Effect of irrigation amounts applied with subsurface drip irrigation on corn evapotranspiration, yield, water use efficiency, and dry matter production in a semiarid climate

Agriculture is a big consumer of fresh water in competition with other sectors of the society. The agricultural sector continues to have a negative impact on the ecological status of the environment. The worlds interest in high quality food is increasing. Field experiments were conducted to investigate the effect of subsurface drip irrigation on physiological responses, yield and water use efficiency, Soil nitrogen, Root weight density of potato in the semi-humid region of middle China using subsurface drip irrigation. The experiment used second-stage treated wastewater with and without addition of chloride, and both subsurface drip and furrow irrigations were investigated. Results indicated that the alternate partial root-zone irrigation is a practicable water-saving strategy for potato. The drip with chlorinated and non-chlorinated water improved water use efficiency by 21.48% and 39.1%, respectively, and 44.1% in the furrow irrigation. Partial root zone drying irrigation stimulates potato root growth and enhances root density. The content of the heavy metal in the potato tubers is no more than the National Food Requirements, and it is consistent with National Food Hygiene Stands.

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Discrimination in Carbon Isotopes of Leaves Correlates With Water-Use Efficiency of Field-Grown Peanut Cultivars

Functional Plant Biology ◽

10.1071/pp9880815 ◽

1988 ◽

Vol 15 (6) ◽

pp. 815 ◽

Cited By ~ 77

Author(s):

GC Wright ◽

KT Hubick ◽

GD Farquhar

Keyword(s):

Water Use Efficiency ◽

Water Use ◽

Dry Matter ◽

Dry Matter Production ◽

Dry Matter Yield ◽

Strong Negative Correlation ◽

Matter Production ◽

Whole Plant ◽

Use Efficiency ◽

The Relationship

Variation in water-use efficiency (W, g of total dry matter produced/kg water used), and its correlation with cultivar isotope discrimination in leaves (Δ) was assessed in peanut plants grown in small canopies in the field. Plants were grown in separate minilysimeters that were both embedded in the ground and positioned above the crop. Differences among cultivars were found in W and � and the relationship between W and Δ was compared for plants grown in open and closed canopies. Genetic variability in W in plants grown in the field under non-limiting water conditions was demonstrated, with Tifton-8, of Virginia habit, having the highest W (3.71 g/kg) and Rangkasbitung, an Indonesian cultivar of Spanish habit, the lowest (2.46 g/ kg). Variability in W was due to variation in total dry matter production more than that of water use. A strong negative correlation was found between Δ and W, and also between Δ and total dry matter. The relationship between whole plant W, including roots, and Δ was stronger than that between shoot W, without roots and Δ. The improvement occurred because of variation among cultivars in the root to shoot ratio. This highlights the importance of taking account of root dry matter in studies concerning W. There were significant differences in W and Δ between plants in pots above-ground compared to pots in the ground, with above-ground plants having significantly lower values of both W and Δ. The ranking of W and Δ among cultivars was not affected by the contrast in environment, which suggests these parameters are under strong genetic control. Total above-ground dry matter yield at maturity was negatively correlated with Δ, while pod yield was not. It appears a negative association between harvest index and Δ may exist; however not all cultivars used in this and other studies follow this response. Both water-use efficiency, Wand total dry matter production are negatively correlated with Δ in leaves of peanut plants grown in small canopies in the field. Measurement of Δ may prove a useful trait for selecting cultivars with improved W and total dry matter yield under field conditions.

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