Abstract
In arid regions, higher irrigation quota for conventional farming causes substantial conflict between water supply and demand for crop production. Innovations in cropping systems are needed to alleviate this issue. A field experiment was conducted in northwestern China to assess whether straw and plastic managements in wheat/maize intercropping could alleviate these issues. Integrating no tillage with two-year plastic and straw mulching (NTMI2) improved grain yields by 13.8-17.1%, compared to conventional tillage without straw residue and annual new plastic mulching (CTI). The NTMI2 treatment reduced soil evaporation by 9.0-17.3% and the proportion of evaporation to evapotranspiration (E/ET) by 8.6-17.5%, compared to CTI. The NTMI2 treatment weakened wheat competition of soil moisture from maize strip during wheat growth period, and enhanced wheat compensation of soil moisture for maize growth after wheat harvest, compared with CTI. Thus, soil water movement potential of NTMI2 was lowest during wheat growth period, but it was highest during maize-independent growth stage after wheat harvest. The NTMI2 treatment increased evapotranspiration before maize silking, decreased from maize silking to early-filling stage, and increased after the early-filling stage of maize, this effectively coordinated water demand contradiction of intercrops at early and late stages. The NTMI2 treatment improved WUE by 12.4-17.2%, compared with CTI. The improved crop yields and WUE was attributed to the coordinated water competition and compensation, and the decreased soil evaporation and E/ET.
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Claims 11
Claim · model-written summary
NTMI2 increased grain yields over CTI by 13.8-17.1%.
- Taxon
- wheat/maize
Triticum aestivum
Zea mayse1 - Treatment
- Integrating no tillage with two-year plastic and straw mulching (NTMI2)e0
- Outcome
- grain yieldse0
- Direction
- improvede0
- Value
- 13.8-17.1%e0
- Comparator
- conventional tillage without straw residue and annual new plastic mulching (CTI)e0
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.


Verbatim
e0“Integrating no tillage with two-year plastic and straw mulching (NTMI2) improved grain yields by 13.8-17.1%, compared to conventional tillage without straw residue and annual new plastic mulching (CTI)”
e1“wheat/maize intercropping”
Claim · model-written summary
NTMI2 reduced soil evaporation by 9.0-17.3%.
- Taxon
- wheat/maize
Triticum aestivum
Zea mayse1 - Treatment
- NTMI2e0
- Outcome
- soil evaporatione0
- Direction
- reducede0
- Value
- 9.0-17.3%e0
- Comparator
- CTIe0
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.


Verbatim
e0“The NTMI2 treatment reduced soil evaporation by 9.0-17.3% and the proportion of evaporation to evapotranspiration (E/ET) by 8.6-17.5%, compared to CTI”
e1“wheat/maize intercropping”
Claim · model-written summary
NTMI2 reduced E/ET by 8.6-17.5%.
- Taxon
- wheat/maize
Triticum aestivum
Zea mayse1 - Treatment
- NTMI2e0
- Outcome
- proportion of evaporation to evapotranspiration (E/ET)e0
- Direction
- reducede0
- Value
- 8.6-17.5%e0
- Comparator
- CTIe0
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.


Verbatim
e0“The NTMI2 treatment reduced soil evaporation by 9.0-17.3% and the proportion of evaporation to evapotranspiration (E/ET) by 8.6-17.5%, compared to CTI”
e1“wheat/maize intercropping”
Claim · model-written summary
NTMI2 weakened wheat competition for maize strip moisture.
- Taxon
- wheat
Triticum aestivume0 - Treatment
- NTMI2e0
- Outcome
- wheat competition of soil moisture from maize stripe0
- Direction
- weakenede0
- Comparator
- CTIe0
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.

Verbatim
e0“The NTMI2 treatment weakened wheat competition of soil moisture from maize strip during wheat growth period, and enhanced wheat compensation of soil moisture for maize growth after wheat harvest, compared with CTI”
Claim · model-written summary
NTMI2 enhanced wheat moisture compensation after harvest.
- Taxon
- wheat
Triticum aestivume0 - Treatment
- NTMI2e0
- Outcome
- wheat compensation of soil moisture for maize growthe0
- Direction
- enhancede0
- Comparator
- CTIe0
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.

Verbatim
e0“The NTMI2 treatment weakened wheat competition of soil moisture from maize strip during wheat growth period, and enhanced wheat compensation of soil moisture for maize growth after wheat harvest, compared with CTI”
Claim · model-written summary
NTMI2 had lowest soil water movement potential during wheat growth.
- Taxon
- wheat/maize
Triticum aestivum
Zea mayse1 - Treatment
- NTMI2e0
- Outcome
- soil water movement potentiale0
- Direction
- loweste0
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.


Verbatim
e0“soil water movement potential of NTMI2 was lowest during wheat growth period”
e1“wheat/maize intercropping”
Claim · model-written summary
NTMI2 had highest soil water movement potential after wheat harvest.
- Taxon
- wheat/maize
Triticum aestivum
Zea mayse2 - Treatment
- NTMI2e1
- Outcome
- soil water movement potentiale1
- Direction
- higheste0
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.


Verbatim
e0“it was highest during maize-independent growth stage after wheat harvest”
e1“soil water movement potential of NTMI2”
e2“wheat/maize intercropping”
Claim · model-written summary
NTMI2 increased evapotranspiration before maize silking.
Not reportedComparator
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.

Verbatim
e0“The NTMI2 treatment increased evapotranspiration before maize silking”
Claim · model-written summary
NTMI2 decreased evapotranspiration between silking and early filling.
Not reportedComparator
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.

Verbatim
e0“The NTMI2 treatment increased evapotranspiration before maize silking, decreased from maize silking to early-filling stage”
e1“wheat/maize intercropping”
Claim · model-written summary
NTMI2 increased evapotranspiration after early filling.
Not reportedComparator
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.

Verbatim
e0“The NTMI2 treatment increased evapotranspiration before maize silking, decreased from maize silking to early-filling stage, and increased after the early-filling stage of maize”
Claim · model-written summary
NTMI2 improved water use efficiency by 12.4-17.2%.
- Taxon
- wheat/maize
Triticum aestivum
Zea mayse1 - Treatment
- NTMI2e0
- Outcome
- WUEe0
- Direction
- improvede0
- Value
- 12.4-17.2%e0
- Comparator
- CTIe0
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.


Verbatim
e0“The NTMI2 treatment improved WUE by 12.4-17.2%, compared with CTI”
e1“wheat/maize intercropping”
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