Improving water use efficiency in grain production of winter wheat and summer maize in the North China Plain: a review

doi:10.15302/J-FASE-2016090

Front. Agr. Sci. Eng.

2016, Vol. 3

Issue (1) : 25-33 https://doi.org/10.15302/J-FASE-2016090

REVIEW

Improving water use efficiency in grain production of winter wheat and summer maize in the North China Plain: a review

Xiying ZHANG^1,^*(

),Wenli QIN^1,²,Juanna XIE^1,²

1. The Center for Agricultural Resources Research, Institute of Genetics and Developmental Biology, The Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shijiazhuang 050021, China
2. University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100094, China

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Abstract

Reducing irrigation water use by improving water use efficiency (WUE) in grain production is critical for the development of sustainable agriculture in the North China Plain (NCP). This article summarizes the research progresses in WUE improvement carried out at the Luancheng station located in the Northern part of NCP for the past three decades. Progresses in four aspects of yield and WUE improvement are presented, including yield and WUE improvement associated with cultivar selection, irrigation management for improving yield and WUE under limited water supply, managing root system for efficient soil water use and reducing soil evaporation by straw mulch. The results showed that annual average increase of 0.014 kg·m^-3 for winter wheat and 0.02 kg·m^-3 in WUE were observed for the past three decades, and this increase was largely associated with the improvement in harvest index related to cultivar renewal and an increase in chemical fertilizer use and soil fertility. The results also indicated that deficit irrigation for winter wheat could significantly reduce the irrigation water use, whereas the seasonal yield showed a smaller reduction rate and WUE was significantly improved. Straw mulching of summer maize using the straw from winter wheat could reduce seasonal soil evaporation by 30–40 mm. With new cultivars and improved management practices it was possible to further increase grain production without much increase in water use. Future strategies to further improve WUE are also discussed.

Keywords harvest index cultivar selection deficit irrigation root water uptake straw mulching

Corresponding Author(s): Xiying ZHANG

Just Accepted Date: 17 March 2016 Online First Date: 01 April 2016 Issue Date: 07 April 2016

Cite this article:

Xiying ZHANG,Wenli QIN,Juanna XIE. Improving water use efficiency in grain production of winter wheat and summer maize in the North China Plain: a review[J]. Front. Agr. Sci. Eng. , 2016, 3(1): 25-33.

URL:

https://academic.hep.com.cn/fase/EN/10.15302/J-FASE-2016090
https://academic.hep.com.cn/fase/EN/Y2016/V3/I1/25

Tab.1 ?The changes in the average yield and water use efficiency (WUE) of winter wheat and maize for the past 30 years

Fig.1 Correlation of yield and water use efficiency (WUE) of winter wheat among 16 modern cultivars grown under the same condition in 2012–2013 season

Fig.2 The increase in soil organic matter and total N contents for the experimental site for the past 30 years at Luancheng station

Fig.3 The correlation of evapotranspiration with yield and water use efficiency (WUE) for winter wheat from 2010 to 2015

Fig.4 The yield of winter wheat and maize under minimum irrigation as compared with the full irrigation for the past 18 years (1997–2015) at Luancheng station

Tab.2 Average yield, water use (ET) and water use efficiency (WUE) of winter wheat and maize under critical stage irrigation as compared with rainfed and full irrigation from 1997 to 2015 at Luancheng station

Fig.5 The soil water contents (V/V) along the soil profile at sowing and at harvesting for winter wheat under limited water supply (The shaded area indicating there was available soil water not extracted by the roots)

Fig.6 The changes in daily soil evaporation with the leaf area index (LAI) for maize with and without mulch for a typical season at Luancheng station

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