Abstract
Abstract Depth of dry soil mulch affected summer soil temperatures and seed‐bed water at the end of fallow in the dryland wheat region of eastern Washington. Increasing the depth of the tillage mulch from 6 to 11 cm reduced summertime seed zone drying sufficiently to benefit wheat emergence. Reduction of drying was greatest when the seed zone had good capillary continuity with the deeper soil layers. Drying depth and intensity was greater with a cloddy soil mulch than with a fine mulch. The seed zone water‐conserving effect of a fine soil mulch was related to the lowered temperatures and temperature gradients across the seed zone associated with the increased mulch depth. The deeper soil mulch conserved seedbed water through increased resistance to water flow from moist layers to the atmosphere, and through increased thermal insulation of the moist soil below the dry mulch. Surface‐applied straw (4,000 kg/ha) decreased seed‐zone temperatures under the shallow mulch only. The key factor in conserving seedbed water through extended periods of hot, dry weather is that the loss rates from the seed zone be balanced by upward unsaturated flow from deeper layers. As the soil dries, the relative importance of loss rates through evaporative loss across the dry layer and thermally induced flow downward increases because of decreasing return flow from the deeper layers along matric potential gradients. Under these dryland conditions, it appears that seedbed water could be best conserved through using a soil mulch of maximum resistance to vapor and liquid water flow, and maximum thermal insulation, overlying a seed zone having good capillary continuity with the deeper soil layers. The stratification produced by moderately deep rod‐weeding appears to provide such a mulch.
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Claims 6
Claim · model-written summary
Increasing tillage mulch depth from 6 to 11 cm reduced seed zone drying.
- Taxon
- wheat
Triticum aestivume0 - Treatment
- Increasing the depth of the tillage mulch from 6 to 11 cme0
- Outcome
- seed zone dryinge0
- Direction
- reducede0
- Setting
- wheate0
Not reportedComparator
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“Increasing the depth of the tillage mulch from 6 to 11 cm reduced summertime seed zone drying sufficiently to benefit wheat emergence.”
Claim · model-written summary
Increasing mulch depth benefited wheat emergence.
- Taxon
- wheatTriticum aestivume0
- Treatment
- Increasing the depth of the tillage mulch from 6 to 11 cme0
- Outcome
- wheat emergencee0
- Direction
- benefite0
Not reportedComparator
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“Increasing the depth of the tillage mulch from 6 to 11 cm reduced summertime seed zone drying sufficiently to benefit wheat emergence.”
Claim · model-written summary
Drying reduction was greatest with good capillary continuity.
- Taxon
- wheatTriticum aestivume1
- Outcome
- Reduction of dryinge0
- Direction
- greateste0
- Setting
- seed zonee0
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“Reduction of drying was greatest when the seed zone had good capillary continuity with the deeper soil layers.”
t0“Soil Mulch Effects on Seedbed Temperature and Water During Fallow in Eastern Washington”
e1“Increasing the depth of the tillage mulch from 6 to 11 cm reduced summertime seed zone drying sufficiently to benefit wheat emergence.”
Claim · model-written summary
Cloddy mulch produced greater drying depth and intensity than fine mulch.
- Treatment
- cloddy soil mulche0
- Outcome
- Drying depth and intensitye0
- Direction
- greatere0
- Comparator
- fine mulche0
Not reportedTaxon
Verbatim
e0“Drying depth and intensity was greater with a cloddy soil mulch than with a fine mulch.”
Claim · model-written summary
Surface applied straw reduced seed zone temperature under shallow mulch.
- Treatment
- Surface‐applied straw (4,000 kg/ha)e0
- Outcome
- seed‐zone temperaturese0
- Direction
- decreasede0
- Qualifier
- under the shallow mulch onlye0
Not reportedTaxonComparator
Verbatim
e0“Surface‐applied straw (4,000 kg/ha) decreased seed‐zone temperatures under the shallow mulch only.”
Claim · model-written summary
The authors recommend a resistant, insulating mulch over a capillary connected seed zone to conserve water.
- Treatment
- soil mulch of maximum resistance to vapor and liquid water flow, and maximum thermal insulatione0
- Outcome
- seedbed water could be best conservede0
Not reportedTaxon
Verbatim
e0“Under these dryland conditions, it appears that seedbed water could be best conserved through using a soil mulch of maximum resistance to vapor and liquid water flow, and maximum thermal insulation, overlying a seed zone having good capillary continuity with the deeper soil layers.”
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See all 267 papers →Claims are grouped by organism, treatment and what was measured or targeted. A paper counts as positive when any of its claims in the group is positive.