Better tillage selection before ridge—furrow film mulch can facilitate root proliferation, and increase nitrogen accumulation, translocation and grain yield of maize in a semiarid area

Plastic film mulch systems are used widely in arid areas, and the associated tillage measures affect soil properties, root and crop growth, and nutrient uptake. However, much debate surrounds the most suitable tillage method for plastic film mulch systems. We conducted a two-year field experiment to explore the impact of three tillage treatments - rotary tillage before ridge–furrow plastic film mulch (MR), no-tillage before ridge–furrow plastic film mulch (MZ), and plow tillage before ridge–furrow plastic film mulch (MP) - on soil total nitrogen, available nitrogen, root stratification structure, nitrogen transfer and utilization, and maize yield. The results showed that MP had better soil quality than either MR or MZ over 2019 and 2020, with higher nitrate-nitrogen and total nitrogen in the 0–40 cm soil layer. MP improved the soil physicochemical properties more than the other treatments, producing significantly higher root numbers and root biomass for the aerial and underground nodal roots than MR and MZ. At harvest, MP had the highest root biomass density, root length density, and root surface area density in the different soil layers (0–20, 20–40, and 0–40 cm). Significant correlations occurred between root biomass and aboveground nitrogen accumulation during maize growth. During grain filling, MP had the greatest nitrogen transfer amount, significantly increasing root and aboveground nitrogen transfer by 19.63–45.82% and 11.15–24.56%, respectively, relative to the other treatments. MP significantly produced 1.36–26.73% higher grain yields and a higher grain crude protein content at harvest than MR and MZ. MP also had higher values for the nitrogen harvest index, nitrogen uptake efficiency, and partial factor productivity of nitrogen fertilizer than MR and MZ. In conclusion, plow tillage combined with a ridge–furrow plastic film mulch system facilitated maize root development and improved nitrogen utilization, thereby increasing maize yield more than the other treatments.