scholarly journals Deficit irrigation and fertilization strategies to improve soil quality and alfalfa yield in arid and semi-arid areas of northern China

PeerJ ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 6 ◽  
pp. e4410 ◽  
Author(s):  
Qianmin Jia ◽  
Muhammad Kamran ◽  
Shahzad Ali ◽  
Lefeng Sun ◽  
Peng Zhang ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Alkaline Phosphatase ◽  
Soil Quality ◽  
Deficit Irrigation ◽  
Biomass Yield ◽  
Northern China ◽  
Arid Areas ◽  
Abandoned Farmland ◽  
Irrigation Levels ◽  
Semi Arid

Background In the arid and semi-arid areas of northern China, overexploitation of fertilizers and extensive irrigation with brackish groundwater have led to soil degradation and large areas of farmland have been abandoned. In order to improve the soil quality of abandoned farmland and make reasonable use of brackish groundwater, we conducted field trials in 2013 and 2014. Methods In our study, we used three fertilization modes (CF, chemical fertilizer; OM, organic manure and chemical fertilizer; NF, no fertilizer) and three deficit irrigation levels (I0: 0 mm; I75: 75 mm; I150: 150 mm). Results The results showed that the activities of soil urease, alkaline phosphatase, invertase, catalase, and dehydrogenase in the OM treatment were significantly improved compared with those in the CF and NF treatments under the three deficit irrigation levels. Compared with NF, the OM treatment significantly increased soil organic carbon (SOC), water-soluble carbon (WSC), total nitrogen, microbial biomass carbon and nitrogen (MBC and MBN), and soil respiration rate, and significantly decreased soil C:N and MBC:MBN ratios and the metabolic quotient, thus improving the soil quality of abandoned farmland. Furthermore, the OM treatment increased alfalfa plant height, leaf area index, leaf chlorophyll content, and biomass yield. Under the CF and OM fertilization modes, the activities of urease and catalase in I150 were significantly higher than those in I0, whereas irrigating without fertilizer did not significantly increase the activity of these two enzymes. Regardless of fertilization, alkaline phosphatase activity increased with an increase in irrigation amount, whereas invertase activity decreased. Discussion The results showed that deficit irrigation with brackish groundwater under the OM treatment can improve soil quality. Over the two years of the study, maximum SOC, total nitrogen, WSC, MBC, and MBN were observed under the OM-I150 treatment, and the alfalfa biomass yield of this treatment was also significantly higher than that of the OM-I0 treatment. Therefore, the OM-I150 treatment could be used as a suitable measure not only to improve the quality of abandoned farmland soil but also to increase the alfalfa biomass yield in arid and semi-arid areas of northern China.

scholarly journals Assessment of Planting Method and Deficit Irrigation Impacts on Physio-Morphology, Grain Yield and Water Use Efficiency of Maize (Zea mays L.) on Vertisols of Semi-Arid Tropics

Plants ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 10 (6) ◽  
pp. 1094
Author(s):  
Hanamant M. Halli ◽  
Sanganabasappa Angadi ◽  
Aravind Kumar ◽  
Prabhu Govindasamy ◽  
Raghavendra Madar ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Zea Mays ◽  
Grain Yield ◽  
Deficit Irrigation ◽  
Morphological Traits ◽  
Zea Mays L ◽  
Yield Attributes ◽  
Planting Methods ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Irrigation Levels ◽  
Semi Arid

Agriculture in a water-limited environment is critically important for today and for the future. This research evaluates the impact of deficit irrigation in different planting methods on the physio-morphological traits, grain yield and WUE of maize (Zea mays L.). The experiment was carried out in 2015 and 2016, consisting of three planting methods (i.e., BBF, SNF, and DWF) and four irrigation levels (i.e., I10D: irrigation once in ten days, I40: irrigation at 40% DASM, I50: irrigation at 50% DASM, and I60: irrigation at 60% DASM). The results reveal that varying degrees of water stress due to planting methods and irrigation levels greatly influenced the maize physio-morphological traits and yield attributes. The combined effect of DWF + I50 benefited the maize in terms of higher leaf area, RWC, SPAD values, CGR, and LAD, followed by the SNF method at 60 DAS. As a result, DWF + I50 and SNF + I50 had higher 100 grain weight (30.5 to 31.8 g), cob weight (181.4 to 189.6 g cob−1) and grain yield (35.3% to 36.4%) compared to other treatments. However, the reduction in the number of irrigations (24.0%) under SNF + I50 resulted in a 34% water saving. Thus, under a water-limited situation in semi-arid tropics, the practice of the SNF method + I50 could be an alternative way to explore the physio-morphological benefits in maize.

Stimulation on the impact of afforestation on the groundwater table in arid and semi-arid areas in northern China

2017 ◽  
Vol 37 (3) ◽  
Author(s):  
鲁晨曦 LU Chenxi ◽  
曹世雄 CAO Shixiong ◽  
石小亮 SHI Xiaoliang
Keyword(s):  
Northern China ◽  
Groundwater Table ◽  
Arid Areas ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Semi Arid

Analysis of deficit irrigation strategies by using SUBSTOR-Potato model in a semi-arid area

2019 ◽  
Vol 157 (7-8) ◽  
pp. 578-591 ◽  
Author(s):  
F. Montoya ◽  
D. Camargo ◽  
J. I. Córcoles ◽  
A. Domínguez ◽  
J. F. Ortega
Keyword(s):  
Deficit Irrigation ◽  
Water Productivity ◽  
Model Performance ◽  
Arid Area ◽  
Point Of View ◽  
Tuber Initiation ◽  
Regulated Deficit Irrigation ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Irrigation Levels ◽  
Semi Arid

AbstractIn areas where water is scarce, the use of regulated deficit irrigation, combined with decision support system tools, may decrease the impact of agriculture on natural water resources, as well as on energy consumption, thereby improving the profitability of farms. With this aim, the SUBSTOR-Potato model (incorporated in the DSSAT Program) was evaluated with a 2-year field test (2011 and 2012) conducted in a semi-arid area (Albacete, Spain) applying four irrigation levels (120, 100, 80 and 60% of irrigation requirements). Subsequently, the model was used for simulating the potato yield under several deficit irrigation strategies (ISs) during 30 years of a semi-arid climate (1988–2017) and determining the most profitable option. The considered ISs were deemed those most suitable from the yield and water productivity point of view by some authors. The model performance for tuber yield was satisfactory with an index of agreement >0.91 and errors between 0.71 and 3.06 × 103 kg/ha. The ISs simulated with SUBSTOR-Potato showed that slight deficit irrigation (5–10%) may increase the water productivity and profitability of the farms. Moreover, tuber formation (from onset of tuber initiation to harvest) was shown to be the most sensitive stage, therefore it is highly recommended to avoid deficit during this stage, which would cause a large reduction in yield (around 8 t/ha, depending on the level of deficit suffered by the crop).

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