Effects of regulated deficit irrigation on grain yield and water use efficiency of spring wheat in an arid environment

2005 ◽  
Vol 85 (4) ◽  
pp. 829-837 ◽  
Author(s):  
Bu-Chong Zhang ◽  
Feng-Min Li ◽  
Gao-Bao Huang ◽  
Yantai Gan ◽  
Pu-Hai Liu ◽  
...  

Grain yield and water use efficiency (WUE) of spring wheat ( Triticum aestivum L.) in arid environments can be improved by applying irrigation selectively to allow soil water deficits to develop at non-critical stages of crop development. Field experiments were conducted on a loam soil in Zhangye district, northwest China in 2003 and 2004 to determine the grain yield, yield components, and water use characteristics of spring wheat in response to regulated deficit irrigation (RDI) schemes. Wheat grown under the RDI schemes produced 17% (in 2004) and 29% (in 2003) higher grain yield than wheat grown under water deficit-free control (5.6 t ha-1 in 2003 and 6.2 t ha-1 in 2004). Among six RDI schemes studied, wheat having a high water deficit at the jointing stage, but free from water def icit from booting to grain-filling produced highest grain yield in both 2003 (7.95 t ha-1) and 2004 (7.26 t ha-1). Compared with the control, wheat plants grown under the RDI schemes received 59 mm (or 15%) less water via irrigation, but they either extrac ted 41 mm more (or 74%) water from the soil profile (in 2003) or lowered (16%) evapotranspiration (ET) (in 2004). Grain yield increased as ET increased from 415 to 460 mm, and declined beyond 460 mm. The WUE values varied from 0.0116 to 0.0168 t ha-1 mm-1, and wheat grown under the RDI had 26% greater WUE compared with the control. Grain yield and WUE of spring wheat can be greatly improved by regulated deficit irrigation with reduced amounts of water. This practice is particularly valuable in arid regions where wheat production relies heavily on irrigation. Key words:

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 ◽  
...  

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.


Water ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (24) ◽  
pp. 3510
Author(s):  
Chenli Zhou ◽  
Hengjia Zhang ◽  
Fuqiang Li ◽  
Zeyi Wang ◽  
Yucai Wang

Water resource scarcity is an important factor restricting the sustainable development of agriculture in Northwest China. Regulated deficit irrigation can conserve water while maintaining high crop yields. A field experiment was conducted to evaluate the effect of regulated deficit irrigation on the photosynthetic characteristics, yield, and water use efficiency of woad (Isatis indigotica) under mulched drip irrigation from 2017 to 2019 in a cold and arid area of the Hexi Oasis irrigation region, China. Sufficient water was supplied during the seedling stage. The control consisted of adequate water supplied during the other growth stages, whereas mild, moderate, and severe water deficits were imposed during the vegetative growth period, and a mild and moderate water deficit was imposed during the fleshy root growth stage. A mild water deficit was imposed during the fleshy root maturity period. The results showed that the net photosynthetic rate, transpiration rate, and stomatal conductance under moderate and severe water deficit were significantly (p < 0.05) decreased compared with the control, respectively, during the vegetative growth period. The economic yield of mild water deficit during the vegetative growth and mild water deficit during the vegetative growth and fleshy root growth did not differ significantly (p > 0.05) from that of the control. Other treatments caused a 6.74–17.74% reduction in the economic yield of woad. The water use efficiency and irrigation water use efficiency were the highest in the mild water deficit during the vegetative growth period and the fleshy root growth period. Therefore, the application of a continuous mild deficit from the vegetative growth stage to the fleshy root growth stage with sufficient water supplied during other growth periods is recommended as the optimal irrigation regime for maximum yield, water use efficiency, and water-saving of woad.


2013 ◽  
Vol 864-867 ◽  
pp. 2009-2012 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ya Mei Wang ◽  
Heng Jia Zhang

An experiment was conducted to investigate the effect of regulated deficit irrigation (RDI) on yield and water use efficiency (WUE) of processing tomato in an arid climate. The results showed that crop yields of processing tomato were significantly (p<0.05) 11.0%~60.0% higher in the fully irrigated plots than RDI treatments except that subject to low level of RDI at seedling. When subject to RDI fruit number per plant, fruit weight, fruit longitudinal diameter and transverse diameter were the main components contributing to yield increase of processing tomato, while decayed fruit number was the key factor restraining tomato yield improvement. The WUE of processing tomato was significantly improved by 13.4% in RDI plants subject to low water deficit at seedling compared to full irrigation, but no difference (p>0.05) existed between fully irrigated crops and RDI plants subject to water deficit at seedling or late fruiting. However, in comparison with fully irrigated crops WUE was significantly reduced by 16.3%~23.3% in RDI plants subject to water deficits respectively at flowering and full fruiting as well as subject to high water deficit at late fruiting. Therefore, low level of RDI at seedling while full irrigation during flowering to late fruiting could be applied to effectively improve yield and WUE of processing tomato in arid areas.


