Effects of double mulched furrow-ridge cropping with film and straw on soil nutrients balance and maize yield in semiarid area of China

Split-plot designed field experiment was carried out to test the effects of film straw double mulched furrow-ridge cropping on soil nutrient balance and maize yield at Zhuanglang station of Gansu Academy of Agricultural Sciences in semiarid area of China during 2011-2013.The results showed that this cropping model had superimposed and amplified the effects of both the soil moisture and temperature increase of film mulch, the soil moisture and temperature adjust and maintain of straw mulch and the water harvesting of furrow-ridge cropping that significantly increased the 0-25 cm soil layer average temperature and 0-100 cm soil layer moisture by 3 ℃ and 3.71 percentage points compare with that of bare land cropping, which in turn effectively accelerated straw decomposition and nutrients release and resulted in an apparent effect of increase soil organic matter and available nutrients content after the second year applying. The three year average contents of soil organic matter, total nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium and available nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium at 0-40 cm soil layer had increased by 1.19%, 3.08%, 9.14%, 6.78%, 6.28%, 1.85%, 7.10% compare with that of bare land cropping, respectively. Soil moisture-temperature environment and fertility improvement had optimized crop growth habitat and effectively boosted maize growth and development, with significantly improving in yield traits of plant height, ear position, double ear rate, grain number per ears and 100-grain weight resulted in 64.22% yield increase than that of bare land cropping. So the crop model about film-mulched furrow-ridge cropping with straw returning underneath is recommended as the effective way of soil fertility improvement and maize efficient growth in 550 mm precipitation semiarid area of China.