Impact of Rice Straw Mulch on Soil Physical Properties, Sunflower Root Distribution and Yield in a Salt-Affected Clay-Textured Soil
Puddling of clay soils for rice transplanting causes a loss of soil structure and vertical shrinkage cracks that are hypothesized to hamper sunflower root growth in the following dry season. To alleviate soil constraints for sunflower root growth and yield, we examined the effects of three levels of...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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MDPI AG
2021-03-01
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| Series: | Agriculture |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2077-0472/11/3/264 |
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| author | Priya Lal Chandra Paul Richard W Bell Edward G. Barrett-Lennard Enamul Kabir |
| author_facet | Priya Lal Chandra Paul Richard W Bell Edward G. Barrett-Lennard Enamul Kabir |
| author_sort | Priya Lal Chandra Paul |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Puddling of clay soils for rice transplanting causes a loss of soil structure and vertical shrinkage cracks that are hypothesized to hamper sunflower root growth in the following dry season. To alleviate soil constraints for sunflower root growth and yield, we examined the effects of three levels of mulch and two irrigation regimes in the dry season on a clay-textured soil in the coastal zone of Bangladesh. These treatments were no-mulch, rice straw mulch at 5 t ha<sup>−1</sup> and 10 t ha<sup>−1</sup>, irrigation applied to the field capacity (I1) and a water supply double that of the I1 treatment (I2). The rice straw mulch significantly increased soil water content by 3–9% and decreased soil penetration resistance by 28–77% and crack volume by 84–91% at A 0–30 cm soil depth relative to the no-mulch treatment. The better root development with the rice straw mulch increased sunflower yield by 23%. No benefit or further reduction in soil penetration resistance or yield improvement was obtained from increasing the level of mulch from 5 to 10 t ha<sup>−1</sup> or the volume of irrigation water. It is concluded that ameliorating soil constraints by mulch application led to better root growth in the upper root zone and the increased yield in the clay soil. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-10T13:05:00Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-912149cd206d435799c4c82ff227ad12 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2077-0472 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-10T13:05:00Z |
| publishDate | 2021-03-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Agriculture |
| spelling | doaj.art-912149cd206d435799c4c82ff227ad122023-11-21T11:14:15ZengMDPI AGAgriculture2077-04722021-03-0111326410.3390/agriculture11030264Impact of Rice Straw Mulch on Soil Physical Properties, Sunflower Root Distribution and Yield in a Salt-Affected Clay-Textured SoilPriya Lal Chandra Paul0Richard W Bell1Edward G. Barrett-Lennard2Enamul Kabir3Land Management Group, Centre for Sustainable Farming Systems, Future Food Institute, Murdoch University, Murdoch, WA 6150, AustraliaLand Management Group, Centre for Sustainable Farming Systems, Future Food Institute, Murdoch University, Murdoch, WA 6150, AustraliaLand Management Group, Centre for Sustainable Farming Systems, Future Food Institute, Murdoch University, Murdoch, WA 6150, AustraliaAgrotechnology Discipline, Khulna University, Khulna 9208, BangladeshPuddling of clay soils for rice transplanting causes a loss of soil structure and vertical shrinkage cracks that are hypothesized to hamper sunflower root growth in the following dry season. To alleviate soil constraints for sunflower root growth and yield, we examined the effects of three levels of mulch and two irrigation regimes in the dry season on a clay-textured soil in the coastal zone of Bangladesh. These treatments were no-mulch, rice straw mulch at 5 t ha<sup>−1</sup> and 10 t ha<sup>−1</sup>, irrigation applied to the field capacity (I1) and a water supply double that of the I1 treatment (I2). The rice straw mulch significantly increased soil water content by 3–9% and decreased soil penetration resistance by 28–77% and crack volume by 84–91% at A 0–30 cm soil depth relative to the no-mulch treatment. The better root development with the rice straw mulch increased sunflower yield by 23%. No benefit or further reduction in soil penetration resistance or yield improvement was obtained from increasing the level of mulch from 5 to 10 t ha<sup>−1</sup> or the volume of irrigation water. It is concluded that ameliorating soil constraints by mulch application led to better root growth in the upper root zone and the increased yield in the clay soil.https://www.mdpi.com/2077-0472/11/3/264crack dimensionsoil water contentsoil penetration resistancesunflower yield |
| spellingShingle | Priya Lal Chandra Paul Richard W Bell Edward G. Barrett-Lennard Enamul Kabir Impact of Rice Straw Mulch on Soil Physical Properties, Sunflower Root Distribution and Yield in a Salt-Affected Clay-Textured Soil Agriculture crack dimension soil water content soil penetration resistance sunflower yield |
| title | Impact of Rice Straw Mulch on Soil Physical Properties, Sunflower Root Distribution and Yield in a Salt-Affected Clay-Textured Soil |
| title_full | Impact of Rice Straw Mulch on Soil Physical Properties, Sunflower Root Distribution and Yield in a Salt-Affected Clay-Textured Soil |
| title_fullStr | Impact of Rice Straw Mulch on Soil Physical Properties, Sunflower Root Distribution and Yield in a Salt-Affected Clay-Textured Soil |
| title_full_unstemmed | Impact of Rice Straw Mulch on Soil Physical Properties, Sunflower Root Distribution and Yield in a Salt-Affected Clay-Textured Soil |
| title_short | Impact of Rice Straw Mulch on Soil Physical Properties, Sunflower Root Distribution and Yield in a Salt-Affected Clay-Textured Soil |
| title_sort | impact of rice straw mulch on soil physical properties sunflower root distribution and yield in a salt affected clay textured soil |
| topic | crack dimension soil water content soil penetration resistance sunflower yield |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2077-0472/11/3/264 |
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