The Role of Soil Management Using Straw Mulch Application in Rainfed WheatProduction under Various Climatic Condition in a Semi-arid Area

Negative effects of sever climate conditions can be controlled by suitable soil management. Toward, this study was conducted to determine the role of wheat straw mulch in wheat yield in rainfed land in semi-arid region under different climate conditions. Four wheat straw mulches consist of 0, 33, 66, 100 % of surface cover (About 0, 2, 4 and 6 ton per hectar) were applied in crop plots with a dimension of 2m×5m during two growth year from 2016 to 2018. Climatic condition was assumed by Standardized Precipitation Index (SPI) and Reconnaissance Drought Index (RDI) for the wheat growth period and hydrological year both during a 2-year study period and long period from 1956 to 2016. Significant increases were observed with straw mulch applied in two study growth years (P≤0.001). Wheat grain yields increased about 3.5 and 2 times in 100 % straw mulch level applied (equivalent with 6 tha-1) as compared with counter treatment (0 %) in the first and second year, respectively. This result revealed that the application of straw mulch is a sustainable strategy to decline water deficit especially during extremely dry years in rainfed lands.