Objective To study the impact of different farming modes on air temperature and humidity in jujube gardens, to elucidate the differences in photosynthetic characteristics and growth and development of jujube trees between different farming modes, and to provide data reference for choosing suitable farming methods for jujube gardens management in Southern Xinjiang.

Methods Taking the typical grey jujube orchard in Southern Xinjiang as the research object, three different tillage treatments were set up between the rows of jujube orchard, namely, clear-tillage, no-tillage (natural grass) and intercropping with rapeseed, and the changes of air temperature and humidity in the orchard, the indexes of photosynthesis characteristics of jujube leaves, the yield of jujube trees and the quality of the fruits were measured after the treatments.

Results During the flowering and fruiting period of grey jujube, both no-tillage mode and intercropping rape mode in jujube gardens can reduce air temperature and increase air humidity, among which the effect of intercropping rape mode is the most significant, with the average air temperature in jujube gardens being lower than that of no-tillage by 1.47 ℃, and the average humidity of the air being increased by 8.72% compared with that of no-tillage. No-tillage and intercropping oilseed rape both modes can improve the photosynthetic capacity of jujube trees, intercropping oilseed rape mode of leaf net photosynthetic rate and stomatal conductance than no-tillage significantly increased by 32.26%, 25.00%, stomatal conductance compared with clear-cutting to increase by 25.00%; intercropping oilseed rape and no-tillage mode of jujube leaves water use efficiency than clear-tillage to increase significantly by 33.50%, 31.53%. No-tillage and intercropping oilseed rape improved the quality and yield of jujube fruits, and the cross-sectional diameter and single fruit weight of grey jujube increased by 9.36%, 24.91% and 9.67%, 25.15%, respectively, compared with that of clear-tillage; the yield of a single plant and the total yield increased by 36.59%, 36.56% and 22.09%, 22.09%, respectively, compared with that of clear-tillage. Intercropping oilseed rape mode was significantly higher than no-tillage, increasing by 11.88% and 11.85% respectively compared with no-tillage; soluble sugar of grey jujube was increased by 6.79% and 14.66% respectively in no-tillage and intercropping oilseed rape modes, and vitamin C in intercropping oilseed rape mode was increased by 13.08% compared with that of clear tillage.

Conclusion The two modes of no-tillage and intercropping oilseed rape are both conducive to regulating the microclimate conditions of jujube gardens, improving the photosynthetic capacity of jujube leaves, the quality of jujube fruits and yields, among which the intercropping oilseed rape mode is the most significant, and it is a suitable jujube management mode for popularisation.