Water-use efficiency of dryland wheat in response to mulching and tillage practices on the Loess Plateau.

ABSTRACT: Mulching and tillage are widely considered to be major practices for improving soil and water conservation where water is scarce. This paper studied the effects of FM (flat mulching), RFM (ridge-furrow mulching), SM (straw mulching), MTMC (mulching with two materials combined), MOM (mulching with other materials), NT (no-tillage) ST (subsoiling tillage) and RT (rotational tillage) on wheat yield based on a synthesis of 85 recent publications (including 2795 observations at 24 sites) in the Loess Plateau, China. This synthesis suggests that wheat yield was in the range of 259-7898 kg ha(-1) for FM and RFM. The sequence of water use efficiency (WUE) effect sizes was similar to that of wheat yield for the practices. Wheat yields were more sensitive to soil water at planting covered by plastic

SUBMITTER: Wang LF 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4507400 | biostudies-literature | 2015 Jul

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature