Effects of drip irrigation patterns on soil properties in cotton field

To investigate long-term impacts of drip irrigation on soil properties, fields sampling were adapted in the cotton field after 8 years fertigation with mulched drip irrigation (MDI) and subsurface drip irrigation (SDI) in Xinjiang, Northwest China. Results showed that soil bulk density at 10 cm was relatively higher in MDI, while higher soil bulk density of soil layers appears at 60 cm in SDI field. For soil EC, it had a slight lower in shallower soil layers and a significantly higher from 20 to 100 cm in MDI than that in SDI. The average soil EC value from 0 to 100 cm soil layer in MDI was 19.2% higher. The soil PH value in SDI was lower in shallower soil layers, and the residual of soil nitrogen was less than that in MDI. The differences of soil available P’s and soil available K’s content were not significant under two fertigation methods.