Mulching-Induced Changes in Tuber Yield and Nitrogen Use Efficiency in Potato in China: A Meta-Analysis

Abstract

In dry environments, potato (Solanum tuberosum L.) is grown under mulching for water conservation and improving tuber yield and nitrogen use efficiency (NUE). A meta-analysis was conducted to determine how mulching improved tuber yield and NUE in potato and how yield and NUE is influenced by fertilization, tillage practices, and growing environment in China. A search of peer-reviewed publications was performed to collect data on the effects of mulching on yield and NUE in potato grown in China. The data included were from field studies with a mulching and a no mulching treatment and data on tuber yield and NUE. A total of 169 publications (17 in English and 152 in Chinese) containing 1802 observations from 105 sites were compiled into the dataset. Mulching significantly increased both tuber yield and NUE by an average of 24% compared to no mulching, respectively. Plastic film mulching was more effective in improving yield and NUE than straw mulching. The yield and NUE increase were highest under plastic film mulching on ridge-furrow plots and straw mulching on flat plots. Mulching was more effective at improving yield and NUE in the Northwest dryland region at a plant density between 55,000 and 70,000 plants ha−1 and with application of synthetic N and P2O5 at rates of 100−200 kg ha−1, K fertilization at 0−100 kg K2O ha−1, and without organic fertilization. Integrated use of organic fertilizer and mulching was found to reduce synthetic N and P fertilizer input by 50% and K fertilizer input by 100% for production without affecting yield and NUE. These results demonstrate that mulching increases yield and NUE in potato in China, but the benefits occur when the growing region, tillage, and fertilization practices are appropriately considered.

Influence of plastic film mulch with biochar application on crop yield, evapotranspiration, and water use efficiency in northern China: A meta-analysis

“…Simulation of soil water and heat flow in ridge cultivation with plastic film mulching on the Chinese Loess Plateau decreased ET where plastic film mulching was less efficient practice for increasing WUE in dryland agriculture (Zhao et al, 2018). Plastic film mulching can provide conducive surroundings for attaining high potato yield (Wang et al, 2019) and facilitating maize grain filling hence maximizing yield (Liu et al, 2016). Consequently, plastic film mulched ridge-furrow approach may serve as a promising agronomic method in arid and semiarid regions to increase potato yield (Qin et al, 2016).…”

Yield, Economic Benefit, Soil Water Balance, and Water Use Efficiency of Intercropped Maize/Potato in Responses to Mulching Practices on the Semiarid Loess Plateau

“…Intercropping had increased LER and WER, especially for FMRFm/NMFp, which is consistent with the previous studies [5,7,37,38]. The mechanisms for high LER and WER in the maize/potato intercropping might be: (1) complementarity for water use between maize and potato due to the difference in root distribution of the component crops along with soil layer [37,38,49], for example, the roots of potato mainly distributes 0-40 cm soil layer [50], but the root system of maize can reach to 100 cm soil depth and could extract stored soil water from deeper soil layers [38], and complementarity for a light interception as a result of increased crop canopy architecture under the relatively low planting density in intercropping, leading to increased production of dry matter, thereby increased yields [7,17]; (2) potato is a shade loving crop [51][52][53], and thus aboveground shading from intercropped maize might be beneficial for the growth and yield. These changes under intercropping were beneficial towards promoting land productivity and water use efficiency when compared to monocropping.…”

Soil Fertility Management for Better Crop Production

“…Wang et al [31] conducted a meta-analysis of 169 field studies to assess mulching effects on potato yield and nitrogen use efficiency (NUE) in arid climates. The results demonstrated that mulching significantly increased yield and NUE; however, combining organic fertilizers with mulching substantially reduced NPK fertilizer input without affecting potato yield or NUE.…”