Gansu Agricultural University Develops New Technology for Drought Resistance and Yield Increase of Potato

The reporter learned from Gansu Agricultural University on the 3rd that the new dryland straw strip mulching potato cultivation technology developed by professor Chai Shouxi of this university has increased the yield of fresh potato to 1927.1 kg per mu, which is 868.1 kg and 483.9 kg higher than that of open field cultivation without mulching and black film mulching cultivation of fresh potato per mu, respectively, with an increase of 82.0% and 33.5%.

Recently, experts from Lanzhou University, Gansu Academy of Agricultural Sciences and agricultural technology extension departments at Gansu and county levels formed a joint yield measurement group to determine the field yield of the new technology of potato cultivation with banded straw mulching in dry land. The yield measurement demonstration field is located in Dianzi Village, Pingxiang Town, Tongwei County, Gansu Province. the control field is cultivated in open field with black plastic film mulching and no mulching.

Wang Yihang, head of the yield measurement group and a researcher at the Gansu Academy of Agricultural Sciences, believes that this technology has a significant effect on preserving soil moisture, cooling, and increasing production, especially in years of severe drought. "in the past three years, through 10 real yield tests of this technology by experts and extensive demonstration planting by agricultural technology extension departments in many areas, it has been proved that this technology can greatly increase production compared with uncovered planting, and the effect of drought resistance is stable. The yield is similar to or even higher than that of plastic film mulching."

The yield measurement group also believes that this technology can effectively reduce the land pollution caused by plastic film. at the same time, after straw mulching, rotary tillage is crushed and returned to the field, which is beneficial to the improvement of soil fertility and the combination of planting and cultivation.

Chai Shouxi said that in the process of planting, through the new model of "double-ridge and double-furrow corn straw local mulching", when the corn was harvested with full-film and double-ridge corn in the previous crop, the whole corn stalk was embedded on the small ridge between two rows of high stubble to form a banded mulch, and then grow potatoes on the big ridge. In the whole process, there is no need to move straw in different places, which not only makes it convenient to obtain materials and saves labor, but also has an outstanding effect of drought resistance and yield increase, but also establishes a reasonable rotation technical system of "planting corn with plastic film mulching and potato planting with corn straw mulching". The dependence on plastic film can be greatly reduced.

This year, Gansu experienced no severe drought during potato growth for many years, resulting in a big reduction in potato production and a shortage of supply in the market. "this technology is very suitable for popularization and application in dry farming areas with annual precipitation of 250 mm to 550 mm, and has a broad prospect. If it can be strongly supported by the government and agricultural technology extension departments, it is believed that the yield of dryland potatoes will be greatly increased in the future." Chai Shouxi told reporters. Reporter Zhang Wenjing