2004 ◽  
Vol 84 (2) ◽  
pp. 487-501 ◽  
Author(s):  
C. A. Campbell ◽  
R. P. Zentner ◽  
F. Selles ◽  
V. O. Biederbeck ◽  
B. G. McConkey ◽  
...  

Producers in the semiarid Canadian prairies practice frequent summerfallow to conserve water and reduce the risk of crop failure, but this practice promotes soil degradation. In contrast, annual cropping enhances soil quality but results in greater economic risk. We need to know what is the most suitable cropping frequency for this region. In 1985, based on results of the first 18 yr of a long-term crop rotation experiment being conducted on a medium-textured, Orthic Brown Chernozem at Swift Current, Saskatchewan, we modified the experiment to allow comparison of four cropping frequencies over the period 1985–2002. These were fallow-spring wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) (F-W), F-W-W, F-W-W-W-W-W, and continuous wheat (Cont W). All systems received recommended rates of N and P fertilizer. Growing season precipitation during the 1985–2002 period was 10% above average so that grain yields were also above average for this region. We assessed yields of grain, straw and N in aboveground plant parts, N concentration in grain and straw, harvest index, nitrogen harvest index and water use efficiency, and the average annual production (on a rotation basis) of grain, straw and aboveground N yield, and related these characteristics to water deficit. Water deficit was the main factor responsible for annual variations in the characteristics assessed. Of these characteristics, cropping frequency influenced only the average annual productivity factors; it rarely influenced the characteristics when they were assessed on a rotation-phase basis. Assuming cropping frequency (x) for the 2-yr, 3-yr, 6-yr and Cont W rotations is 50%, 67%, 83%, and 100%, respectively, then average annual yields (y) in kg ha-1 yr-1 were related to frequency as follows: (1) for grain yield y = 768 + 10.7 x, r2 = 0.99; (2) for straw yield y = 1159 + 18.9 x, r2 = 0.99; and (3) for aboveground plant N yield y = 23.7 + 0.36 x, r2 = 0.99. The regression between annual grain production and cropping frequency at Swift Current for 1985 to 2002 had a much higher slope than the relationship for the same experiment in the much drier 1967 to 1984 period. Further, the equations for Swift Current in 1985–2002 were similar to the relationships obtained for systems in the subhumid Black Chernozems, indicating such relationships are greatly influenced by weather conditions. These relationships may be useful for conducting economic analyses and for modeling N balance. We conducted an apparent N balance analysis which indicated that all four rotations have lost N from the system in inverse proportion to the frequency of cropping. However, changes in total N in the 0- to 0.3-m depth of soil suggest that they have not lost N and that Cont W gained N over the course of the study. We are not able to explain this apparent anomaly and recommend further research on this question. Key words: Fallow frequency, grain yield, N concentration, N yield, water deficit, water use efficiency, N balance


Water ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (2) ◽  
pp. 148
Author(s):  
Minghui Cheng ◽  
Haidong Wang ◽  
Junliang Fan ◽  
Fucang Zhang ◽  
Xiukang Wang

To investigate the effects of alternate partial root-zone irrigation (APRI) and water deficit at different growth stages on maize growth, physiological characteristics, the grain yield, and the water use efficiency (WUE), a pot experiment was conducted under a mobile automatic rain shelter. There were two irrigation methods, i.e., conventional irrigation (CI) and APRI; two irrigation levels, i.e., mild deficit irrigation (W1, 55%~70% FC, where FC is the field capacity) and serious deficit irrigation (W2, 40%~55% FC); and two deficit stages, i.e., the seedling (S) and milking stage (M). Sufficient irrigation (W0: 70%~85% FC) was applied throughout the growing season of maize as the control treatment (CK). The results indicated that APRI and CI decreased the total water consumption (ET) by 34.7% and 23.8% compared to CK, respectively. In comparison to CK, APRI and CI increased the yield-based water use efficiency (WUEY) by 41% and 7.7%, respectively. APRI increased the irrigation water efficiency (IWUE) and biomass-based water use efficiency (WUEB) by 8.8% and 25.5% compared to CK, respectively. Additionally, ASW1 had a similar grain yield to CK and the largest harvest index (HI). However, the chlorophyll and carotenoid contents were significantly reduced by 13.7% and 23.1% under CI, and by 11.3% and 20.3% under APRI, compared to CK, respectively. Deficit irrigation at the milking stage produced a longer tip length, resulting in a lower grain yield. Based on the entropy weight method and the technique for order preference by similarity to an ideal solution (TOPSIS) method, multi-objective optimization was obtained when mild deficit irrigation (55%~70% FC) occurred at the seedling stage under APRI.


