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

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.

RELATIONSHIPS AMONG WATER USE EFFICIENCY AND THE PHYSIO-AGRONOMIC TRAITS IN DURUM WHEAT (Triticum durum DESF.) CULTIVARS ASSESSED UNDER RAINFED CONDITIONS OF THE EASTERN HIGH PLATEAUS OF ALGERIA

“…Ancient varieties tented to have lower WUE GY (5.5 kg ha -1 mm -1 ) than newly realized ones (7.0 kg ha -1 mm -1 ), while no clear differences appeared for WUE TDM (21.4 kg ha -1 mm -1 vs 20.8 kg ha -1 mm -1 , respectively). These supported results reported by Zhang et al, (2016) whom carried out studies to understand the genetic gains in yield and WUE and their associated physiologic and agronomic traits for winter wheat and found that WUE increased substantially from 1.0 to 1.2 kg m -3 for cultivars from the early 1970s to 1.4-1.5 kg m -3 for recently released cultivars. Genotypic differences in WUE GY were also reported by van den Boogaard et al (1997), andZhang et al (2010).…”

“…These traits appeared to be useful for WUE GY improvement (Table 6). In this context, Zhang et al, (2016) found no significant correlations between WUE GY and LCHC, or LRWC, but significant correlations were found between WUE GY and HI. Through multiple regression analysis Atta (2013) identified several key traits that contribute to improve WUE among which leaf traits, plant height, total dry matter at maturity, harvest index and grain yield which corroborated partially the results of this study.…”

High-Resolution Monitoring and Assessment of Evapotranspiration and Gross Primary Production Using Remote Sensing in a Typical Arid Region

“…However, in addition to the influence of irrigation, other anthropogenic activities, such as changing the amount of fertilizer applied and renewing plant varieties, also greatly affect the changes in GPP for each irrigated district. Previous studies in the NCP have proved this [98,99]. As a result, GPP showed stronger variability in years with both large (2011 and 2015) and small (2010 and 2013) ET seasonal changes among the 12 irrigation districts.…”

Agronomic Assessment of a Controlled-Release Polymer-Coated Urea-Based Fertilizer in Maize

“…High losses tend to occur at the beginning of N fertilizer applications through volatilization, denitrification, or leaching [ 5 ]. Maize yield is highly affected by crop agronomic management, and water use efficiency and fertilization are the most important variables [ 11 , 12 ]. In fact, one of the most relevant environmental problems in maize cultivation is caused by eutrophication polluting aquifers [ 13 ].…”