To address agricultural water scarcity in northern arid regions and ensure the safety of unconventional water irrigation, this study investigates the retention characteristics of Cu²⁺ and Zn²⁺ in soil under irrigation with different water qualities, along with key influencing factors. Using sandy soil as the research subject, isothermal adsorption experiments, single-factor experiments (pH, salinity, dissolved organic matter—DOM), and multi-factor coupling experiments were conducted. The adsorption characteristics were analyzed using Langmuir, Freundlich, and Temkin models, and the interactions among multiple factors were examined using the Box–Behnken response surface methodology. The soil Zn²⁺ retention capacity under different water quality irrigation was in the following order: brackish water> pure water> reclaimed water> tap water; for Cu²⁺, the order was: reclaimed water > brackish water > tap water > pure water. pH was the key factor dominating the adsorption process, with Cu²⁺ achieving a removal rate of 99.99% at pH = 7, while Zn²⁺ approached complete removal at pH = 9. Salinity exhibited a slight promoting effect on adsorption within the range of 200~3 000 mg/L. The removal rates of Zn²⁺ and Cu²⁺ from the soil by DOM generally showed a tendency to decrease; however, at low concentrations of Dissolved Organic Matter (DOM), the removal rate of Cu²⁺ from the soil increased. Multi-factor coupling analysis indicated that the order of influence of the three factors was: pH > DOM > salinity. The findings of this study provide a theoretical basis and decision-making support for risk assessment and water quality regulation in unconventional water irrigation.

A systematic study was conducted on soil water and salt transport patterns under mulched drip irrigation conditions in the Hetao Irrigation District, focusing on the interactive mechanisms and underlying causes of groundwater depth, soil texture, and initial profile salinity distribution on water and salt migration processes. Taking the Hetao Irrigation District in Inner Mongolia as the study area, this research systematically simulated and analyzed the effects of mulched drip irrigation on soil water-salt transport under various soil textures (silty loam, sandy loam, silty upper layer over sandy lower layer, and sandy upper layer over silty lower layer) and multiple interactions of initial salinity conditions and groundwater depths. Results indicate that soil profile texture, particularly the texture of the upper soil layer, plays a dominant role in surface salinity accumulation. Salinity accumulation capacity: silty loam > silty upper layer over sandy lower layer > sandy upper layer over silty lower layer > sandy loam. Therefore, priority should be given to controlling areas with high surface soil salinization potential. To ensure that surface soil salinity under and above the drip irrigation film does not exceed moderate salinization by the end of the growing season, while considering ecological requirements, loamy soils and sandy loam soils should maintain groundwater levels at 3 m. Additionally, initial soil salinity should be kept at low levels (Type C: 0-1 m initial salinity 1.33 g/kg, 1~4 m initial salinity 4 g/kg), while increasing film width. Sandy loam and loamy sand soils require maintaining groundwater at 1.5 m depth, with higher permissible initial salinity values (Type D: 0~1 m initial salinity 1.33 g/kg, 1~4 m initial salinity 6 g/kg).

