No‐tillage with reduced water and nitrogen supply improves water use efficiency of wheat in arid regions

Abstract

No‐tillage, plastic mulching, optimal irrigation, nutrient management, and crop rotation are valuable strategies for improving water use efficiency (WUE) in arid regions, but the effect of no‐tillage combined with plastic mulching on WUE has not been tested. In 2016 and 2017, a field experiment was conducted after plastic mulched maize (Zea mays L.) in northwestern China to assess how tillage, irrigation, and nitrogen levels affect soil evaporation (E), evapotranspiration (ET), grain yield (GY), and WUE of wheat (Triticum aestivum L.). This study evaluated all combinations of two tillage practices (NT, no‐tillage with previous plastic mulching; CT, conventional tillage), two irrigation levels (high: local conventional irrigation amount, 240 mm; and low: local conventional irrigation amount reduced by 20%, 192 mm), and three nitrogen levels (high: local conventional nitrogen amount, 225 kg ha−1; medium: local conventional nitrogen amount reduced by 20%, 180 kg ha−1; and low: local conventional nitrogen amount reduced by 40%, 135 kg ha−1). Across the study years, NT reduced E and E/ET and increased GY and WUE at all irrigation and nitrogen levels compared with CT. No‐tillage with low irrigation and medium nitrogen reduced E, ET, and E/ET by 29%, 4%, and 26%, respectively, and improved GY and WUE by 19% and 24%, respectively, compared with CT with high supplies of irrigation and nitrogen. We concluded that NT into plastic mulched maize with a reduction in irrigation and a moderate level of nitrogen can improve WUE of wheat in arid regions, thereby enhancing the sustainability of cereal production.

Water use characteristics of an early and late maturing maize hybrid using stable isotopes

“…M i and M f were calculated according to Guo et al. (2020), and δ t was determined by the isotopic composition (δ 18 O) of stem water in maize. In this study, the evaporated water was assumed to be in isotopic equilibrium with soil water, and δ e was calculated according to Clark and Fritz (1997).…”

“…Soil samples were collected at three points for each plot from the 0-to 100-cm soil layers at the sowing date, V6 (the sixth leaf), VT (tasseling), R3 (milking), and R6 (physiological maturity) stages. SWC and TRSWC were calculated according to Guo et al (2020).…”

“…where M refers to soil moisture (mm), δ refers to the isotopic composition (δ 18 O) of each component, X refers to the ratio of the water amount in an element to the total water amount, i refers to the initial soil moisture, f refers to the final soil moisture, e refers to E of soil water, t refers to T of maize, and w refers to irrigation. M i and M f were calculated according to Guo et al (2020), and δ t was determined by the isotopic composition (δ 18 O) of stem water in maize. In this study, the evaporated water was assumed to be in isotopic equilibrium with soil water, and δ e was calculated according to Clark and Fritz (1997).…”

Development and application of a relative soil water content – transpiration efficiency curve for screening high water use efficiency wheat cultivars

“…Maintaining soil moisture at a higher level will help to harvest more yield. In arid and semiarid regions, various irrigation techniques (Zhou et al, 2021), water saving strategies (Wang et al, 2002), drought tolerant varieties (Kulathunga et al, 2021), bare soil mulching with straw or plastic film (Qin et al, 2022) and no-tillage (Guo et al, 2020;Peixoto et al, 2020) have been adopted and have been shown to be effective in improving crop yields. The common feature of all these yield-enhancing agronomic methods is the increase/maintenance in SWC.…”

Photosynthetic Physiological Characteristics of Water and Nitrogen Coupling for Enhanced High-Density Tolerance and Increased Yield of Maize in Arid Irrigation Regions

“…Imposing a moderate reduction at irrigation levels can induce associated acclimation processes in crops, such as stimulated root growth, slowed leaf growth, leaf rolling, osmotic activity and the synthesis of protective compounds, and stomatal closure to preserve the normal water content of green leaves (Lopes et al, 2011 ; Tardieu, 2012 ). It can also promote the transfer of photosynthetic products into the grain, and enhance the efficiency of crops in using water (Guo et al, 2020 ). In contrast, with an excess reduction in irrigation, the balance between light interception and energy utilization is disturbed in plants, in which the excessive excitation energy of photosystem II (PSII) can lead to impaired photosynthetic traits and accumulated reactive oxygen species (ROS) (Chaves et al, 2009 ).…”