Effect of crop rotational position and nitrogen supply on root development and yield formation of winter wheat

Abstract

The lower yield of wheat grown after wheat (second wheat) compared with the first wheat after a break crop is frequently attributed to fungal disease occurrence, but has also been found without visible disease infection; thus, other factors might be responsible for the lower yield of the second wheat. The aims of this study were to analyze the effects of growing wheat as first and second wheat after oilseed rape, as well as monoculture in a long-term field experiment over three years on (i) aboveground biomass formation, root development and nutrient acquisition during the growing season, (ii) take-all occurrence, and (iii) grain yield and yield components. Subsoil root length density of winter wheat was significantly higher after oilseed rape as pre-crop than after wheat, which was independent of take-all occurrence. Differences in wheat aboveground biomass occurred at early growth stages and were persistent until harvest. Grain yield loss correlated well with take-all disease severity in a wet year but yield differences among crop rotational positions occurred also in a dry year without visible fungal infection. Thus, an effect of the crop rotational position of wheat beyond take-all disease pressure can be assumed. Overall, wheat root length density might be the key to understand wheat biomass formation and grain yield in different crop rotational positions.

Soil depths and microhabitats shape soil and root-associated bacterial and archaeal communities more than crop rotation in wheat

“…They found, on average, 54% higher aboveground biomass in wheat following winter oilseed rape compared with wheat monoculture in early plant stage BBCH 30, confirming earlier studies by Sieling et al (2005); Sieling et al (2007). They also demonstrated a significantly higher root length density after oilseed rape as a precrop than wheat as a pre-crop in the subsoil at BBCH 69 (Arnhold et al, 2023b). These results correlated well with wheat biomass formation, and differences in wheat aboveground biomass that occurred at early growth stages in spring remained persistent until harvest (Arnhold et al, 2023b).…”

“…They also demonstrated a significantly higher root length density after oilseed rape as a precrop than wheat as a pre-crop in the subsoil at BBCH 69 (Arnhold et al, 2023b). These results correlated well with wheat biomass formation, and differences in wheat aboveground biomass that occurred at early growth stages in spring remained persistent until harvest (Arnhold et al, 2023b).…”

Combined subsoiling and ridge–furrow rainfall harvesting during the summer fallow season improves wheat yield, water and nutrient use efficiency, and quality and reduces soil nitrate-N residue in the dryland summer fallow–winter wheat rotation

“…Subsoiling tillage [ST, usually combined with straw mulching (STSM)] plays important roles in agricultural production, especially in dryland regions, as it is able to increase rainfall harvest, crop yield, and efficiency ( Cai et al., 2014 ; Arnhold et al., 2023 ) and address environmental issues ( Zhao et al., 2023b ). Previous studies have primarily demonstrated that ST can influence crop growth and development by reducing soil bulk density ( Ahmad et al., 2009 ; Lampurlanés et al., 2016 ; Sun et al., 2018 ), increasing soil porosity ( Xue et al., 2018 ), enhancing water infiltration ( Liang et al., 2019 ; Qiang et al., 2022 ), increasing soil water usage ( Wang et al, 2022 ; Yang et al., 2022 ), optimizing soil physical properties and fertility ( He et al., 2019 ; Wang et al, 2020 ; Yang et al., 2022 ), improving root characteristics ( Izumi et al., 2009 ; He et al., 2019 ; Koch et al, 2021 ; Arnhold et al., 2023 ), enhancing tiller density ( Lv et al., 2019 ), delaying senescence ( He et al., 2020 ), promoting plant photosynthesis characteristics ( Sang et al., 2016 ; He et al., 2019 ), and facilitating dry matter accumulation and remobilization ( Zhang et al., 2023 ). In the Loess Plateau of China, studies of two 2-year experiments showed that ST during the summer fallow season improved soil nutrient characteristics, wheat growth, and N uptake characteristics, thus not only increasing wheat yield and water use efficiency (WUE), but also optimizing the quality of albumin, gliadin, glutenin, total protein, and sedimentation values and wet gluten contents ( Sun et al., 2013 ; Zhao et al., 2017 ).…”