Soybean Cultivation in Desert Sand Using Drip Irrigation with Mulch
Yosuke Miyauchi1, Akihiro Isoda1, Zhiyuan Li2 and Peiwu Wang2
(1Graduate School of Horticulture, Chiba University, Matsudo 648, Chiba 271-8510, Japan; 2Urumqi Agricultural and Environmental Institute for Arid Areas in Central Asia, Urumqi, Xinjiang, China)


Abstract: The growth and yield potential in soybean were evaluated in the desert sand, in relation to in N accumulation of nodules and the effects of mulching. The experiment was conducted in concrete framed fields which were filled with the sand of Dzungar desert and the normal field soil in Shihezi, Xinjiang, China. Drip irrigation with or without mulch was adopted for the experimental fields. The mean soil temperature in the sand field with mulch was the highest among the all fields during the early growth stages. The relative ureide-N content in the soil fields varied from 23.2 % at the full flower stage (R2) to 37.6 % at the beginning maturity stage (R7). The sand fields showed higher values than the soil fields with a range from 48.7 % at R2 to 80.5 % at R7, indicating active N2 fixation by nodules. Seed yield was not significantly different between the soil and the sand fields, ranging from 394 g m-2 in the soil field without mulch to 472 g m-2 in the sand field with mulch. It was concluded that this experiment showed a possibility to extend cultivation in marginal areas of deserts, if adequate water supply for the drip irrigation and active nodulation could be available.

Key words: Desert sand, Drip irrigation, Mulch, Nitrogen fixation, Nodule, Soybean.