Effect of mulching on soil and plant water status, and the growth and yield of wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) in a semi-arid environment
Introduction
Effect of mulching on conserving moisture and increasing productivity of crops had been reported in maize (Zhang et al., 2005), wheat (Verma and Acharya, 2004a, Verma and Acharya, 2004b, Li et al., 2005, Huang et al., 2005, Rahman et al., 2005), vegetables (Ramalan and Nwokeocha, 2000, Araki and Ito, 2004, Incalcaterra et al., 2003) and other crops (Tariq et al., 2001, Kumar et al., 2003, Haq, 2000, Kar and Singh, 2004) and also in bare plots (Farrukh and Safdar, 2004, Giordani et al., 2004). Mulch has the potential to control weed growth (Erenstein, 2002) and retain soil moisture (Dalrymple et al., 1992, Manakul, 1994, Enrique et al., 1999). Combination of irrigation with mulch technology is advocated for better uptake of water by the spring wheat (Li et al., 2004) and to reduce the number of irrigation (Mandal and Ghosh, 1984). These results have strongly established that the conserved moisture through mulching have been very effective to plants during stress.
However, the quantification in terms of growth attributes and soil–plant–water relationships in wheat under mulch have not been substantiated. Wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) is the most important rabi cereal crop in the north India. India is the second largest producer of wheat, but there has been significant yield stagnation since 1999–2000 (Nagarajan, 2005). This crop is highly sensitive to moisture and thermal stress. In many parts of the region, it is cultivated as a rainfed crop, particularly in the semi-arid tracts of central and peninsular India. Even in irrigated areas, the availability of assured water for irrigation has become limited. Under rainfed situation, maintaining favourable soil moisture in root zone is necessary for continued growth and yield of wheat. Among various agronomic measures, mulching may be one of the suitable method to maintain optimum moisture and thermal environment in soil, increase water use efficiency through reduction in evaporation and subsequently higher grain yield.
The mulch also varies widely in terms of the material used and their differential effects in producing the hydrothermal regimes in soil and plant. Information is scanty on the comparative effect of organic and plastic mulches under the same crop with similar type of agro-environment. Therefore, a study was conducted in a sandy loam soil under semi-arid environment of Delhi, India, to evaluate the soil and plant water status in wheat under different types of mulches. In our experiment, as the water retention parameters were to be compared with respect to soil water status at similar growth stages of the crop, mulching was done after emergence so that the phenology of the crop is nearly the same in all treatments.
Section snippets
Study area
Field experiments were conducted during rabi (winter) 2004–2005 and 2005–2006 at the Research Farm of the Indian Agricultural Research Institute, New Delhi, India (77°9′N, 28°37′E, 228.7 m asl) with wheat (T. aestivum, L.) as the test crop. The climate is semi-arid with warm summer and mild winter. Summers are long (early April–August) with the monsoon setting in between (July–September). The soil is sandy loam (Typic Haplustept) with medium to angular blocky structure, non-calcareous and
Results
During 2004–2005, a dry spell prevailed during the initial crop growth stages until the winter rain occurred during last week of January (Table 1). However, months of December and January were very cold with moderate sunshine and low pan evaporation (1–3 mm day−1) and thus plants suffered less. During 2005–2006, though the rainfall was well-distributed over the season, month of February was unusually warm with no rain. However, all the plots were irrigated at 96 DAS coinciding with this warm
Discussion
The higher soil moisture status indicated role of mulch in conserving the moisture in soil, though the effects between mulches varied. Rice husk seemed to be the best in maintaining moisture in both surface and sub-surface layers from sowing to harvest, closely followed by TP mulch. Similar findings under rice straw mulch were reported by Rahman et al. (2005). The rate of drying of soil was slow, resulting in water availability for relatively longer period during crop growth and development.
Conclusion
Compared to polyethylene mulch, RH was found to provide a better soil physical environment in terms of soil moisture retention, especially during long dry periods when the crop was exposed to water stress, and optimal soil temperature during the crop growth. These favourable conditions led to maintenance of cooler canopy and higher plant water status. Crop growth in terms of SLW and root length density, though considerably higher in adequately irrigated wheat, RH performed satisfactorily with
References (45)
- et al.
Effect of soil covers and yield of irrigated wheat planted at two dates
Field Crops Res.
(1983) - et al.
Modelling heat and water exchange of fallow land coverage with plant residue mulch
Agric. Meteorol.
(1999) Crop residue mulching in tropical and semi-tropical countries: an evaluation of residue availability and other technological implications
Soil Till. Res.
(2002)- et al.
The wheat yields and water use efficiency in the Loess Plateau: straw mulch and irrigation effects
Agric. Water Manage.
(2005) - et al.
Effects of irrigation before sowing and plastic film mulching on yield and water uptake of spring wheat in semiarid Loess Plateau of China
Agric. Water Manage.
(2004) - et al.
Rice straw mulching and nitrogen response of no-till wheat following rice in Bangladesh
Field Crops Res.
(2005) - et al.
Effects of furrow irrigation methods, mulching and soil water suction on the growth, yield and water use efficiency of tomato in the Nigerian Savanna
Agric. Water Manage.
(2000) - et al.
Carry-over of residual soil moisture with mulching and conservation tillage practices for sowing of rainfed wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) in north-west India
Soil Till. Res.
(2000) - et al.
Decrease of nitrogen fertilizer application in tomato production in no tilled field with hairy vetch mulch
Acta Hortic.
(2004) - et al.
Wheat management in warm environments. Effect of organic and inorganic fertilizers, irrigation frequency and mulching
Agron. J.
(1999)
A re-examination of the relative turgidity technique for estimating water deficit in leaves
Aust. J. Biol. Sci.
Soil temperature around the crown mode influences early growth, nutrient uptake and nutrient translocation of spring wheat
Agron. J.
Root zone temperature effects on growth and phosphate absorption in rape Brassica napus cv.
Emerald J. Exp. Bot.
Soil water conservation and winter wheat yield in three fallow systems
J. Soil Water Conserv.
Modification of irrigation requirement of wheat through mulching and foliar application of transpiration suppressants
Irrig. Sci.
Impact of different types of mulches on soil moisture
Sarhad J. Agric.
Effects of tillage and mulch methods on soil moisture in wheat fields of Loess Plateau, China
Pedosphere
Effectiveness of different amounts of organic mulch on the conservation of soil moisture
J. Agric. Environ. Int. Dev.
Statistical Procedures for Agricultural Research
Effect of Mulching on Root Zone Moisture Content and Yield of Different Sunflower Varieties under Rainfed Conditions
Remote sensing of crop yields
Science
Agronomic response of winter melon (Cucumis melo inodorus Naud.) to biodegradable and polyethylene film mulches and to different planting densities. Mediterranean rainfed agriculture: strategies for sustainability
Cited by (305)
The first factor affecting dryland winter wheat grain yield under various mulching measures: Spike number
2024, Journal of Integrative AgricultureStrategies for economic utilization of rice straw residues into value-added by-products and prevention of environmental pollution
2024, Science of the Total EnvironmentOptimizing water and nitrogen management can enhance nitrogen heterogeneity and stimulate root foraging
2023, Field Crops Research