Fertigation and Carboxymethyl Cellulose Applications Enhance Water-Use Efficiency, Improving Soil Available Nutrients and Maize Yield in Salt-Affected Soil

Abstract

Conventional organic soil amendments and drip irrigation are insufficient for mitigating soil salinization. The development of a more potent soil amendment with higher water retention capability is critical. Carboxymethyl cellulose (CMC) has excellent water retention and adsorption properties and is suitable for soil water retention and amendment; however, its effects on water and salt distribution, soil nutrients, and maize yield have not been clearly investigated. We set up five treatments with flood irrigation (CK), drip irrigation (W), drip irrigation combined with 100 kg CMC ha−1 (WC1), drip irrigation combined with 200 kg CMC ha−1 (WC2), and drip irrigation combined with 300 kg CMC ha−1 (WC3). Our findings demonstrate that the application of CMC in conjunction with drip irrigation led to a significant surge in soil water content within the 0–40 cm layer, ranging from 3.73% to 16.46%, while simultaneously inducing a reduction in salt content of 4.08% to 16.61%. Consequently, this resulted in a desalination rate spanning from 10.32% to 12.93%. The salt was gradually washed down and formed a desalination area with the drip emitter as the center, and the salt distribution characteristics shifted from a surface accumulation type to a bottom deposition type. The drip irrigation and CMC application also increased the content of available nutrients, reduced surface evaporation, underground water loss, and maize evapotranspiration, and improved water-use efficiency, thus increasing the aboveground biomass and grain yield. In summary, CMC had a significant effect on water retention, desalination, and yield increases. It can serve as a novel soil amendment for salt-affected soil.

Effect of carboxymethyl cellulose and gibberellic acid-enriched biochar on osmotic stress tolerance in cotton

“…CMC is a natural polymeric coating material that exhibits a multitude of beneficial properties and is suitable for water retention and soil conditioning under a stress environment [ 4 ]. It enhances soil water holding capacity and improves plant water utilization, negative charges on the carboxymethyl group interact with the cations of the soil solution and inhibit the stress condition [ 5 ].…”

Influences of Using Some Compounds That Retain Water Under Water Stress Conditions on the Productivity of Wheat (Triticum Activium L.) Grown in Sandy Soil)

“…the negatively charged carboxy-methyl group on the main chain of CMC can interact with the cations of the soil solution through electrostatic attraction. This affects the nutrients transport and distribution (Wang et al, 2023). Application rates 0.6 g kg -1 and/or 1-4 g kg -1 of CMC have inhibited the water infiltration, improved the loamy sand soil productivity, WHC, aggregate structure, and salt leaching efficiency (Wu et al, 2015;Ning et al, 2019;Tuan Mohamood et al, 2021;Jihong Zhang et al, 2022).…”