To investigate the effects of different saline water supplemental irrigation patterns on soil water-salt transport, nutrient content, and cotton yield. Using conventional freshwater irrigation (0.5~1.0 g/L) as the control (CK), six saline water supplemental irrigation patterns were established: G1 (one application during bud stage at 9.9% of standard rate), G2 (one application each during bud and flowering stages at 20% of standard rate), G3 (two applications during bud stage and one during boll stage at 28.9% of standard rate), G4 (twice during budding, once during flowering and boll development, 40% of standard rate), G5 (twice during budding, once during flowering, twice during boll development, 51.1% of standard rate), and G6 (saline water irrigation throughout the entire growth period, 100% of standard rate). Field trials were conducted from April to October 2024. Results indicated that under the saline water supplemental irrigation pattern, the G3 treatment effectively optimized the spatial distribution of soil moisture. During the boll opening stage, soil moisture content in the 0~40 cm layer was significantly increased by 23.1% compared to the CK, while also suppressing excessive salt accumulation at the soil surface. Treatment G4 demonstrated the most pronounced effect on enhancing soil fertility, increasing organic matter and total nitrogen content in the 0~20 cm soil layer by 56.38% and 64.71%, respectively. Moderate saline water supplemental irrigation promoted cotton yield increase and improved irrigation water productivity. Treatments G1 and G2 increased yields by 8.66% and 7.57%, respectively, while irrigation water productivity improved by 8.21% and 7.46%. However, excessive supplemental irrigation in treatments G5 and G6 led to significant decreases in both yield and irrigation water productivity. Therefore, under conditions of scarce freshwater resources, it is recommended to use brackish water with salinity levels of 5.21~5.92 g/L for one supplemental irrigation during the bud stage or for one supplemental irrigation each during the bud and flowering stages. These two supplemental irrigation patterns achieve an relatively optimal balance between regulating water and salt, maintaining fertility, and ensuring yield, providing a theoretical basis for the safe utilization of brackish water resources in cotton fields in southern Xinjiang.

Investigating the characteristics of soil water-salt transport, crop yield, and water use efficiency under salt-stressed mulched drip irrigation, and determining the suitable salt concentration of irrigation water for crop growth, are of great significance for improving water resource utilization efficiency. This paper investigated the water-salt dynamics in cotton fields under mulched drip irrigation with different irrigation water salinity concentrations, as well as cotton yield and water use efficiency (WUE), through field experiments. The results showed that the soil moisture content between drippers was significantly higher than that between belts in the 0~100 cm soil layer during the growth period of cotton, with the 40 cm soil layer reaching 32.6%, and soil salt content between drip belts in the 0~100 cm soil layer was higher than that between drippers. The treatment of irrigation water with a salt concentration of 3 g/L formed a diluted zone in the soil layer of cotton roots, with a soil salt content between 0.64 and 0.81 g/kg. The yield and WUE of cotton under the treatment of irrigation water with a salt concentration of 3 g/L were close to those under the treatment of conventional fresh water irrigation, and the yield of cotton under the treatment of irrigation water with a salt concentration of 6 g/L decreased significantly, with only 3 970.1 kg per hectare,compared to conventional freshwater irrigation, the yield reduction is about 23.5%. From the perspective of the soil water-salt environment for cotton growth, economic benefits, and efficient utilization of saline water resources, mulched drip irrigation with irrigation water salinity not exceeding 3 g/L can ensure that the yield and WUE of cotton reach the optimal levels.

Clarifying the mechanism through which new quality agricultural productive forces affect the green efficiency of agricultural water resources is essential for promoting high-quality agricultural development in the Yellow River Basin. The entropy method and Super-SBM model are employed to measure the new quality agricultural productive forces and the green efficiency of agricultural water resources in the Yellow River Basin from 2011 to 2023. A two-way fixed-effects model, mediation effect model, and threshold effect model are utilized to examine the influence of new quality agricultural productive forces on the green efficiency of agricultural water resources. ① The overall level of new quality agricultural productive forces in the Yellow River Basin is on the rise.The average green efficiency of agricultural water resources increased from 0.2061 in 2011 to 0.6766 in 2023, exhibiting a spatial pattern characterized by "middle reaches > lower reaches > upper reaches," "semi-humid regions > semi-arid regions," and "major grain-producing areas > production-consumption balanced areas." ② New quality agricultural productive forces have a significant positive impact on the green efficiency of agricultural water resources with heterogeneity, with more pronounced effects in the middle and upper reaches, semi-humid areas, and production-consumption balanced areas. ③ New quality agricultural productive forces influence the green efficiency of agricultural water resources through agricultural industry agglomeration, upgrading of agricultural industry structure, and technological progress in agriculture. ④ The impact of new quality agricultural productive forces on the green efficiency of agricultural water resources has a threshold limit on the level of economic development. It is recommended to utilize modern production factors to promote the development of new quality productive forces; adopt differentiated policies according to local conditions; and implement phased guidance in line with the stage of development.

