Abstract
The ridge furrow (RF) rainwater harvesting system is an efficient way to enhance rainwater accessibility for crops and increase winter wheat productivity in semi-arid regions. However, the RF system has not been promoted widely in the semi-arid regions, which primarily exist in remote hilly areas. To exploit its efficiency on a large-scale, the RF system needs to be tested at different amounts of simulated precipitation combined with deficit irrigation. Therefore, in during the 2015–16 and 2016–17 winter wheat growing seasons, we examined the effects of two planting patterns: (1) the RF system and (2) traditional flat planting (TF) with three deficit irrigation levels (150, 75, 0 mm) under three simulated rainfall intensity (1: 275, 2: 200, 3: 125 mm), and determined soil water storage profile, evapotranspiration rate, grain filling rate, biomass, grain yield, and net economic return. Over the two study years, the RF treatment with 200 mm simulated rainfall and 150 mm deficit irrigation (RF2150) significantly (P < 0.05) increased soil water storage in the depth of (200 cm); reduced ET at the field scale by 33%; increased total dry matter accumulation per plant; increased the grain-filling rate; and improved biomass (11%) and grain (19%) yields. The RF2150 treatment thus achieved a higher WUE (76%) and RIWP (21%) compared to TF. Grain-filling rates, grain weight of superior and inferior grains, and net economic profit of winter wheat responded positively to simulated rainfall and deficit irrigation under both planting patterns. The 200 mm simulated rainfall amount was more economical than other precipitation amounts, and led to slight increases in soil water storage, total dry matter per plant, and grain yield; there were no significant differences when the simulated rainfall was increased beyond 200 mm. The highest (12,593 Yuan ha−1) net income profit was attained using the RF system at 200 mm rainfall and 150 mm deficit irrigation, which also led to significantly higher grain yield, WUE, and RIWP than all other treatments. Thus, we recommend the RF2150 treatment for higher productivity, income profit, and improve WUE in the dry-land farming system of China.
Highlights
The semi-arid regions of northwest China are crucial for winter wheat production
The soil moisture utilization rate increased as plants developed, but using the ridge furrow (RF) system under simulated rainfall and deficit irrigation reduced water stress and supplied soil water contents during critical growth stages compared to the traditional flat planting (TF) planting pattern
The Soil Water Storage (SWS) capacity in the 0–2 m soil depth under the RF system significantly increased with increasing simulated rainfall intensity and deficit irrigation levels compared to TF planting during all growth stages of winter wheat
Summary
The semi-arid regions of northwest China are crucial for winter wheat production. In northwest China precipitation serves as the main water source, and most crop production depends on natural rainwater (Ren et al, 2016). The raining season in this area does not overlap with the growth stages of wheat because 72% of rainfall occurs between July and September, and winter wheat is grown between October and June (Wen et al, 2012). This indicates a severe ecological problem for improving sustainable, dryland farming. To deal with the water scarcity issue, it is essential to implement water saving farming practices to optimize consumption of limited rainfall Such practices include micro rainwater harvesting and water storage, both of which can enhance the WUE of winter wheat (Ren et al, 2008)
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