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“Film mulching promoted maize growth and development by increasing the soil temperature and water content, particularly during the early growth season.”
Claim · model-written summary
Film mulch promoted maize growth and development.
Not reportedComparator
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“Film mulching promoted maize growth and development by increasing the soil temperature and water content”
Claim · model-written summary
Mulched maize had higher kernel number per ear and thousand-kernel weight than unmulched maize.
- Treatment
- mulched treatmentse0
- Outcome
- kernel numbers per ear (KN) and greater 1000‐kernel weight (KW)e0
- Direction
- highere0
- Comparator
- non‐mulched treatmente0
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“the mulched treatments had higher kernel numbers per ear (KN) and greater 1000‐kernel weight (KW) than non‐mulched treatment”
t0“Maize”
Claim · model-written summary
Mulch raised the optimum maize population from 65,000 to 85,000 plants per hectare.
- Treatment
- mulchinge0
- Outcome
- optimum plant populatione0
- Direction
- increasede0
- Value
- 85,000 plants ha −1e0
- Qualifier
- 65,000e0
Not reportedComparator
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“mulching allowed the optimum plant population to be increased from 65,000 to 85,000 plants ha −1”
t0“Maize”
Claim · model-written summary
Removing film at silking decreased plant senescence versus full-season mulch.
- Treatment
- removing the film at the silking stagee0
- Outcome
- plant senescence ratee0
- Direction
- decreasede0
- Comparator
- mulching for the entire growing seasone0
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“Compared with mulching for the entire growing season, removing the film at the silking stage decreased the plant senescence rate”
t0“Maize”
Claim · model-written summary
Removing film at silking slightly increased kernel number and kernel weight.
Not reportedComparator
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“removing the film at the silking stage decreased the plant senescence rate and slightly increased the final KN and KW”
t0“Maize”
Claim · model-written summary
Removing film at silking increased grain yield by 0.6 to 1.2 Mg per hectare.
Not reportedTreatmentComparator
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“thus further increasing the GY by 0.6 to 1.2 Mg ha −1”
t0“Maize”
Claim · model-written summary
Water-use efficiency did not differ significantly among the three mulched treatments.
- Treatment
- three mulched treatmentse0
- Outcome
- WUEe0
- Direction
- no significant differencee0
- Value
- 34.0–47.2 kg ha −1 mm −1e0
- Comparator
- three mulched treatmentse0
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“WUE showed no significant difference among the three mulched treatments (34.0–47.2 kg ha −1 mm −1 )”
t0“Maize”
Claim · model-written summary
Mulched maize had markedly higher water-use efficiency than unmulched maize.
Not reportedTreatment
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“WUE showed no significant difference among the three mulched treatments (34.0–47.2 kg ha −1 mm −1 ), these values were markedly higher than that in the non‐mulched treatment (20.3–29.6 kg ha −1 mm −1 )”
t0“Maize”
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