In order to address the clogging problem of drip irrigation emitters caused by fine sediment particles ( particle size < 0.05 mm ) in the Yellow River water, the selection of suitable filters has remained a critical consideration. Taking the Yellow River water drip irrigation filter as the research object, through literature research, the experimental research trends of the working performance of various filters under different working conditions were systematically reviewed. The main factors affecting the filtration performance and hydraulic performance of the filter were identified. The general influence patterns and mechanism of various factors on the filtration effect and hydraulic characteristics were summarized. Finally, the issues and directions requiring further investigation were put forward. The main factors affecting filter performance are the sediment characteristics of the Yellow River water and the operating parameters of the filter. Compared with other types of filters, the sand filter have the most significant effect on the water purification effect of the Yellow River, but the small particle size filter material with high concentration of raw water or small particle size sediment is more likely to induce surface filtration phenomenon. The filtration accuracy of mesh and disc filters increases with the increase of mesh number, but simultaneously, this accelerates the process of filter cake blockage and flow channel blockage, resulting in increased head loss. The combined filter shows smaller hydraulic loss and better comprehensive filtration effect. When the sediment content of the Yellow River is high, the existing filtration equipment still falls short in removing sediment particles finer than 0.05 mm Future research should further explore the filtration performance of novel filter media and combined filtration modes under varying sediment characteristics of Yellow River water, and employ CFD technology to reveal the mechanisms by which key influencing factors affect filtration performance.. These findings aim to provide a solid theoretical and practical foundation for developing effective anti-clogging technology systems for drip irrigation emitters using Yellow River water.

Aiming at the problems of difficult gate cooperative control, insufficient manual scheduling accuracy and limited capacity for precise water distribution in the process of open channel water transmission and distribution in the Yellow River irrigation area, a MIMO linkage control method for open channel in irrigation area based on water internet is proposed. The hydrodynamic constraints are established by integrating the integral time-delay model and the Saint-Venant equations, and the quadratic performance index function is constructed. The KKT conditions is used to solve the optimal control action of all gates throughout the canal system, and a closed-loop rolling optimization mechanism is formed, which overcomes the bottleneck of deviation accumulation and inability to cope with multi-gate coupling under the traditional single-point response mode. The precise control system of open channel coordinated water volume in irrigation area is developed. Two parallel operational threads of monitoring analysis and dispatching control are adopted to realize the deep integration of integrated measurement-and-control gates and linkage control software and the batch issuance of instructions, so as to complete the transformation from theory to production application. The verification in the million-acre irrigation area of the West Main Canal shows that the operation deviations are rapidly corrected within the scope of a single management station, and the joint regulation and control across management stations is stable as a whole; the deviation of five of the six direct offtakes is obviously reduced after regulation, and the flow fluctuation is controlled within 0.02 m³/s. The water supply cycle was shortened from 18 days to 13 days. While the irrigation area increased by 14.5%, the annual water supply decreased by 14.7%, and the water supply per unit area decreased from 7 538 m³/hm² to 5 610 m³/hm², which effectively improved the accuracy of water transmission and distribution, water supply efficiency and water resources utilization level in the irrigation area, and provided technical support for the construction of digital twin irrigation area and intelligent irrigation area.

