Straw mulching has been used to improve water use efficiency (WUE, yield per unit evapotranspiration) in the Loess Plateau of China, but the seeding rate may need to be adjusted from conventional practice. We tested the three-way interaction between seeding rate, soil management (conventional tillage and straw mulching) and seasons. Wheat yield ranged from 2851 to 6981 kg ha-1 and WUE from 5.3 to 16.2 kg ha-1 mm-1. Generally, soil water storage was higher and soil temperature was lower under straw mulching than under conventional practice. Evapotranspiration was higher under straw mulching. Yield was significantly affected by the interaction between straw mulching and season. Conventional practice showed significantly higher mean harvest index (HI), yield, and WUE than straw mulching in favorable seasons. However, yield was significantly higher under mulching than under conventional tillage in very dry season. Seeding rate had no effect on yield, but low seeding rate increased HI compared to high seeding rate. It is concluded that low seeding rate would be suitable for straw mulching.
Agriculture Biological Transport