Biodegradable mulching film with an optimum degradation rate improves soil environment and enhances maize growth

Yin, Minhua; Li, Yuannong; Fang, Heng; Chen, Pengpeng

doi:10.1016/j.agwat.2019.02.004

Cited by 94 publications

(46 citation statements)

References 46 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…However, different conclusions have been drawn in tall-stem crops, such as maize. Yin et al [26] found that biodegradable plastic film had the same warming effect as PE during maize's early growth period. However, different from peanut, maize's canopy intercepts sunlight after the jointing stage.…”

Section: Soil Temperaturementioning

confidence: 99%

“…Therefore, the yield obtained with the biodegradable plastic film treatment was not significantly different from that obtained with the common plastic film treatment. Yin et al [26] studied the effects of three kinds of degradable plastic film with different degradation rates on maize growth, and the results showed that the degradable plastic film with the medium degradation rate had the most obvious covering effect on maize growth, and produced the largest increase in yield and the highest economic benefit. This is consistent with conclusion from this study that the DM2 treatment produced the largest yield increase.…”

Section: Seed Yield and Qualitymentioning

confidence: 99%

“…At present, most of the studies on the degradation process of biodegradable plastic film have been based on qualitative observations [25][26][27] . Few studies have considered quantitative changes in the mechanical properties of biodegradable plastic film at different mulching times.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 2 more Smart Citations

Degradability of biodegradable plastic films and its mulching effects on soil temperature and maize yield in northeastern China

Zhang

Wang

Zhou

et al. 2020

International Journal of Agricultural and Biological Engineering

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Plastic film is an important resource in agricultural production, but it takes hundreds of years to degrade completely in natural environment. The large-scale use of plastic film will inevitably lead to serious environmental pollution. One way to solve the problem is to develop a substitutable mulching film, such as a biodegradable film that can ultimately be decomposed to water, carbon dioxide, and soil organic matter by microorganisms. In this study, a 2-year experiment was conducted to determine the degradation properties of a biodegradable plastic film, including degradation rate, surface microstructure, tensile strength and elongation at break, and the effects of different mulching treatments on soil temperature and maize yield. The mulching experiment was conducted with three different biodegradable plastic films with different degradation rates, using a common plastic film and a non-mulched treatment as control. With the addition of the additives for degradation in the biodegradable plastic films, the degradation rates increased significantly, which were 7.2%-17.8% in 2017 and 18.1%-35.2% in 2018 after maize harvesting. However, the degradation occurred mainly on the ridge side. The decrease in tensile strength and elongation was proportional to the degradation rate of the degradable film. The SEM results indicated that the surface microstructures of the biodegradable films were loose and heterogeneous after maize harvesting. Biodegradable plastic film mulching increased the soil temperature at soil depths of 5 cm, 15 cm, and 25 cm, over the maize's entire growth period, by 3.1°C-3.2°C in 2017 and 1.2°C-2.1°C in 2018 compared with the non-mulched treatment. The biodegradable plastic film increased the maize yield by 10.4%-14.3% in 2017 and 11.6%-24.7% in 2018. The soil temperature and maize yield increases were statistically significant; however, with respect to maize qualities, there were no statistically significant increases among the five treatments. This study shows that biodegradable plastic film can be used as a substitute for common plastic film. However, the ingredients in biodegradable plastic films should be improved further to ensure that they can be degraded completely after crop harvest.

show abstract

Section: Soil Temperaturementioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Seed Yield and Qualitymentioning

confidence: 99%

See 1 more Smart Citation

Degradability of biodegradable plastic films and its mulching effects on soil temperature and maize yield in northeastern China

Zhang

Wang

Zhou

et al. 2020

International Journal of Agricultural and Biological Engineering

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…A large number of studies have shown that soil temperatures and soil water contents under biodegradable film mulching (BFM) were similar as under PFM during the early growing season, decreased a little during the middle crop growth stage due to the partial degradation of the biodegradable film, and decreased significantly during the late crop growth stage due to the considerable film degradation (Gu et al, 2017;Saglam et al, 2017；Sun et al, 2018Wang et al, 2019a,b). Additionally, the rate of film degradation can be adjusted by altering ingredients of the biodegradable film to regulate and control soil water contents and soil temperatures during the crop growth season (Yin et al, 2019).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The effects of biodegradable and plastic film mulching on nitrogen uptake, distribution, and leaching in a drip-irrigated sandy field

