Deficit drip irrigation based on crop evapotranspiration and precipitation forecast improves water‐ use efficiency and grain yield of summer maize
- 19 June 2021
- journal article
- research article
- Published by Wiley in Journal of the Science of Food and Agriculture
- Vol. 102 (2), 653-663
- https://doi.org/10.1002/jsfa.11394
Abstract
BACKGROUND Limited and erratic precipitation with inefficient irrigation scheduling often leads to an unstable crop yield and low water-use efficiency (WUE) in semi-arid and semi-humid regions. A 2-year field experiment was conducted to evaluate the effect of three irrigation strategies (conventional irrigation (CK), full-drip irrigation (FI), based on crop evapotranspiration and precipitation forecast, and deficit drip irrigation (DI) (75% FI)) on photosynthetic characteristics, leaf-to-air temperature difference (∆T), grain yield, and the WUE of summer maize. RESULTS The results showed that the daily average net photosynthetic rate (Pn) of DI and FI increased by 25.4% and 25.8% at jointing stage in 2018, and 26.3% and 26.5% at grain-filling stage in 2019 compared with CK, respectively. At jointing stage in 2018 and grain-filling stage in 2019, the transpiration rate (Tr) of DI was significantly lower than that of FI (P < 0.05) but there was insignificant difference in Pn value (P > 0.05). The ∆T between 12:00–14:00 of DI and FI was significantly lower than that of CK at jointing stage in 2018 and grain-filling stage in 2019 (P < 0.05). The 2-year average grain yields of DI and FI were 11.4 and 11.5 t ha−1, which increased by 32.4% and 32.8% compared with CK, respectively. The WUE of DI was 2.82 kg m−3, which was 17.9% and 33.8% higher than that of FI and CK, respectively. CONCLUSION Deficit drip irrigation based on crop evapotranspiration and precipitation forecast improves crop WUE and maintains high grain yields in semi-arid and semi-humid regions. © 2021 Society of Chemical Industry.Keywords
Funding Information
- Special Fund for Agro-scientific Research in the Public Interest (201503124)
This publication has 45 references indexed in Scilit:
- Response of dryland spring wheat yield to elevated CO2 concentration and temperature by APSIM modelChinese Journal of Eco-Agriculture, 2012
- Global food demand and the sustainable intensification of agricultureProceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 2011
- The Future of Food: Scenarios for 2050Crop Science, 2010
- Maize yield response to deficit irrigation during low-sensitive growth stages and nitrogen rate under semi-arid climatic conditionsAgricultural Water Management, 2010
- Identification of Physiological Traits Underlying Cultivar Differences in Drought Tolerance in Rice and WheatJournal of Agronomy and Crop Science, 2009
- Stomatal control and water use efficiency of soybean (Glycine max L. Merr.) during progressive soil dryingEnvironmental and Experimental Botany, 2004
- Drought stress inhibits photosynthesis by decreasing stomatal aperture – not by affecting ATP synthesisTrends in Plant Science, 2000
- Nitrogen-use efficiency in tropical lowland rice systems: contributions from indigenous and applied nitrogenField Crops Research, 1996
- Osmotic Adjustment, Symplast Volume, and Nonstomatally Mediated Water Stress Inhibition of Photosynthesis in WheatPlant Physiology, 1987
- Stomatal Conductance and PhotosynthesisAnnual Review of Plant Physiology, 1982