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Maize grain yield and water use efficiency in relation to climatic factors and plant population in northern China

LIU Yue-e, HOU Peng, HUANG Gui-rong, ZHONG Xiu-li, LI Hao-ru, ZHAO Jiu-ran, LI Shao-kun, MEI Xu-rong

2021, 20 (12): 3156-3169. DOI: 10.1016/S2095-3119(20)63428-1

Abstract （222） PDF in ScienceDirect

Water scarcity has become a limiting factor for increasing crop production. Finding ways to improve water use efficiency (WUE) has become an urgent task for Chinese agriculture. To understand the response of different maize populations to changes in precipitation and the effects of changes in maize populations on WUE, this study conducted maize population experiments using maize hybrids with different plant types (compact and semi compact) and different planting densities at 25 locations across China. It was found that, as precipitation increased across different locations, maize grain yield first increased and then decreased, while WUE decreased significantly. Analyzing the relationship between WUE and the main climatic factors, this study found that WUE was significantly and negatively correlated with precipitation (R (daily mean precipitation) and R (accumulated precipitation)) and was positively correlated with temperature (T_M (daily mean maximum temperature), T_M–m (T_m, daily mean minimum temperature) and GDD (growing degree days)) and solar radiation (Ra (daily mean solar radiation) and Ra (accumulated solar radiation)) over different growth periods. Significant differences in maize grain yield, WUE and precipitation were found at different planting densities. The population densities were ranked as follows according to maize grain yield and WUE based on the multi-site experiment data: 60 000 plants ha^–1 (P₂)>90 000 plants ha^–1 (P₃)>30 000 plants ha^–1 (P₁). Further analysis showed that, as maize population increased, water consumption increased significantly while soil evaporation decreased significantly. Significant differences were found between the WUE of ZD958 (compact type) and that of LD981 (semi-compact type), as well as among the WUE values at different planting densities. In addition, choosing the optimum hybrid and planting density increased WUE by 21.70 and 14.92%, respectively, which showed that the hybrid played a more significant role than the planting density in improving WUE. Therefore, choosing drought-resistant hybrids could be more effective than increasing the planting density to increase maize grain yield and WUE in northern China. Comprehensive consideration of climatic impacts, drought-resistant hybrids (e.g., ZD958) and planting density (e.g., 60 000 plants ha^–1) is an effective way to increase maize grain yield and WUE across different regions of China.

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Water consumption in summer maize and winter wheat cropping system based on SEBAL model in Huang-Huai-Hai Plain, China

YANG Jian-ying, MEI Xu-rong, HUO Zhi-guo, YAN Chang-rong, JU Hui, ZHAO Feng-hua, LIU Qin

2015, 14 (10): 2065-2076. DOI: 10.1016/S2095-3119(14)60951-5

Abstract （1918） PDF in ScienceDirect

Crop consumptive water use is recognized as a key element to understand regional water management performance. This study documents an attempt to apply a regional evapotranspiration model (SEBAL) and crop information for assessment of regional crop (summer maize and winter wheat) actual evapotranspiration (ETa) in Huang-Huai-Hai (3H) Plain, China. The average seasonal ETa of summer maize and winter wheat were 354.8 and 521.5 mm respectively in 3H Plain. A high-ETa belt of summer maize occurs in piedmont plain, while a low ETa area was found in the hill-irrigable land and dry land area. For winter wheat, a high-ETa area was located in the middle part of 3H Plain, including low plain-hydropenia irrigable land and dry land, hill-irrigable land and dry land, and basin-irrigable land and dry land. Spatial analysis demonstrated a linear relationship between crop ETa, normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI), and the land surface temperature (LST). A stronger relationship between ETa and NDVI was found in the metaphase and last phase than other crop growing phase, as indicated by higher correlation coefficient values. Additionally, higher correlation coefficients were detected between ETa and LST than that between ETa and NDVI, and this significant relationship ran through the entire crop growing season. ETa in the summer maize growing season showed a significant relationship with longitude, while ETa in the winter wheat growing season showed a significant relationship with latitude. The results of this study will serve as baseline information for water resources management of 3H Plain.

