Influence of continuous plastic film mulching on yield, water use efficiency and soil properties of rice fields under non-flooding condition

Five field experiments were conducted to study the effects of continuous plastic film mulching on rice yield, water use efficiency and soil properties on different soils with great environmental variabilities in Zhejiang Province, China, under non-flooding condition. The experiment started in 2001 at five sites and ended in 2003 with one rice crop annually. Three treatments included plastic film mulching with no flooding (PM), no plastic film mulching and no flooding (UM), and traditional flooding management (TF). Soil samples were collected after the third year of the experimentation and were analyzed for soil properties. PM increased soil temperature, accelerated decomposition of organic carbon and root growth, there was a slight but statistically insignificant trend of decline in soil bulk density. PM produced the similar rice grain yield as TF at two sites, significantly higher grain yield (5.8% and 20.0% higher) at other two sites, but significantly lower (34.3% lower) yield at one site where no irrigation water was applied and rainfall was the sole water source for rice growth. PM increased water use efficiency by 69.6–106.0% and irrigation water use efficiency by 273.7–519.6%. Compared to TF, PM decreased soil organic matter content by 8.3–24.5%, soil total N by 5.2–22.0%, and available K by 9.6–50.4% at all sites. PM treatment also reduced soil available N by 8.5–26.5% at four sites. Soil total P content in PM treatments reduced by 13.5–27.8% at three sites, and increased by 6.6–8.2% at other two sites. However, PM increased soil available P by 20.9–64.7% at all sites. Systematic cluster analysis indicated the PM treatment distinctively clustered from the other treatment. These results suggested PM could gain higher yield under appropriate water condition and PM may change soil nutrient cycle.