To address the multi-objective nature, fuzziness, and uncertainty of subjective judgments in the quality evaluation of drip irrigation tapes, this study proposes an integrated AHP-FCE comprehensive evaluation method—combining the Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) and Fuzzy Comprehensive Evaluation (FCE)—for the systematic and quantitative assessment of drip irrigation tape quality.Targeting the core quality characteristics of drip irrigation tapes, an analytic hierarchy model was established based on the AHP method, encompassing 3 primary indicators (dimensional specifications, hydraulic performance, and material properties) and 9 secondary indicators. The weights of the indicators were determined via expert scoring combined with a nine-point scale method. Utilizing the FCE method, a five-level evaluation set was constructed, and trapezoidal membership functions were adopted to convert measured data into a membership matrix. The comprehensive score was synthesized through the weighted average method, and quality grades were classified accordingly.Model verification results demonstrated that the judgment matrix of the evaluation indicators exhibited good consistency (CR < 0.1), and the weights of the primary indicators followed a gradient distribution of "hydraulic performance (0.637) > material properties (0.258) > dimensional specifications (0.105)", which is consistent with practical application requirements. Sensitivity analysis of the weights indicated that the average rate of change in the scores of the secondary indicators was only 0.21%–2.36%, reflecting strong model robustness.Application of this method to evaluate 10 types of drip irrigation tapes showed that the average comprehensive score of the tested products was 2.645, corresponding to an overall "general" quality grade (only 2 products achieved the "good" grade). Among the primary indicators, dimensional specifications performed the best (average score: 4.379), hydraulic performance was the poorest (average score: 2.192), and material properties presented a differentiated trend, with some products failing to meet the standards for ash content and tensile deformation.The AHP-FCE method proposed in this study provides a scientific tool for drip irrigation tape quality comparison, precise identification of quality issues, and quality control. It can also be extended to the comprehensive quality evaluation of similar agricultural inputs or other products requiring multi-criteria decision-making.

In order to study the response of different mid-season rice varieties to flooding stress, Huanghuazhan, Tianyouhuazhan, and Longliangyouhuazhan-major mid-season rice varieties in the middle and lower Yangtze River-were selected as research subjects. Through pot experiments, three flooding depths of 1/2(H1), 2/3(H2) and full flooding(H3) and three flooding durations of 3 d(T1), 6 d(T2) and 9 d(T3) were set up. The effects of flooding stress on plant height, tillering, relative chlorophyll content and yield of mid-season rice were systematically analyzed. Based on the correlation between relative yield and flooding factors, a drainage model was constructed to analyze the allowable time of drainage under different flooding depths, which provided a theoretical basis for the formulation of drainage indicators in irrigation areas. The results showed that flooding stress promoted plant height elongation, inhibited tillering and relative chlorophyll content, plant height elongation was significantly negatively correlated with tillering inhibition, and the stress response of each physiological index had significant variety specificity. The yield decreased significantly with the increase of flooding depth and duration, and the flooding tolerance thresholds varied considerably among varieties. Path analysis showed that seed setting rate was the core driving factor of yield loss. Based on data from rice flooding tolerance tests, the relationship equation between relative rice yield and cumulative flooding depth during the flooding period can serve as a drainage model for rice. Taking 10%~30% reduction of rice yield as the drainage standard, the drainage time under different flooding depths can be determined based on the regression equation.

Aiming at the management needs of farmland subsurface waterlogging damage, this study divided the growth cycle of upland field crops into seedling stage, vegetative development stage and maturity stage according to the differences in vertical distribution of root systems at different growth stages, and proposed growth-stage-specific water table control criteria for subsurface waterlogging mitigation, which is implemented through water level regulation of drainage ditches. A field water balance simulation model was established to simulate the variations of irrigation and drainage under the proposed criteria in different hydrological years. The results showed that the actual irrigation volume was reduced by 100%, 64.2%, 61.8% and 23.1% in wet year, normal flow year, moderate drought year and severe drought year, respectively, with the total drainage volume cut by 2% to 4%. Validated by field plot experiments, the model presented a relative error of less than 5%. This study demonstrates that the technology of growth-stage-specific setting of waterlogging mitigation criteria is technically feasible with integrated benefits of water conservation and drainage reduction, and can provide technical support for the prevention and mitigation of farmland surface and subsurface waterlogging, as well as the efficient utilization of agricultural water resources.