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Improving Water Use Efficiency of Wheat Crop Varieties in the North China Plain: Review and Analysis

MEI Xu-rong, ZHONG Xiu-li, Vadez Vincent , LIU Xiao-ying

2013, 12 (7): 1243-1250. DOI: 10.1016/S2095-3119(13)60437-2

Abstract （1831） PDF in ScienceDirect

The North China Plain (NCP), one of the most important agricultural regions in China, is facing a major water-resource crisis evoked by excessive exploitation of groundwater. To reduce water use while maintaining high crop production level, improving variety water use efficiency (WUE) is an urgent need, especially because other water-saving measures such as water delivery, irrigation, and agricultural practices have already achieved most possible progresses. Evaluation of variety WUE can be performed accurately at the individual plant level (WUEp). Reviewing the studies on physiological factors affecting WUEp performed up to date, stomatal conductance was considered to be an important trait associating closely with WUEp. The trait showed a large degree of varietal variability under well-watered conditions. Crop varieties differ highly in sensitivity of stomata to soil and air drying, with some varieties strongly reducing their stomatal conductance in contrast with those lightly regulating their stomata. As a result, difference among varieties in WUEp was enlarged under water deficit conditions in contrast with those under well-watered conditions. The relationship between stomatal conductance and yield depends on water availability of whole growing period in local areas. Usually, large stomatal conductance results in a high yield under good irrigation system, whereas a low stomatal conductance can lead to yield benefit under limited stored soil moisture conditions. In the NCP, winter wheat is the largest consumer of irrigation water, improvement strategies for high WUE aiming at wheat crops are in urgent need. We suggest, for the well-irrigated areas with excessive exploitation of groundwater, the wheat breeding program need to combine medium stomatal conductance (0.35 mmol H2O m-2 s-1 or so), high carboxylation efficiency, and high harvest index. Areas with partial/full access to irrigation, or infrequent drought, should target wheat varieties with high stomatal conductance under no water stress and low sensitivity of stomata to soil water deficit. Drought-prone rain-fed areas characterized by frequent and long terminal drought should target wheat varieties with low stomatal conductance under no water stress and high stomata sensitivity to soil drying to make water available during grain filling.

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Spatiotemporal Characteristics of Reference Evapotranspiration and Its Sensitivity Coefficients to Climate Factors in Huang-Huai-Hai Plain, China

YANG Jian-ying, LIU Qin, MEI Xu-rong, YAN Chang-rong, JU Hui, XU Jian-wen

2013, 12 (12): 2280-2291. DOI: 10.1016/S2095-3119(13)60561-4

Abstract （1325） PDF in ScienceDirect

Climate change will have important implications in water shore regions, such as Huang-Huai-Hai (3H) plain, where expected warmer and drier conditions might augment crop water demand. Sensitivity analysis is important in understanding the relative importance of climatic variables to the variation in reference evapotranspiration (ET0). In this study, the 51-yr ET0 during winter wheat and summer maize growing season were calculated from a data set of daily climate variables in 40 meteorological stations. Sensitivity maps for key climate variables were estimated according to Kriging method and the spatial pattern of sensitivity coefficients for these key variables was plotted. In addition, the slopes of the linear regression lines for sensitivity coefficients were obtained. Results showed that ET0 during winter wheat growing season accounted for the largest proportion of annual ET0, due to its long phenological days, while ET0 was detected to decrease significantly with the magnitude of 0.5 mm yr-1 in summer maize growing season. Solar radiation is considered to be the most sensitive and primarily controlling variable for negative trend in ET0 for summer maize season, and higher sensitive coefficient value of ET0 to solar radiation and temperature were detected in east part and southwest part of 3H plain respectively. Relative humidity was demonstrated as the most sensitive factor for ET0 in winter wheat growing season and declining relativity humidity also primarily controlled a negative trend in ET0, furthermore the sensitivity coefficient to relative humidity increased from west to southeast. The eight sensitivity centrals were all found located in Shandong Province. These ET0 along with its sensitivity maps under winter wheat-summer maize rotation system can be applied to predict the agricultural water demand and will assist water resources planning and management for this region.

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