Influence of row spacing on water use and yield of rain-fed wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) in a no-till system with stubble retention

A 3-year field study was undertaken to investigate the effect of row spacing on vegetative growth, grain yield and water-use efficiency of wheat. All 3 years of the study experienced 21–51% below-average rainfall for the growing season. Widening row spacing led to reduced biomass and tillers on per plant basis which could be related to the reduction in light interception by the wheat canopy in the wide rows which in turn could have reduced assimilate production. Reduction in vegetative growth in 54-cm rows translated into a significant reduction in grain yield which was strongly associated (r2 = 0.71) with the loss of spike density. The pattern of crop water use (evapotranspiration, ET) during the growing season was very similar for the three row-spacing treatments. However, there was some evidence for slightly lower ET (~5%) in 54-cm rows in two growing seasons. More importantly, there was no evidence for increased ET during the post-anthesis phase in wide rows as has been speculated by some researchers. Over the 3 years of the study, grain yield declined by 5–8% as row spacing increased from 18 to 36 cm and by a further 12–20% as row spacing increased from 36 to 54 cm. There was a consistent decline in water-use efficiency for grain (WUEG) with increasing row spacing over the 3 years. WUEG declined by 6–11% as crop spacing increased from 18 to 36 cm and declined further by 12–15% as row spacing increased to 54 cm. Lower light interception at wider row spacing could have reduced assimilate production by wheat as well as increased soil evaporation due to lower shading of the soil surface in more open canopies. Growers adopting wider row spacing on these relatively heavy textured soils are likely to experience some reduction in grain yield and WUEG. However, some growers may be prepared to accept a small yield penalty from intermediate row spacing as a trade-off for increased stubble retention and soil health.

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Row spacing fails to modify soil evaporation and grain yield in spring wheat in a dry Mediterranean environment

Australian Journal of Agricultural Research ◽

10.1071/ar9930661 ◽

1993 ◽

Vol 44 (4) ◽

pp. 661 ◽

Cited By ~ 21

Author(s):

IAM Yunusa ◽

RK Belford ◽

D Tennant ◽

RH Sedgley

Keyword(s):

Solar Radiation ◽

Grain Yield ◽

Water Use Efficiency ◽

Water Use ◽

Ground Cover ◽

Soil Types ◽

Row Spacing ◽

Crop Canopy ◽

Mediterranean Environment ◽

Use Efficiency

The loss of moisture by evaporation from soil under crop canopies (Esc) has been recognized as a major cause of poor water use efficiency (WUE), and hence poor grain yield, in crops grown in environments with limited rainfall. Agronomic approaches to restrain Esc aim to reduce the transmission of solar radiation to the soil beneath the crop by improving ground cover by the crop canopy. However, the sparse canopies produced in these environments have a limited effect on evaporation during the energy dependent first stage (Es1); much of the evaporation is independent of energy at the soilsurface (Es2), and therefore less sensitive to the influence of the crop canopy. Manipulating plant arrangement, primarily by changing row spacing, may provide a simple approach for improving ground cover and restraining E,, without changing GAI, and thus improving WUE and grain yield. To explore the potential benefit of variable row spacing on Esc and grain yield in the dry (300 mm) Mediterranean environment of the eastern wheatbelt of Western Australia, spring wheat was grown in 0.09, 0.18, 0.27 and 0.36 m row spacings on coarse textured and fine textured soil types at Merredin in 1989. Esc was determined with an empirical model and measured with microlysimeters. Row spacing had no significant effect on the development of green area index (GAI), dry matter (DM) accumulation and evapotranspiration (ET) throughout the season. However, in mid-season, the proportion of ground covered by the canopy was higher and transmission of solar radiation was reduced in the 0.09 m row spacing compared with the 0.36 m row spacing. These effects did not restrain E,,, which was similar in all treatments. Esc was not restrained even when the plant density was doubled in the 0.09 m row spacing treatment. Esc during the season averaged 88 mm across all row spacings on both soils; this accounted for 56% and 48% of the mean seasonal ET on the coarse textured and fine textured soils respectively. Consequently, neither water use efficiency nor grain yield were affected by variation in row spacing; water use efficiency averaged 25 kg DM ha-1 mm-1 on both soil types. For dry Mediterranean environments of Western Australia, it was concluded on the basis of these results, and yield data from other row spacing trials in the same districts, that there are no significant yield benefits to be obtained by reducing the row spacing from the current spacing of 0.18 m.