Addressing the urgent need for refined water consumption information in agricultural water resource management within arid regions, single remote sensing models exhibit limitations in simultaneously capturing physical mechanisms and spatial details when deriving evapotranspiration. This study integrates the Hybrid Twin-Source Trapezoidal Evapotranspiration Model (HTEM) with spatial downscaling techniques to balance the quality of regional cropland evapotranspiration retrieval with spatial resolution. Taking the Bosten Irrigation District (Korla Sub-district) in Xinjiang as a case study, this paper employs the HTEM model to simulate actual 2024 surface evapotranspiration at 250 m resolution. Subsequently, Sentinel-2 data is integrated to construct evapotranspiration allocation factors, enabling downscaling of evapotranspiration results to 10 m resolution. Spatiotemporal analyses of water consumption characteristics before and after downscaling are conducted. Validation demonstrates the HTEM model's robust simulation performance. Downscaling further enhances evapotranspiration retrieval quality at the field plot scale, reducing the Mean Relative Error (MRE) by 1.11% and 0.74%, respectively. The HTEM model calculated crop-season evapotranspiration at 520.9 mm, accounting for 87.6% of annual totals. Vegetation transpiration and soil evaporation contributed 82.8% and 17.2% of crop-season evapotranspiration, respectively. Downscaling significantly improved the spatial heterogeneity representation of surface evapotranspiration. Monthly farmland evapotranspiration values generally increased after downscaling compared to the original results, with growing season evapotranspiration rising by 16.5 mm. These findings demonstrate that the fusion factor-based evapotranspiration downscaling method can more precisely characterize the spatial patterns of farmland evapotranspiration, providing reliable support for refined agricultural water resource management in arid regions.

Soil erosion is a critical issue threatening global terrestrial ecological security. Karst areas, characterized by low soil formation rates, thin soil layers, and a surface-subsurface dual structure, make their soil erosion problems particularly sensitive and severe. To enhance the simulation accuracy of the Revised Universal Soil Loss Equation (RUSLE) in karst areas, this study aims to modify the model by introducing key environmental factors and conducts an empirical study using Pingguo City in Guangxi, a typical karst area in Southwest China, as a case study. Based on the RUSLE model framework, this study innovatively introduces the bedrock exposure factor (D) representing key karst surface characteristics for model modification. The soil erosion modulus of Pingguo City was then calculated, and the model simulation results were verified and evaluated for accuracy using actual data from the Pingguo National Field Scientific Observation and Research Station. The results show that: ① The soil erosion intensity in Pingguo City was predominantly slight and mild, accounting for 52.84% and 43.93% of the total area, respectively; ② After introducing D for modification, the simulation results of the RUSLE model significantly improve in consistency with the actual data from the field station. Through spatial consistency analysis, the Kappa coefficient increases from 0.538 to 0.737, significantly enhancing model consistency and effectively revealing the spatial differentiation characteristics of soil erosion in the region. Introducing the bedrock exposure factor into the RUSLE model significantly enhance its applicability and simulation performance in karst areas. This modified method provides a scientific basis and technical support for the precise assessment and comprehensive management of soil erosion in karst areas.

Selection of appropriate planting density and variety combination is an effective strategy for increasing maize yield. This study aims to reveal the effects of variety and planting density on the physiological characteristics and yield of summer maize in the semi-arid region of North China, so as to provide guidance for high-density cultivation and management of regional summer maize. A two-year field experiment was conducted during the summer maize growing seasons of 2024-2025. Two maize varieties were used: the compact-type Zhengdan 958 (P1) and the semi-compact-type Jingke 968 (P2). In the first year, two planting densities were set: 82 500 plants/hm2 (D2) and 103 500 plants/hm2 (D4). In the second year, two additional densities were included: 69 000 plants/hm2 (D1) and 93 000 plants/hm2 (D3), making a total of four density treatments. Population and individual growth indices, yield, photosynthetic physiological parameters, and lodging resistance characteristics under different planting densities were measured, and differences in various parameters among treatments were analyzed. The results showed that: ① Density had an extremely significant main effect on maize yield (P < 0.001), but the yield difference between varieties was not significant. With increasing density, yield initially increased and then remained relatively stable, peaking at the D3 density. ② Compared with D1, the D3 and D4 treatments significantly increased population biomass and leaf area index (LAI). Under the same density, the population biomass and LAI of P2 were higher than those of P1. Meanwhile, the leaf inclination angle at the jointing and tasseling stages decreased significantly with increasing density. ③ At the grain-filling stage, the leaf net photosynthetic rate, CO?-saturated photosynthetic capacity, and dark respiration rate under the D3 treatment showed no significant decrease compared with the D1 treatment. However, stomatal conductance, the maximum carboxylation rate of PEP carboxylase, and leaf water potential decreased significantly. ④ With increasing planting density, stem strength decreased significantly, potentially increasing the lodging risk of the maize population. Under optimized water and fertilizer management in the semi-arid region of North China, increasing the planting density of Zhengdan 958 and Jingke 968 to 93 000 plants/hm2 can achieve a significant increase in maize yield. This yield increase is mainly attributed to the simultaneous enhancement of ear number per unit area, population biomass, and leaf area index under high-density conditions, while key photosynthetic parameters at the single-plant leaf scale, such as net photosynthetic rate, showed no significant decrease. This study provides important guidance for the selection and management of high-density and high-yield maize cultivation patterns in the North China Plain.

