Dryland winter wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) yields on the Southern Great Plains are almost always limited by crop water deficits. This research was conducted to determine if a wide-row planting system in combination with a high-yielding, semidwarf wheat would increase plant height, leaf conductance, leaf water potential, and grain yield of dryland wheat. 'Scout 66', a tall wheat, and 'TAM 105', a semidwarf, were planted in five row-spacing systems on Pullman clay loam soil (fine, mixed, thermic Torrertic Paleustoll) at Bushland, TX. Two narrow-row systems (0.20-and 0.25-m row spacing) and three wide-row systems (0.51-m single rows and 0.25/0.51m and 0.25/0.76-m skip-row systems) were studied. Total soil water depletion was not affected by row-spacing system or cultivar in either year. Wide-row systems were, however, effective in economizing usage of soil water before boot stage so more water was available in widerow systems during later growth stages in 1985. As a result, leaf conductance and leaf water potential at the boot stage in 1985 were increased from 2.21 mm s-• and -1.38 MPa, respectively, in wheat growing in the 0.20-m row-spacing system, to 4.24 mm s-• and -0.85 MPa in wheat growing in the 0.51-m row-spacing system. Wide-row systems increased plant height of TAM 105 by 0.07 m. While using semidwarf wheat in wide-row systems was successful in reducing crop water deficit and increasing plant height, grain yield was reduced in wide-row systems compared to narrow-row systems for both tall and semidwarf wheat.

Decreased fertility of sub‐Saharan African cropland is of major concern to farmers and malnourished populations in this region. Lack of nutrients in these soils has left land degraded and unable to produce substantial agricultural yield to feed the region's people. Conservation of termite mounds native to arid and semi‐arid locals in Africa improves soil fertility. Termites and the homes they build aid in improving soils’ physical structure, organic matter content, nutrient availability, and biological activity, amongst other properties, and can be used to ameliorate degraded cropland, as a soil amendment in place of traditional fertilizer. Utilization of this natural modifier could lead to increased arable land, heightened crop yields, and reduction in sub‐Saharan African human malnutrition.