Arid Zone Research ›› 2019, Vol. 36 ›› Issue (2): 339-347.doi: 10.13866/j.azr.2019.02.09

• Soil Ecology • Previous Articles     Next Articles

Effects of Biodegradable Plastic Film Mulching on the Growth Winter Wheat on the Loess Plateau Dryland

ZHAO Gang, FAN Ting-lu, DANG Yi, ZHANG Jian-jun, LI Shang-zhong, WANG Shu-ying, CHENG Wan-li, WANG Lei   

  1. Institute of Dryland Farming, Gansu Province Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Lanzhou 730070, Gansu,China
  • Received:2018-05-10 Revised:2018-10-07 Published:2025-10-18

Abstract: Three treatments, i.e. the common plastic film mulching with soil cladding cultivation (PM), whole biodegradable plastic film mulching with soil cladding cultivation (JM), and open ground treatment (CK) were carried out in 5 successive years from 2011 to 2016. The purposes of the study were to clarify the effects of biodegradable plastic film mulching on winter wheat growth in arid area, and to analyze the differences of the indexes including soil moisture content and temperature as well as the yield of winter wheat in its different growing periods. The results showed that the soil water consumption varied in an order of CK>JM>PM during the full growth period of winter wheat under different treatments, and the peak water consumption was in an order of pustulation stage>jointing stage>stage of seedling establishment. During the sowing-jointing stage of winter wheat, soil temperature in the morning, afternoon and at night was higher under JM treatment than that under PM and CK treatments. The temperature in soil layer of 15-20 cm in depth under JM treatment was 0.26 ℃ lower than that under PM treatment. From the stage of seedling establishment to jointing stage, the surface temperature under these 3 treatments was in an order of PM>JM>CK. During the jointing stage and after harvesting, the value of nitrate nitrogen accumulation within soil layer of 0-200 cm in depth was higher under JM treatment than that under PM treatment, and there was no significant difference of this index between JM treatment and CK treatment. Compared with the yield and water use efficiency under PM treatment, those under JM treatment were decreased by 3.43% and 5.55%, respectively. Under JM treatment, the 80% biodegradable plastic film was degraded after ploughing and burying for 90 days, and it was completely degraded after ploughing and burying for 135 days. Therefore, the biodegradable film can be used as a substitution of ordinary polyethylene film in cultivating winter wheat in arid area.

Key words: biodegradable plastic film, soil moisture content, soil temperature, winter wheat, yield, Gansu Province