Effects of late sowing of two season crops on annual yield and resource use efficiency in rice-wheat double cropping system

Abstract

The unreasonable resource allocation and lower resource use efficiency for rice-wheat double cropping system in Jianghuai region resulted from climate change severely limit the coordinated development of annually high yield and high efficiency crops. Optimizing seasonal resource allocation through sowing date adjustment is an important way to tap the annual high-yield potential and improve resource use efficiency. To quantify the effects of sowing date of rice and wheat on annual yield and resource allocation and utilization efficiency, field experiments were conducted in 2013-2015. Results showed that compared with the conventional rice-wheat cropping system (T2), the two seasons appropriate late-cast cropping system (T3) could coordinate resource allocation in the two seasons through the sowing date adjustment, and transfer the redundant radiation and heat resources in the wheat season to the rice. The distribution rate of accumulated temperature, radiation and rainfall resources for T3 were: rice season accounted for 60.5%, 46.5% and 56.7%, wheat season accounted for 36.3%, 50.0% and 40.9%, and the ratio between two seasons was 1.67, 0.94 and 1.39, respectively. Rice yield and its proportion of annual production were significantly increased. The wheat yield was significantly decreased, with the variation range being smaller than that of rice. The total annual yield was increased by 336.3 kg·hm-2 as compared with T2. The temperature, radiation and rainfall production efficiency for rice in T3 were increased by 9.8%, 5.6% and 8.3% in compared to T2, respectively. There was no significant difference in the climate resource utilization efficiency of wheat season. The annual resource production efficiency of T3 was increased by 4.8%, 3.1% and 6.0% over the T2, respectively. Earlier (T1) or latest sowing (T4) of two seasons cropping system was not appropriate for annual yield formation and resource utilization. In summary, improving resource utilization efficiency in rice season is the key way to increase annual grain yield potential in Jianghuai region. The results provided theoretical and practical bases for the excavation of yield potential of the regional annual cropping system and the adjustment of planting structure.