%A LI Rong*, XIA Lei, WANG Yanli, WU Pengnian, YU Lin, YE Xubo, QIAN Pengª¤ %T Effects of water-retaining agent dose on soil water and nutrient contents, maize yield and economic benefit under drip irrigation %0 Journal Article %D 2018 %J Journal of Drainage and Irrigation Machinery Engin %R 10.3969/j.issn.1674-8530.17.0114 %P 1337-1344 %V 36 %N 12 %U {http://zzs.ujs.edu.cn/pgjx/CN/abstract/article_2611.shtml} %8 2018-12-25 %X In the Yellow River pumping irrigation areas in Ningxia, the land in the areas is subject to a severe lack of water, lean soil and low fertility, etc. To solve this problem, water-retaining agents can be applied potentially in the land. In the paper, Wote super absorbent polymers(SAP)was used as the water-retaining agent. A field study was conducted to investigate effects of SAP dose(0, 30, 60, 90, and 120 kg/hm2)applied in maize seedling stage on soil nutrient, water content and maize growth in various growth stages, and to decide the optimum SAP dosage in sandy soil under drip irrigation. The case without SAP was specified to be control group. The results show that the soil water storage capacity in 0-100 cm soil layer is increased with increasing SAP dose in the whole growth period. Particularly, the capacities are considerably increased by 14.0% and 17.1% at 90 kg/hm2 and 120 kg/hm2 doses, respectively, compared with the control group. At 60 kg/hm2 SAP dose, nutrient content in the soil tilth is enriched obviously, suggesting SAP has played a most important role in keeping and supplying fertilizer. Whatever SAP dose is applied can significantly promote maize growth, especially the 90 kg/hm2 dose can improve the growth in the silking period of maize significantly. At 60 kg/hm2 SAP dose, the maize yield, water use efficiency and economic benefit are 41.8%, 22.2% and 33.9% higher than in the control group, indicating this dosage is the best. Thus, properly using SAP can effectively improve soil water moisture and fertilizer conditions, promote the growth, and raise the maize yield and economic benefit. The optimum dosage of SAP is in the range of 60-90 kg/hm2 for the Yellow River pumping irrigation areas in Ningxia and it should be popularized in the future.ª¤