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Effects of winter wheat row spacing on evapotranpsiration, grain yield and water use efficiency

Agricultural Water Management ◽

10.1016/j.agwat.2009.09.005 ◽

2010 ◽

Vol 97 (8) ◽

pp. 1126-1132 ◽

Cited By ~ 42

Author(s):

Suyin Chen ◽

Xiying Zhang ◽

Hongyong Sun ◽

Tusheng Ren ◽

Yanmei Wang

Keyword(s):

Winter Wheat ◽

Grain Yield ◽

Water Use Efficiency ◽

Water Use ◽

Row Spacing ◽

Use Efficiency

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Seasonal responses of maize growth and water use to elevated CO2 based on WTDPED experiments: evidences from multiple ecophysiological indicators

10.5194/egusphere-egu2020-2263 ◽

2020 ◽

Author(s):

Ying Ma

Keyword(s):

Grain Yield ◽

Water Use Efficiency ◽

Water Use ◽

Water Productivity ◽

Growing Season ◽

Maturity Stage ◽

Area Index ◽

Irrigation Water Use ◽

Groundwater Supply ◽

Use Efficiency

The increase in atmosphere carbon dioxide (CO2) concentrations has been the most important environmental change experienced by agricultural systems. It is still uncertain whether grain yield of the global food crop of maize will remain unchanged under a future elevated CO2 (eCO2) environment. A water transformation dynamic processes experimental device (WTDPED) was developed using a chamber coupled with two weighing lysimeters and a groundwater supply system to explore the water-related yield responses of maize to eCO2. Two experiments were conducted via the WTDPED under eCO2 (700 ppm) and current CO2 (400 ppm) concentrations. Seasonal changes in multiple ecophysiological indicators and related hydrological processes were compared between these two experiments. The results showed that the leaf nitrogen (N) content, chlorophyll content, net photosynthesis rate, and transpiration rate (Tr) consistently decreased during the seedling to filling stages but notably increased at the maturity stage due to eCO2 (P<0.05). Nevertheless, the effects were not significant over the entire growing season or for other indicators, i.e., the leaf carbon (C) content, C/N ratio, and leaf area index (P>0.05). Significant decreases in crop height (mean of 15.9%, P<0.05) associated with notable increases in stem diameter (mean of 14.9%, P<0.05) were found throughout the growing season. Dry matter per corncob at the final harvest decreased slightly under eCO2 (mean of 7.7 g, P >0.05). Soil moisture was not conserved by the decline of Tr ahead of the filling stage when soil evaporation was likely promoted by eCO2 instead. The total evapotranspiration changed little (0.2%) over the entire growing season. Although the leaf water use efficiency increased significantly at every growth stage (mean of 27.3%, P<0.05), the grain yield, water productivity and irrigation water use efficiency were not improved noticeably by eCO2. This study is critical to accurately predict future crop yield and hydrological changes under climate change.

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Effects of Supplemental Irrigation on Water Consumption Characteristics, Grain Yield and Water Use Efficiency in Winter Wheat under Different Soil Moisture Conditions at Seeding Stage

ACTA AGRONOMICA SINICA ◽

10.3724/sp.j.1006.2017.01357 ◽

2017 ◽

Vol 43 (9) ◽

pp. 1357 ◽

Cited By ~ 3

Author(s):

Xiang LIN ◽

Dong WANG

Keyword(s):

Soil Moisture ◽

Winter Wheat ◽

Grain Yield ◽

Water Use Efficiency ◽

Water Use ◽

Water Consumption ◽

Supplemental Irrigation ◽

Use Efficiency ◽

Moisture Conditions

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Effects of Ridge Mulching with Side-dressing on Grain Yield, Protein Content and Water Use Efficiency in Dryland Wheat

