Effects of different film mulching and planting patterns on growth and development of millet in dry-farming area of northwest China

The experiment was conducted to investigate the effects of different film mulching and planting patterns on photosynthesis,growth rate and yield of millet by adopting 5 treatments,i.e.,flat planting and no plastic film mulching(NM),ridge film mulching and furrow seeding(RFFS),full plastic film mulching and furrow seeding(FFFS),full plastic film mulching and bunch planting(FFBP),and full plastic film mulching on double ridges and planting in catchment furrows(FFDRF).The results showed that,the film mulching patterns improved the net photosynthetic rate and water use efficiency during the growth period of millet.At heading stage,the photosynthetic rate and water use efficiency of millet under film mulching patterns were increased by 9.8%～28.5% and 3.0%～18.1% respectively compared to those of no mulching.The film mulching patterns also significantly accelerated the growth rate during the growing period of millet.From the seedling to maturity stage,the average growth rate of millet under film mulching patterns was 28.7%～35.5% faster than that of no mulching.The film mulching patterns could significantly increase the yield of millet,which was 3 429.00～4 233.60 kg·hm-2,being 30.87%～61.57% higher compared with no mulching.