2020 ◽  
Vol 6 ◽  
pp. 127-135
Author(s):  
Ekubay Tesfay Gebreigziabher

Irrigation water availability is diminishing in many areas of the Ethiopian regions, which require many irrigators to consider deficit-irrigation strategy. This study investigated the response of maize (Zea mays L.) to moisture deficit under conventional, alternate and fixed furrow irrigation systems combined with three irrigation amounts over a two years period. The field experiment was conducted at Selekleka Agricultural Research Farm of Shire-Maitsebri Agricultural Research Center. A randomized complete block design (RCBD) with three replications was used. Irrigation depth was monitored using a calibrated 2-inch throat Parshall flume. The effects of the treatments were evaluated in terms of grain yield, dry above-ground biomass, plant height, cob length and water use efficiency. The two years combined result indicated that  net irrigation water applied in alternate furrow irrigation with full amount irrigation depth (100% ETc AFI) treatments was half (3773.5 m3/ha) than that of applied to the conventional furrow with full irrigation amount (CFI with 100% ETc) treatments (7546.9 m3/ha). Despite the very significant reduction in irrigation water used with alternate furrow irrigation (AFI), there was insignificant grain yield reduction in maize(8.31%) as compared to control treatment (CFI with100% ETc). In addition, we also obtained significantly (p<0.001) higher crop water use efficiency of 1.889 kg/m3 in alternate furrow irrigation (AFI), than that was obtained as 0.988 kg/m3 in conventional furrow irrigation (CFI). In view of the results, alternate furrow irrigation method (AFI) is taken as promising for conservation of water (3773.5 m3/ha), time (23:22'50" hours/ha), labor (217.36 USD/ha) and fuel (303.79 USD/ha) for users diverting water from the source to their fields using pump without significant trade-off in yield.


2010 ◽  
Vol 52 (2) ◽  
pp. 263-269 ◽  
Author(s):  
Beibei Zhang ◽  
Wenzhao Liu ◽  
Scott X. Chang ◽  
Anthony O. Anyia

2020 ◽  
Vol 2020 ◽  
pp. 1-11
Author(s):  
Kassu Tadesse Kassaye ◽  
Wubengeda Admasu Yilma ◽  
Mehiret Hone Fisha ◽  
Dawit Habte Haile

The benefits of water-saving techniques such as alternate furrow and deficit irrigations need to be explored to ensure food security for the ever-increasing population within the context of declining availability of irrigation water. In this regard, field experiments were conducted for 2 consecutive dry seasons in the semiarid region of southwestern Ethiopia and investigated the influence of alternate furrow irrigation method with different irrigation levels on the yield, yield components, water use efficiency, and profitability of potato production. The experiment comprised of 3 irrigation methods: (i) conventional furrow irrigation (CFI), (ii) alternate furrow irrigation (AFI), and (iii) fixed furrow irrigation (FFI) combined factorially with 3 irrigation regimes: (i) 100%, (ii) 75%, and (iii) 50% of the potato water requirement (ETC). The experiment was laid out in randomized complete block design replicated thrice. Results revealed that seasonal irrigation water applied in alternate furrows was nearly half (170 mm) of the amount supplied in every furrow (331 mm). Despite the half reduction in the total amount of water, tuber (35.68 t ha−1) and total biomass (44.37 t ha−1) yields of potato in AFI did not significantly differ from CFI (34.84 and 45.35 t ha−1, respectively). Thus, AFI improved WUE by 49% compared to CFI. Irrigating potato using 75% of ETC produced tuber yield of 35.01 t ha−1, which was equivalent with 100% of ETC (35.18 t ha−1). Irrigating alternate furrows using 25% less ETC provided the highest net return of US$74.72 for every unit investment on labor for irrigating potato. In conclusion, irrigating alternate furrows using up to 25% less ETC saved water, provided comparable yield, and enhanced WUE and economic benefit. Therefore, farmers and experts are recommended to make change to AFI with 25% deficit irrigation in the study area and other regions with limited water for potato production to improve economic, environmental, and social performance of their irrigated systems.


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