In order to determine the effects of bundled straw mulching on grain yield and water use efficiency(WUE) of winter wheat in a semi-arid rainfed area of Northwestern China,a field experiment was conducted under four cultivation patterns:bundled straw mulching and row-seeding(SM1),bundled straw mulching and wide belt planting(SM2),whole field plastic mulching with soil covering on the top of mulch and bunch-seeding(PM),and non-mulching with row-seeding as control(CK).Soil moisture content,grain yield and WUE for winter wheat were analyzed.For the three mulching treatments,the 0-20 cm soil moisture during the whole growth season and the 20-90 cm soil moisture before flowering were obviously higher than that in CK,however the 20-90 cm soil moisture after flowering and the 90-200 cm soil moisture during the whole growth season were lower than that in CK.The three mulching treatments were beneficial for wheat to absorb soil water and improved the water consumption amount from flowering to maturity stage and its water consumption percentage.As a result,the total water consumption amount in the bundled straw mulching treatments and in the plastic mulching treatment was 4.6% and 7.6% higher than that in CK,respectively.In the two straw mulching treatments,the 0-200 cm soil moisture before booting had no significant difference with that in PM,however the 0-200 cm soil moisture from booting to harvest was higher than that in PM.The 0-200 cm consumption of soil water storage in PM was higher than that in the straw mulching treatments,however the water consumption amount from flowering to maturity stage and its water consumption percentage was lower than that in the straw mulching treatments.Compared with CK,PM,SM1 and SM2 increased winter wheat yield by 36.8%,29.7% and 27.5%,and water use efficiency by 27.3%,23.9% and 22.7%,respectively.There was a significantly positive correlation between the crop productivity and the soil water consumption during the growth period(r=0.97*).In a comprehensive consideration of yield,water use efficiency and economic benefits,the bundled straw mulching is recommended as an applicable technique in semi-arid rainfed wheat production aiming at high yield and high efficiency. |