Effects of the application of different improved materials on reclaimed soil structure and maize yield of Hollow Village in Loess Area

In order to solve the soil problem of poor structure and low fertility after the abandoned homestead reclamation of Hollow Village in Loess Area and to improve the quality of the reclaimed soil in Hollow Village, a five-year field experiment was conducted here. In this experiment, the following seven treatments were applied: no modified material (CK), maturing agent (TM), fly ash (TF), organic fertilizer (TO), maturing agent + fly ash (TMF), maturing agent + organic fertilizer (TMO) and fly ash + organic fertilizer (TFO), and the effects of different improved materials on soil properties and crop yield were studied. The results showed that: soil organic matter (SOM) and total nitrogen contents increased significantly after the application of different improved materials, which promoted the cementation and aggregation of water-stable microaggregates (< 0.25 mm), and the water-stable macroaggregates showed an increasing trend. In the 0–0.15 m soil layer, the proportion of water-stable macroaggregates under TM, TF, TO, TMF, TMO, and TFO treatment increased by 328.2%, 130.0%, 87.8%, 81.1%, 36.7%, and 12.2% compared with CK, respectively. Meanwhile, TF, TO, TMF, TMO, TFO treatments significantly increased the mean weight diameter (MWD) and geometric mean diameter (GMD) values, reduced soil bulk density, the stable aggregate index (E(LT)) and fractal dimension (D) values (P < 0.05), and the stability of soil structure and the capacity of soil moisture retention has been significantly improved. The SOM content had a significant positive correlation with MWD, GMD, and > 2 mm water-stable aggregates and a significant negative correlation with the E(LT), D, and water-stable microaggregates. In particular, the organic–inorganic coupling treatment of TFO showed the highest SOM content, soil moisture content, water-stable macroaggregates and maize yield, which was the most appropriate amendment for improving the reclaimed soil structure and fertility of Hollow Village in Loess Area.