Optimized length and application rate of chopped straw for alfalfa production in ridge-furrow rainwater-harvesting in semi-arid regions in China

作者：Xiaole Zhao, Qi Wang, Abdul Qadeer, Yuanwei Sun, Rizwan Azim, Ibrahim Awuku, Farzaneh Masoumkhani, Wen Ma, Qinglin Liu, Xunzhen Cui, Dong Haixia, Xuchun Li, Bing Liu · 发表于：Agricultural Water Management · 年份：2025 · DOI：10.1016/j.agwat.2025.109393 · 被引用次数：7 · 研究领域：Soil erosion and sediment transport、Environmental and Agricultural Sciences、Rice Cultivation and Yield Improvement

Water scarcity poses a significant challenge for alfalfa ( Medicago sativa L) cultivation in semi-arid regions in China. The conventional use of ridge-furrow rainwater harvesting (RFRH) with plastic film mulching in these areas has led to notable environmental repercussions. This study proposed an innovative approach in which RFRH was integrated with chopped straw-soil crust instead of plastic film. Runoff observations and alfalfa production experiments were carried out using a split-plot design to investigate the impact of varying chopped straw lengths (2 cm and 10 cm) and application rates (0 (R 0 ), 3 (R 3 ), 6 (R 6 ), and 9 (R 9 ) t ha −1 ) on runoff coefficient, soil water storage, temperature, fodder yield, and crop water productivity (WP C ). Results indicated that the average runoff coefficient for R 0 , R 3 , R 6 , and R 9 was 0.36–0.49, 0.41–0.59, 0.50–0.68, and 0.64–0.74, respectively. Compared to R 0 , the increase in soil water storage for R 3 , R 6 , and R 9 was 7.1–15.1, 15.0–26.5, and 20.1–44.2 mm, respectively. The reduction in temperature within the furrow profile for those treatments was 0.4–1.0°C, 0.8–1.3°C, and 1.1–2.0°C, respectively. The increase in fodder yield for those treatments ranged from 11.3 % to 34.0 %, 31.2 %-62.9 %, and 7.9 %-47.7 %, respectively, while the enhancement in WP C was 1.3–14.8, 5.1–27.9, and 2.0–20.7 kg ha −1 mm −1 . Notably, the average values for runoff coefficient, soil water storage, fodder yield, and WP C under 10 cm length ...