[Effects of tillage and mulching on orchard soil moisture content and temperature in Loess Plateau]

A field experiment was conducted to study the effects of different tillage system (no-tillage, rotary tillage, and plow tillage) and mulching (straw mulch, sod mulch, and film mulch) on the orchard soil moisture content and temperature in Loess Plateau. Under different tillage system, the soil moisture content in 0-1 m layer differed significantly in May, with the sequence of no-tillage (14.28%) > rotary tillage (14.13%) > plow tillage (13.57%), but had less difference in September. Straw mulch induced significantly higher soil moisture content than sod mulch, film mulch, and no-mulch. Among the treatments tillage plus mulching, no-tillage plus straw mulch resulted in the greatest soil water storage. The average soil temperature at daytime was in order of film mulch > no-mulch > sod mulch > straw mulch, and the change range of soil temperature was no-mulch > film mulch > sod mulch > straw mulch. Soil water storage under different mulching treatments was not always negatively correlated with soil temperature, but depended on the water conservation effect and heat-preserved capacity of mulching material. Above all, the main conservation tillage system for the orchards in Loess Plateau would be no tillage plus straw mulch.