Effects of cover crop and N fertilization on soil moisture and crop yield in a dryland winter wheat field
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DOI:10.7606/j.issn.1000-7601.2018.06.18
Key Words: cover cropping  N fertilization  dryland winter wheat  precipitation storage efficiency  soil water  yield
Author NameAffiliation
ZHANG Qi College of Urban and Environmental Science, Northwest University, Xi’an, Shaanxi 710127, China 
WANG Jun College of Urban and Environmental Science, Northwest University, Xi’an, Shaanxi 710127, China 
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Abstract:
      A field experiment was carried out to study the effects of cover cropping and N fertilization on soil water and crop yield of dryland winter wheat. Five treatments including cover crops (ryegrass, Changwu cowpea, ryegrass mixed with Changwu cowpea, and fallow) and N fertilization (0, 60, 120 kg·hm-2) were included in a randomized complete experimental design. Compared with the fallow plot, multiple cropping of cowpea and ryegrass significantly impacted the precipitation storage efficiency decreased by 9.2% and 7.7%, respectively, soil water content before planting wheat decreased by 19 mm and 15 mm respectively, that resulted in significant decrease in wheat yield. However, ryegrass did not significantly affect the precipitation storage and water content. Application of N fertilizer before planting increased wheat production and also cover crop’s biomass but decreased soil water and precipitation storage efficiency. It is concluded that ryegrass can be used as a cover crop to increase soil coverage and fertility for the monoculture system of winter wheat in the dryland areas.