Yield and economic benefits of annual two-cropping in western Jilin Province

In order to provide a feasible theoretical guidance for local high-efficiency crop cultivation pattern, we conducted an experiment with two cropping annually, in the western part of Jilin Province-Changling county and Tongyu county, to explore the crop yields and economic benefits of Triticum aestivum, Avena sativa, Brassica pekinensis, and Brassica juncea in semi-arid areas.We used Zea mays monoculture as a control, and designed 3 treatments of the two-crops planting annually including Triticum aestivum/Brassica pekinensis, Triticum aestivum/Brassica juncea and Avena sativa/Brassica juncea.We planted Qianqing Triticum aestivum, Xiaobing Triticum aestivum, Australian Triticum aestivum and Avena sativa as the preceding crops, and Brassica pekinensis, Canola hyola Sinapis and Canola hyola Brassica as the subsequent crops.The results showed that the total growth period of the annual two-cropping planting patterns was 25~49 days longer than that of the Zea mays monoculture, and the total production value increased by 42.4%~94.0%.The production value of Avena sativa/Canola hyola Sinapis and Avena sativa/Canola hyola Brassica planting patterns was 51 092 yuan·hm^-2 and 50 042 yuan·hm^-2, and 1.94 times and 1.90 times higher than Zea mays monoculture, respectively.The optimal planting density of Avena sativa was 245 plant·m^-2, and the optimal irrigation rate for Brassica juncea was 4.52×10⁴ mm·hm^-2.The Avena sativa/Brassica juncea would be the best planting pattern in the semi-arid areas of western Jilin Province of China.