Abstract
A field trial was conducted at a private farm in AL-Hashimiya district Babylon Governorate—the republic of Iraq during the 2016-2017 and 2017-2018 growing seasons. This study was conducted using two irrigation methods, sprinkler and surface irrigation, for each of them had three Tillage methods (zero-tillage, medium-tillage, deep-tillage) and each tillage system had four seeding rate of wheat yield (120, 180, 240, 300) kg∙ha-1. Results indicated that the consumptive water use was 557.5 and 535.9 mm for surface irrigation and 460.9 and 442.6 mm for sprinkler irrigation in the 2016-2017 and 2017-2018 growing seasons. Sprinkler irrigation significantly increased the flag leaf area with no significant effect on plant height. However, the minimum tillage and seeding rate (240 kg∙ha-1) significantly increased the plant height and flag leaf area in both growing seasons. For the grain yield, the sprinkler irrigation, minimum tillage, and seeding rate (240 kg∙ha-1) also increased the plant height and flag leaf area by 13%, 10, % 11%, 11%, 12%, and 14% in both growing seasons, respectively, through an increased number of spikes/m2, the number of grain spike-1, and 1000-grain weight in both growing seasons, respectively. Interestingly the grain yield was increased by 33% and 32% in both growing seasons under the effects of these three factors altogether, respectively. It can be concluded that these factors act synergistically, resulting in a significant improvement in the wheat grain-yield of, less consumptive water use, and high water use efficiency.
Highlights
A major challenge in crop production is to achieve the goal of increasing both yield and resource use efficiency
Minimum tillage gave the highest average of plant height (82.29 and 82.25) cm compared with the lowest average of 74.00 and 74.08 cm in both growing seasons
The highest average of plant height 84.44 cm was under the sprinkler irrigation I1, and the high seeding rate 240 kg∙ha−1 (S3) compared with the lowest one 72.00 cm under surface irrigation I2 and for the lowest seeding rate (S1) in both growing seasons
Summary
A major challenge in crop production is to achieve the goal of increasing both yield and resource use efficiency. In the 2016-2017 growing season, the total cultivated area under wheat, total production, and productivity in Iraq were 1,054,000 ha, 2,974,000 t, and 1822 kg∙ha−1, respectively (Ministry of planning, directorate of agriculture statistics, 2017) This reflects the importance of this vital crop as a source of proteins and calories locally and globally, with an annual production of about 730 million tonnes globally [2]. The seeding rate (S) is one of the essential agronomic practices relevant to the irrigation and tillage system, as it is the crucial factor for plants in their efficient exploitation of available resources (water, air, radiation, fertilizer, and anything affecting plant growth) [15]. The present study aims to investigate the effect of three interrelated factors: the irrigation system (sprinkler irrigation and surface irrigation), tillage system (zero tillage, minimum tillage, and deep tillage), and seeding rates (120, 180, 240, and 300 kg∙ha−1) on wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) growth, grain yield and its water consumption and efficiency
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