Effects of water saving irrigation techniques on the field environment

The plastic sheeting used in farmland extremely pollutes and sabotages the soil environment. Some of the water-saving irrigation techniques, however, can complicate the pollution problem. Experiments were carried out to analyze the causes that the techniques of irrigation on plastic sheeting (IoS) and drip irrigation under plastic sheeting (MDI) (generally called the mulched irrigation techniques) obstruct the plastic sheeting from being cleared off farmland in Xinjiang. It is found out that the solidified earth covering on the plastic sheeting and the aged sheeting whose tensile strength was reduced, and that was the primary reason in clearing the plastic sheeting off the farmland. The present results give some suggestions for solving the pollution problem which benefit the improvement of clearing the plastic sheeting off field in mechanization.