Influence of plastic film mulching and planting density on yield, leaf anatomy, and root characteristics of maize on the Loess Plateau

作者：Niu Li, Yanyan Yan, Peng Hou, Wenbo Bai, Rulang Zhao, Yonghong Wang, Shaokun Li, Taisheng Du, Ming Zhao, Jiqing Song, Wenbin Zhou · 发表于：The Crop Journal · 年份：2020 · DOI：10.1016/j.cj.2019.12.002 · 被引用次数：77 · 研究领域：Irrigation Practices and Water Management、Agronomic Practices and Intercropping Systems、Plant responses to water stress

In rainfed areas of northwestern China, maize production is constrained mainly by low temperature during early growth and water limitation during the entire growth period. Plastic film mulching is commonly used to increase maize yield in this area, because it increases topsoil temperature and moisture content as well as water use efficiency. However, the physiological and anatomical bases of maize yield improvement with plastic film mulching are not well understood. The effects of plastic film mulching and planting density on maize yield, photosynthetic characteristics, respiration, leaf anatomy, and root growth were studied in a two-year field experiment conducted on the Loess Plateau of China in 2017 and 2018. The experiment used a split-split plot design with two mulching treatments (plastic film mulching and no mulching), two planting densities (7.5 × 104 and 10.5 × 104 plants ha−1), and two maize cultivars, Zhengdan 958 and Xianyu 335. Compared with no mulching, plastic film mulching increased maize yields by 31.1%–46.4% in 2017 and 3.6%–34.7% in 2018. Compared with low planting density, high planting density significantly increased and slightly reduced yields of both cultivars in the dry year 2017 and the rainy year 2018, respectively. Plastic film mulching increased photosynthesis and respiration as well as leaf stomatal density and aperture. Photosynthetic rate, dark respiration, and stomatal conductance and aperture were lower at high planting than at low planting de...