Abstract
Pearl millet (Pennisitum glaucum L.) is a warm season C4 grass well adapted to semiarid climates where concerns over scarce and depleting water resources continually prompt the search for water efficient crop management to improve water use efficiency (WUE). A two-year study was conducted in the Southern Great Plains, USA, semi-arid region, to determine optimum levels of irrigation, row spacing, and tillage to maximize WUE and maintain forage production in pearl millet. Pearl millet was planted in a strip-split-plot factorial design at two row widths, 76 and 19 cm, in tilled and no-till soil under three irrigation levels (high, moderate, and limited). The results were consistent between production years. Both WUE and forage yield were impacted by tillage; however, irrigation level had the greatest effect on forage production. Row spacing had no effect on either WUE or forage yield. The pearl millet water use-yield production function was y = 6.68 × x (mm) − 837 kg ha−1; however, a low coefficient of determination (r2 = 0.31) suggests that factors other than water use (WU), such as a low leaf area index (LAI), had greater influence on dry matter (DM) production. Highest WUE (6.13 Mg ha−1 mm−1) was achieved in tilled soil due to greater LAI and DM production than in no-till.
Highlights
Crop yield loss occurs under water deficit, many studies have found that higher crop water use efficiency (WUE) is often achieved under water stress conditions [1], albeit, with reduced yield
The authors of [20,22,41] found that pearl millet WUE increased as water stress increased, which was not observed in this study
The authors of [20,22,41] found that pearl millet WUE increased as water stress increased, These results demonstrate the challenges of field study management to optimize WUE
Summary
Crop yield loss occurs under water deficit, many studies have found that higher crop water use efficiency (WUE) is often achieved under water stress conditions [1], albeit, with reduced yield. It is imperative to identify crop management strategies that optimize WUE without sacrificing attainable yield under limited water availability. The ratio of crop fodder (forage) or grain biomass produced per unit water used (transpiration and losses to soil evaporation) is considered crop water use efficiency [2]. Pearl millet is a C4 warm season grass predominately in production for grain for human consumption and forage for livestock feed throughout Africa and India and is noted for its tolerance to semiarid conditions where there is low rainfall and limited levels of soil nutrients and organic matter [3,4]
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