The core of water-saving and efficiency enhancement in agricultural irrigation districts in plateau mountainous areas lies in the precision allocation of irrigation water volume. Aiming at the deficiency that traditional static water-soil balance methods ignore the dynamic changes of water use efficiency, a multi-dimensional dynamic correlation analysis model centered on engineering measures, irrigation quota, and effective irrigation water utilization coefficient was constructed. An empirical study was conducted with the Xishuangbanna Irrigation District in plateau mountainous areas as the research sample. The results show that: ① Under the current conditions of the irrigation district (canal seepage control rate of 90.21%, water-saving irrigation area ratio of 84.86%, and effective irrigation water utilization coefficient of 0.507 7), the allocated water volumes for full irrigation and deficit irrigation are 717 million cubic meters and 609 million cubic meters, respectively; ② When the canal seepage control rate is increased to 95.00%, the water-saving irrigation area ratio reaches 92.0%, and the effective irrigation water utilization coefficient rises to 0.620, the allocated water volumes for full irrigation and deficit irrigation can be reduced to 588 million cubic meters and 500 million cubic meters, respectively, with a decrease rate close to 18%. There is a significant dynamic coupling relationship between engineering measures, irrigation quota, and effective irrigation water utilization coefficient, which jointly determine the demand for irrigation water allocation. This study breaks the limitations of traditional static methods and provides a more practical methodological reference and decision support for the precision allocation of water resources and the practice of water-saving and efficiency enhancement in plateau mountainous irrigation districts.

To address the deviation in field applicability of traditional crop-salinity response models caused by ignoring the vertical uneven distribution of soil salinity, a pot experiment was conducted using the salt-tolerant edible sunflower cultivar LD5009 in the salinized soil of the Hetao Irrigation District, Inner Mongolia. Three vertical salinity distribution types (Type H: uniform distribution; Type A: lower salinity in the upper layer and higher in the lower layer; Type V: higher salinity in the upper layer and lower in the lower layer) and six TDS levels (0.24%~0.60%) were set up. Soil salinity, crop growth indicators, and yield data were systematically monitored. A dynamic correlation model between plant height and taproot depth was established to optimize the method for quantifying root zone salinity and modify the salt tolerance functions. The results showed that the sunflower roots were mainly concentrated in the 0~20 cm soil layer, where the coefficient of determination for the fitting between salinity and yield was the highest, making it the appropriate sampling depth for salt tolerance evaluation. The van Genuchten salt tolerance function outperformed the Mass-Hoffman function in fitting the yield-salinity response relationship, as it better reflected the differential sensitivity of crops in different salinity intervals. The optimal method for quantifying root zone salinity, which integrates taproot depth inferred from plant height, salinity magnitude, stress duration, and root-soil contact degree, achieved coefficients of determination of 0.929 (Mass-Hoffman function) and 0.957 (van Genuchten function) with yield, the highest among all quantification methods. The vertical salinity distribution type significantly affected the fitting accuracy: Type A had the smallest mean square error (0.05), while Type V had the largest (0.09). The upward migration of salinity caused by soil evaporation resulted in actual salinity values higher than the designed values in most treatments. The modified salt tolerance function established in this study improves the accuracy of crop yield prediction in salinized areas and provides a scientific basis for the selection of salt-tolerant crops and the optimal allocation of agricultural water resources in salinized soils.