ACTA AGRONOMICA SINICA ◽

10.3724/sp.j.1006.2017.00899 ◽

2017 ◽

Vol 43 (6) ◽

pp. 899 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Ming HUANG ◽

Zhao-Hui WANG ◽

Lai-Chao LUO ◽

Sen WANG ◽

Ming BAO ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Grain Yield ◽

Water Use Efficiency ◽

Protein Content ◽

Water Use ◽

Use Efficiency

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Optimizing Grain Yield and Water Use Efficiency Based on the Relationship between Leaf Area Index and Evapotranspiration

Agriculture ◽

10.3390/agriculture11040313 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 11 (4) ◽

pp. 313

Author(s):

Guoqiang Zhang ◽

Bo Ming ◽

Dongping Shen ◽

Ruizhi Xie ◽

Peng Hou ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Grain Yield ◽

Water Use Efficiency ◽

Leaf Area Index ◽

Water Use ◽

Plant Density ◽

Maize Yield ◽

Area Index ◽

Irrigation Level ◽

Use Efficiency ◽

The Relationship

Achieving optimal balance between maize yield and water use efficiency is an important challenge for irrigation maize production in arid areas. In this study, we conducted an experiment in Xinjiang China in 2016 and 2017 to quantify the response of maize yield and water use to plant density and irrigation schedules. The treatments included four irrigation levels: 360 (W1), 480 (W2), 600 (W3), and 720 mm (W4), and five plant densities: 7.5 (D1), 9.0 (D2), 10.5 (D3), 12.0 (D4), and 13.5 plants m−2 (D5). The results showed that increasing the plant density and the irrigation level could both significantly increase the leaf area index (LAI). However, LAI expansion significantly increased evapotranspiration (ETa) under irrigation. The combination of irrigation level 600 mm (W3) and plant density 12.0 plants m−2 (D4) produced the highest maize yield (21.0–21.2 t ha−1), ETa (784.1–797.8 mm), and water use efficiency (WUE) (2.64–2.70 kg m−3), with an LAI of 8.5–8.7 at the silking stage. The relationship between LAI and grain yield and evapotranspiration were quantified, and, based on this, the relationship between water use and maize productivity was analyzed. Moreover, the optimal LAI was established to determine the reasonable irrigation level and coordinate the relationship between the increase in grain yield and the decrease in water use efficiency.

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Increase maize productivity and water use efficiency through application of potassium silicate under water stress

Scientific Reports ◽

10.1038/s41598-020-80656-9 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 11 (1) ◽

Author(s):

M. A. Gomaa ◽

Essam E. Kandil ◽

Atef A. M. Zen El-Dein ◽

Mamdouh E. M. Abou-Donia ◽

Hayssam M. Ali ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Grain Yield ◽

Water Use Efficiency ◽

Water Deficit ◽

Water Use ◽

Field Experiments ◽

Foliar Application ◽

Potassium Silicate ◽

Water Deficit Stress ◽

Maize Productivity ◽

Use Efficiency

AbstractIn Egypt, water shortage has become a key limiting factor for agriculture. Water-deficit stress causes different morphological, physiological, and biochemical impacts on plants. Two field experiments were carried out at Etay El-Baroud Station, El-Beheira Governorate, Agriculture Research Center (ARC), Egypt, to evaluate the effect of potassium silicate (K-silicate) of maize productivity and water use efficiency (WUE). A split-plot system in the four replications was used under three irrigation intervals during the 2017 and 2018 seasons. Whereas 10, 15, and 20 days irrigation intervals were allocated in main plots, while the three foliar application treatments of K-silicate (one spray at 40 days after sowing; two sprays at 40 and 60 days; and three sprays at 40, 60, and 80 days, and a control (water spray) were distributed in the subplots. All the treatments were distributed in 4 replicates. The results indicated that irrigation every 15 days gave the highest yield in both components and quality. The highly significant of (WUE) under irrigation every 20 days. Foliar spraying of K-silicate three times resulted in the highest yield. Even under water-deficit stress, irrigation every fifteen days combined with foliar application of K-silicate three times achieved the highest values of grain yield and its components. These results show that K-silicate treatment can increase WUE and produce high grain yield requiring less irrigation.

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