Chen

Šimůnek

et al. 2020

Agriculture, Ecosystems & Environment

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Drip irrigation under plastic film mulching with applications of the N-fertilizer is an excellent agricultural strategy, resulting in saving irrigation water, improving N use efficiency, and increasing crop yield. However, the film residue and nitrate-nitrogen (NO 3-N) losses are the leading cause of non-point pollution in agricultural fields. To promote the development of sustainable agriculture, the HYDRUS (2D/3D) model was first calibrated and then validated using experimental data from 2016 and 2017, respectively, collected in the drip-irrigated sandy field with plastic film mulching (PFM), biodegradable film mulching (BFM), and no film mulching (NFM). Additionally, the NO 3-N spatial and temporal distributions, uptake, leaching, and use efficiency (NUE) under PFM, BFM, and NFM with 280 kg ha −1 of the N-fertilizer (the local recommendation) were evaluated using both observed and simulated data. These factors were also assessed under BFM with 210 (75 % of the recommended value) and 140 kg ha-1 (50 % of the recommended value) of the N-fertilizer. The results of numerical simulations were in good agreement with observations, with the RMSE, R 2 , and NSE during verification being 0.01-0.08 mg cm-3 , 0.62-0.87, and 0.68-0.94, respectively. When the same amount of the N-fertilizer (280 kg ha −1) was applied in each treatment, there were no apparent differences in NO 3-N concentrations in the soil profile, cumulative NO 3-N uptake by corn (CNU), and cumulative NO 3-N leaching (CNL) in the 100-cm soil depth between the BFM 280 and PFM 280 scenarios (the subscript indicates the amount of the N-fertilizer) during the early growing season (Day After Sowing [DAS] of 0-78 in 2016 and DAS of 0-92 in 2017). However, CNU and CNL were higher, and the NO 3-N concentrations in the upper soil layer (0−40 cm soil layer) lower in these two scenarios than in the NFM 280 scenario. The NO 3-N concentrations in the topsoil layer (the 0−20 cm soil layer) in the BFM 280 scenario were 3.9 % higher than in the PFM 280 scenario during DAS 93-154 in 2017 due to the disintegration of the biodegradable film and 26.3 % lower during DAS 79-155 in 2016 because of intensive rainfall. Additionally, the highest NUE (50.9 kg kg-1 , the average value for two years) was found when 75 % of the recommended N-fertilizer (210 kg ha −1) was applied. Therefore, an application of 210 kg ha −1 of the Nfertilizer in the BFM scenario can be recommended for sandy farmland to avoid plastic pollution, increase NUE, and effectively promote the development of sustainable agriculture.

show abstract

“…The yields of degradable plastic film treatments were 72–108% of the PE plastic film treatment. Yin et al 35 found that degradable plastic film with a suitable degradation rate could improve soil environment, promote the growth of maize plants, and increase income.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Effects of small ridge and furrow mulching degradable film on dry direct seeded rice

Zeng

Luo

et al. 2021

Sci Rep

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Global climate change and socio-economic development have led to a shortage of water and labour resources, which has had a significant impact on rice cultivation. In this study, the application of micro-ridge-furrow planting technology and degradable film mulching in dry direct-seeded rice was investigated to address the factors restricting the development of the rice industry and reduce the impact of rice production on the environment. The effects of a micro-ridge-furrow planting pattern and degradable film mulching on soil temperature, seedling growth, and yield of dry direct-seeded rice in a semiarid region of China were studied through three field experiments: micro-ridge-furrow mulching with traditional plastic film (T1); micro-ridge-furrow mulching with degradable film (T2); and traditional flat-cropping mulching with traditional plastic film (CK). The experimental results demonstrated that the micro-ridge-furrow mulching film planting pattern promoted the germination of rice seeds and improved the soil temperature, plant height, leaf area, dry mass, and grain yield. T2 had the highest average soil temperature (14.68–17.83 ℃ during the day; 14.4–15.74 ℃ at night), leaf area (41.85 cm2 plant−1), root dry mass (45.32 mg plant−1), shoot dry mass (58.46 mg plant−1), root–shoot ratio (0.821), and yield (8.112 t ha−1). In summary, the micro-ridge-furrow mulching with degradable film (T2) is recommended as an efficient planting and mulching pattern for sustainably solving environmental problems and improving grain yield in semiarid regions of China.

show abstract

Biodegradable mulching film with an optimum degradation rate improves soil environment and enhances maize growth

Cited by 94 publications

References 46 publications

Degradability of biodegradable plastic films and its mulching effects on soil temperature and maize yield in northeastern China

Degradability of biodegradable plastic films and its mulching effects on soil temperature and maize yield in northeastern China

The effects of biodegradable and plastic film mulching on nitrogen uptake, distribution, and leaching in a drip-irrigated sandy field

Effects of small ridge and furrow mulching degradable film on dry direct seeded rice

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About