Water Use, Grain Yield, and Osmoregulation in Wheat

1986 ◽  
Vol 13 (4) ◽  
pp. 523 ◽  
Author(s):  
JM Morgan ◽  
AG Condon
Keyword(s):  
Grain Yield ◽  
Water Use Efficiency ◽  
Soil Water ◽  
Water Use ◽  
Harvest Index ◽  
High Water ◽  
Total Water ◽  
Water Deficits ◽  
Turgor Maintenance ◽  
Use Efficiency

Genotypic differences in turgor maintenance in wheat were shown to be associated with differences in grain yield in the field at both high and Low water deficits. High water deficits were produced by growing plants in field plots using water stored in the soil at sowing, and excluding rain with a rain cover. At low water deficits plants received rainfall, and irrigation was supplied before and immediately after sowing, at tillering, at jointing, at ear emergence, and during grain filling. Yield differences were analysed in terms of harvest index, water use, and water use efficiency. Water use was calculated from changes in soil water contents. At high water deficits all three factors were associated with differences in turgor maintenance. However, only the variations in water use and harvest index could be logically associated with differences in turgor maintenance. Analysis of the soil water extraction data showed that the differences in water use efficiency were due solely to differences in water use at depth while surface water losses were the same, i.e. the ratio of transpiration to soil evaporation would have been higher in low-osmoregulating genotypes. At low water deficits, no differences were observed in harvest index, though there were non-significant correlations between turgor maintenance and total water use efficiency or total water use. A similar result was obtained when the water use and yield data were related to osmoregulation measurements made in the glasshouse. It is therefore concluded that effects of turgor maintenance or osmoregulation on grain yield were primarily associated with differences in water use which were, in turn, due to differences in water extraction at soil depths between 25 and 150 cm.

Water use and water use efficiency of old and modern wheat cultivars in a Mediterranean-type environment

1990 ◽  
Vol 41 (3) ◽  
pp. 431 ◽  
Author(s):  
KHM Siddique ◽  
D Tennant ◽  
MW Perry ◽  
RK Belford
Keyword(s):  
Water Use Efficiency ◽  
Water Use ◽  
Harvest Index ◽  
Dry Matter ◽  
Soil Evaporation ◽  
Wheat Cultivars ◽  
Total Water ◽  
Modern Cultivar ◽  
Modern Wheat ◽  
Use Efficiency

Water use and water use efficiency of old and modern wheat cultivars and one barley cultivar were measured in a Mediterranean environment at Merredin, W.A. Water use efficiency for grain increased substantially from old to modern cultivars, with little difference among modern cultivars. Water use efficiency for dry matter was similar between cultivars. Barley had the highest water use efficiency of both grain and dry matter. Improved water use efficiency for grain in modern cultivars was associated with faster development, earlier flowering, improved canopy structure and higher harvest index. Modern cultivars used slightly less water than old cultivars. The pattern of water use was also different, with late-maturing old cultivars using more water in the pre- than the post-anthesis period. The ratio of pre- to post-anthesis water use was highest with the late-maturing, old cultivar Purple Straw (5.2:1) and lowest with early-maturing, modern cultivar Gutha (3.0:1). Soil evaporation estimates showed that modern cultivars had lower rates of soil evaporation in the early part of the growing season. This was associated with their faster leaf area development and improved light interception. About 40% of the total water use was lost by soil evaporation with very little difference between wheat cultivars. Barley had 15% less soil evaporation than wheat. Water use efficiency for grain based on transpiration (transpiration efficiency) for the four modern cultivars was 15.8 kg ha-1 mm-1, similar to other studies in comparable environments. Some further improvement in water use efficiency appears possible through improvement in crop biomass and harvest index. However, given the frequent and severe limitations of total water supply at low rainfall sites such as Merredin, there appears to be more scope for improvement in yield and water use efficiency in the medium and high rainfall areas of the wheatbelt.

High crop productivity with high water use in winter and summer on the Liverpool Plains, eastern Australia

2008 ◽  
Vol 59 (4) ◽  
pp. 303 ◽  
Author(s):  
R. R. Young ◽  
P.-J. Derham ◽  
F. X. Dunin ◽  
A. L. Bernardi ◽  
S. Harden
Keyword(s):  
Water Use Efficiency ◽  
Soil Water ◽  
Water Use ◽  
High Water ◽  
Crop Productivity ◽  
Transpiration Efficiency ◽  
Eastern Australia ◽  
Use Efficiency ◽  
Water Outflow ◽  
Almost All

