Daily drip irrigation based on real‐time weather improves winter wheat grain yield and water use efficiency

Abstract

AbstractIn order to evaluate the effectiveness of daily drip irrigation on the growth of winter wheat, a 2‐year field experiment was conducted to compare the influence of conventional irrigation (CI) and daily drip irrigation (DI1 and DI2) on the soil water content, evapotranspiration dynamics, grain yield and water use efficiency (WUE) of winter wheat. CI irrigated 75 mm at elongation and anthesis periods, respectively. DI1 and DI2 started irrigation from the elongation period and single‐time irrigation amount was 30 and 45% respectively of the daily reference evapotranspiration until total irrigation amount reached 150 mm or winter wheat was harvested. During 2016–2017, the grain yield and WUE of DI1 improved significantly by 9.7 and 30.2%, respectively, compared with those of CI. In 2017–2018, grain yield of DI1 and DI2 improved significantly by 10.4 and 7.7%, and WUE of DI1 and DI2 increased by 8.5 and 12.7%, respectively, compared with those of CI. Compared with CI, winter wheat exposed to daily drip irrigation enhanced water utilization in deep soil layers and reduced the noon evapotranspiration rate, leading to less water consumption. Simultaneously, daily drip irrigation ensured water supply in the upper soil layers during the grain‐filling stage, and increased thousand grain weight and yield. The results showed that daily drip irrigation could greatly improve winter wheat yield and WUE by homogenizing water supply based on real‐time weather, which provided a reference for the formulation of accurate water‐saving drip irrigation strategy.