Increasing cotton lint yield and water use efficiency for subsurface drip irrigation without mulching

Introduction Planting without mulching can eliminate the residual film pollution caused by the long-term use of plastic film covers, but it will increase soil moisture evaporation and heat loss and severely reduce water use efficiency and cotton productivity in cotton (Gossypium hirsutum L.) fields in arid regions. It is unclear whether the advantages of subsurface drip irrigation and nighttime irrigation can be leveraged to reduce the amount of irrigation applied in fields, improve the soil and leaf hydrothermal environments, and increase the synchronicity of yield and water use efficiency (WUE).Methods Therefore, in a two-year field experiment (2019-2020), cotton was grown under different irrigation treatments (I5, 3753 m3 ha-1; I4, 3477 m3 ha-1; I3, 3201 m3 ha-1; I2, 2925 m3 ha-1; and I1, 2649 m3 ha-1). The soil volumetric moisture content, soil temperature, leaf relative water content (RWC), daily changes in gas exchange parameters, lint yield, and WUE were evaluated.Results and discussion The results showed that reducing irrigation can reduce the soil volumetric moisture content (0-40 cm soil layer), increase the soil temperature and soil temperature conductivity, and increase the leaf temperature, intercellular carbon dioxide concentration (Ci), and WUE; however, reducing irrigation is not conducive to increasing the leaf RWC, net photosynthetic rate (Pn), stomatal conductance (Gs), or transpiration rate (Tr). There was no significant difference in WUE between the I3 and I4 treatments from 8:00 to 20:00, but the lint yield in these treatments increased by 2.8-12.2% compared to that in the I5 treatment, with no significant difference between the I3 and I4 treatments. In addition, a related analysis revealed that the positive effects of the leaf hydrothermal environment on the Pn and soil temperature on the WUE occurs during the same period (10:00-16:00). Overall, an irrigation amount of 3201-3477 m3 ha-1 applied with a subsurface nighttime irrigation system without mulching can enhance the soil moisture content and soil temperature, maintain a high photosynthetic capacity, and increase the lint yield and WUE. These results revealed that the negative impacts of plastic film contamination in arid areas can be alleviated.