We report exceptional productivity and associated water-use efficiency across seasons for commercial crops of rainfed spring wheat and grain sorghum growing on stored soil water in Vertosols on the Liverpool Plains, central-eastern Australia. Agreement between the independently measured terms of evapotranspiration (ET) and the soil water balance (in-crop rainfall + δsoil water) was achieved within acceptable uncertainty across almost all measurement intervals, to provide a reliable dataset for the analysis of growth and water-use relationships without the confounding influence of water outflow either overland or within the soil. Post-anthesis intrinsic transpiration efficiency (kc ) values of 4.7 and 7.2 Pa for wheat and sorghum, respectively, and grain yields of 8 and 7 t/ha from ET of 450 and 442 mm (1.8 and 1.6 g/m2.mm), clearly demonstrate the levels of productivity and water-use efficiency possible for well-managed crops within an intensive and productive response cropping sequence. The Vertosols in which the crops were grown enabled rapid and apparently unconstrained delivery of significant quantities of subsoil water (34% and 51% of total available) after anthesis, which enabled a doubling of pre-anthesis standing biomass and harvest indices of almost 50%. Durum wheat planted into only 0.30 m of moist soil and enduring lower than average seasonal rainfall, yielded less biomass and grain (2.3 t/ha) with lower water-use efficiency (0.95 g/m2.mm) but larger transpiration efficiency, probably due to reduced stomatal conductance. We argue that crop planting in response to stored soil water and management for high water-use efficiency to achieve high levels of average productivity of crop sequences over time can have a significant effect on both increased productivity and enhanced hydrological stability across alluvial landscapes.

Timing irrigation to suit citrus phenology: a means of reducing water use without compromising fruit yield and quality?

2007 ◽  
Vol 47 (1) ◽  
pp. 71 ◽  
Author(s):  
R. J. Hutton ◽  
J. J. Landsberg ◽  
B. G. Sutton
Keyword(s):  
Water Stress ◽  
Water Use Efficiency ◽  
Soil Water ◽  
Water Use ◽  
Fruit Size ◽  
Fruit Growth ◽  
Fruit Yield ◽  
Juice Quality ◽  
Water Deficits ◽  
Use Efficiency

This paper addresses the question of whether a citrus crop has the same need for water at all stages of development or whether it is possible to withhold water at times when the crop is less sensitive to water stress, thus, reducing total water use and improving water use efficiency while still maintaining yield. To answer this question water applied by irrigation was reduced by up to 33% relative to standard full irrigation by extending the intervals between applications from 3 to 17 days during fruit growth stages II and III in the annual growth cycle. As expected, the longer intervals resulted in greater depletion in soil moisture and significant water stress developed as soil water deficits approached the lower limits of plant available water. Stressed trees exhibited mean pre-dawn water potential (ψl) values of –0.93 MPa and midday ψl values decreased to between –2.0 and –2.5 MPa. Periodic soil water deficits in late summer and autumn reduced shoot growth, but fruit yield was unaffected, and there was no evidence of reduced canopy size. Water use efficiency (mass of fruit produced per unit water applied) improved, but fruit growth was extremely sensitive to moisture stress and extended irrigation intervals in summer and autumn reduced fruit size. Fruit juice quality was also affected, as there was an increase in both total soluble solids and juice acidity, but the practical consequences of these were limited because there were only small changes to the sugar : acid ratios. This work has demonstrated that deficient irrigation during summer can be used to manipulate growth and reduce water use, but at the risk of a marginal reduction in fruit size.

Dry matter, harvest index, grain yield and water use efficiency as affected by water supply in winter wheat

2008 ◽  
Vol 27 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-10 ◽  
Author(s):  
Xiying Zhang ◽  
Suying Chen ◽  
Hongyong Sun ◽  
Dong Pei ◽  
Yanmei Wang
Keyword(s):  
Winter Wheat ◽  
Water Supply ◽  
Grain Yield ◽  
Water Use Efficiency ◽  
Water Use ◽  
Harvest Index ◽  
Dry Matter ◽  
Use Efficiency

scholarly journals Pigeonpea Yield and Water Use Efficiency: A Savior under Climate Change-Induced Water Stress

Agronomy ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
pp. 5
Author(s):  
Misheck Musokwa ◽  
Paramu Mafongoya
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Grain Yield ◽  
Water Use Efficiency ◽  
Soil Water ◽  
Water Use ◽  
Smallholder Farmers ◽  
Block Design ◽  
Soil Water Tension ◽  
Use Efficiency ◽  
Water Tension

Frequent droughts have threatened the crop yields and livelihoods of many smallholder farmers in South Africa. Pigeonpea can be grown by farmers to mitigate the impacts of droughts caused by climate change. An experiment was conducted at Fountainhill Farm from January 2016 to December 2017. The trial examined grain yield in addition to water use efficiency (WUE) of pigeonpea intercropped with maize versus sole pigeonpea and maize. A randomized complete block design, replicated three times, was used. Soil water tension was measured at 20, 50, and 120 cm within plots. The highest and lowest soil water tension was recorded at 20 m and 120 m respectively. Combined biomass and grain yield were significantly different: pigeonpea + maize (5513 kg ha−1) > pigeonpea (3368 kg ha−1) > maize (2425 kg ha−1). A similar trend was observed for WUE and land equivalent ratio (LER), where pigeonpea + maize outperformed all sole cropping systems. The inclusion of pigeonpea in a traditional mono-cropping system is recommended for smallholder farmers due to greater WUE, LER and other associated benefits such as food, feed and soil fertility amelioration, and it can reduce the effects of droughts induced by climate change.

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