To investigate the effects of plastic film mulching combined with soil amendments on soil nutrients, bacterial community structure and diversity, and maize yield in saline-alkali soil, and to clarify the amelioration effects of different treatments on saline-alkali soil. A field experiment was conducted with maize as the test crop. Eight treatments were designed: conventional fertilization + nitrification inhibitor (XH, 3.5 kg/hm²), plastic film mulching + conventional fertilization + nitrification inhibitor (XHF, 3.5 kg/hm²), conventional fertilization + urease inhibitor (NM, 3.5 kg/hm²), plastic film mulching + conventional fertilization + urease inhibitor (NMF, 3.5 kg/hm²), conventional fertilization + microbial agent (WSW, 38 kg hm²), plastic film mulching + conventional fertilization + microbial agent (WSWF, 38 kg/hm²), conventional fertilization (CK), and plastic film mulching + conventional fertilization (CKF). Under a fixed drip irrigation regime (irrigation quota of 4 200 m³/hm², 12 irrigations during the growing season), the effects of different treatments on rhizosphere soil chemical properties, bacterial community structure and diversity at different soil layers (0~20 cm and 20~40 cm) during the maize grain-filling stage, as well as dry matter weight and yield at maize maturity stage were analyzed. All amendment treatments significantly reduced soil pH by 4.27%~8.54% compared with CK, and increased soil nutrients. The total nitrogen contents in WSW and XH treatments were higher, increased by 48.42% and 29.47% compared with CK, respectively; nitrate nitrogen contents were increased by 101.9% and 87.09% compared with CK, respectively; organic matter contents in WSWF and XHF were increased by 26.47% and 21.24% compared with CKF, respectively. Plastic film mulching significantly increased ammonium nitrogen content, but had no significant effect on available phosphorus and readily available potassium. WSWF showed the highest ammonium nitrogen and available phosphorus contents, increased by 37.14% and 118.17% compared with CKF, respectively, while WSW showed the highest rapidly available potassium content, increased by 14.36% compared with CK. High-throughput sequencing results indicated that Actinobacteria, Proteobacteria, Acidobacteria, Chloroflexi, and Gemmatimonadetes were the dominant bacterial phyla in rhizosphere soil. NM increased Ace, Chao, and Shannon indices in 0~20 cm soil layer by 5.26%, 5.11%, and 6.14% compared with CK, respectively; while in 20~40 cm soil layer, CK and XH showed higher Ace and Chao indices, whereas WSWF and NMF were lower, decreased by 28.1% and 27.86% compared with CK, respectively. Maize yields in XHF and WSWF treatments were increased by 30.2% and 29.3% compared with conventional fertilization CK, respectively. Correlation analysis revealed that soil pH, nitrate nitrogen, ammonium nitrogen, and rapidly available potassium were significantly correlated with bacterial diversity (P<0.05). Plastic film mulching combined with soil amendments significantly improved water use efficiency (P<0.05), with WSWF and XHF increased by 34.3% and 33.6% compared with CK, respectively, and CKF increased by 9.8% compared with CK. Maize yield increase was significantly negatively correlated with the decreased abundance of bacterial communities including Verrucomicrobiota, Nitrospirota, Streptomyces, and Bacillus, and positively correlated with Armatimonadota (P<0.05). XHF and WSWF demonstrated superior performance in improving rhizosphere soil nutrients, optimizing microbial community structure, increasing maize yield, and enhancing water use efficiency, representing optimal choices for maize cultivation in the northern Ningxia region.