Abstract: In order to find out the effects of straw mulching of upland red soil in south China, and provide some theoretical evidence for improving the comprehensive production capacity of upland red soil, a field location experiment was carried out to study the effects of straw mulching on the changes of the soil quality and the crop growth. The 4-year results showed that straw mulching between the upland crop rows has the following advantages: (1) promoting crop root and plant growth, and improving the yield of crop (15%~20% crop yield higher than the Check); (2) elevating the soil fertility (the soil organic matter were increased by 1.8g/kg, the available N、K content were increased separately by 8% and 8.1% compared with the CK); (3) strengthening the soil biological activity (the number of the soil fungi and the bacteria were higher than the CK of 92.0% and 31.1% respectively; the activities of the soil urease, invertase and the catalase were increased by 37.6% , 19.9%, and 42.1% respectively compared with the CK); (4) improving the soil structure (soil bulk density were decreased by 0.022g/cm3, soil moisture was 4% higher than the CK when in drought). With the positioning time extending, crop yield and soil improvement as well as fertilizer increase is more effective.

Key words: Upland red soil, Straw mulching, Crop yield, Soil quality