Li Juan, Niu Ziru, Guo Zhen, Li Jinbin, Ye Shenglan, Hua Dongwen
The Technology Innovation Center for Land Engineering and Human Settlements, Shaanxi Land Engineering Construction Group Co. Ltd and Xi'an Jiaotong University, Xi'an, 710049, China.
Key Laboratory of Cultivated Land Quality Monitoring and Conservation, Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, Xi'an, 710075, China.
Sci Rep. 2025 Jul 12;15(1):25242. doi: 10.1038/s41598-025-10956-5.
Exploring the impact of different tillage practices on soil moisture retention and crop yield in dryland winter wheat- spring maize rotation on the Loess Plateau is crucial for enhancing rainfall utilization and advancing tillage systems in arid agricultural regions. A long-term field experiment was conducted from 2019 to 2021 in the Weibei dryland area of the Loess Plateau to investigate the effects of conservation tillage. Continuous tillage (CC) was used as the control, with three alternative methods: no-tillage (NN), subsoiling (SS), and a combination of no-tillage and subsoiling (NS). The study assessed the impact of these tillage practices on soil water retention, bulk density, relative chlorophyll content, crop yield, and water use efficiency during both the fallow period and the growing seasons of winter wheat and spring maize. The results revealed the following: (1) All treatments effectively reduced soil bulk density in the 0-60 cm soil layer relative to pre-experiment levels and increased soil porosity. Among the treatments, NS was the most effective, reducing the average bulk density in the 0-60 cm layer by 0.1-0.2 g cm⁻³ and increasing porosity by 2.0-5.5% compared to the other treatments. (2) During the fallow period, tillage treatments significantly enhanced soil water content and storage compared to CC, with NN and NS treatments showing superior water retention effects. (3) In the winter wheat growing season, the average soil water content in the 0-200 cm layer for the NN, SS, and NS treatments was 4.8%, 5.4%, and 3.5% higher than that of CC, respectively. During the spring maize growing season, the increases were 49.3 mm, 17.7 mm, and 36.3 mm, respectively. All tillage treatments resulted in higher soil water storage in the 0-200 cm layer compared to CC, with NN being the most effective during the winter wheat season and SS during the spring maize season. (4) Compared to CC, all tillage treatments improved SPAD values, with NS showing the most significant effect. (5) All treatments increased the yields of both winter wheat and spring maize compared to the control, with increases of 5.4-10.0% for winter wheat and 7.3-18.7% for spring maize. Notably, NS significantly boosted crop yields. Water use efficiency improved by 1.2-6.0% for winter wheat and 5.5-31.3% for spring maize, with SS improving water use efficiency for winter wheat and NS for spring maize. In conclusion, the combination of no-tillage and subsoiling significantly improves soil quality, crop yield, and water use efficiency in the drylands of the Loess Plateau. This makes it a promising tillage practice for the sustainable development of dryland agriculture.
探究不同耕作方式对黄土高原旱地冬小麦-春玉米轮作体系中土壤水分保持及作物产量的影响，对于提高干旱农业地区的降雨利用率和推进耕作制度至关重要。2019年至2021年在黄土高原渭北旱作区开展了一项长期田间试验，以研究保护性耕作的效果。连续耕作（CC）作为对照，另外采用三种替代方法：免耕（NN）、深松（SS）以及免耕与深松结合（NS）。该研究评估了这些耕作方式在冬小麦和春玉米的休闲期及生长季对土壤保水能力、容重、相对叶绿素含量、作物产量和水分利用效率的影响。结果表明：（1）与试验前水平相比，所有处理均有效降低了0至60厘米土层的土壤容重，并增加了土壤孔隙度。在各处理中，NS最为有效，与其他处理相比，0至60厘米土层的平均容重降低了0.1至0.2克/立方厘米，孔隙度增加了2.0至5.5%。（2）在休闲期，与CC相比，耕作处理显著提高了土壤含水量和贮水量，NN和NS处理表现出更好的保水效果。（3）在冬小麦生长季，NN、SS和NS处理0至200厘米土层的平均土壤含水量分别比CC高4.8%、5.4%和3.5%。在春玉米生长季，增加量分别为49.3毫米、17.7毫米和36.3毫米。与CC相比，所有耕作处理在0至200厘米土层的土壤贮水量更高，NN在冬小麦季最为有效，SS在春玉米季最为有效。（4）与CC相比，所有耕作处理均提高了SPAD值，NS效果最为显著。（5）与对照相比，所有处理均提高了冬小麦和春玉米的产量，冬小麦增产5.4%至10.0%，春玉米增产7.3%至18.7%。值得注意的是，NS显著提高了作物产量。冬小麦的水分利用效率提高了1.2%至6.0%，春玉米提高了5.5%至31.3%，SS提高了冬小麦的水分利用效率，NS提高了春玉米的水分利用效率。总之，免耕与深松相结合显著改善了黄土高原旱地的土壤质量、作物产量和水分利用效率。这使其成为旱地农业可持续发展的一种有前景的耕作方式。
