Abstract
Understanding the time-course of dry matter (DM) and nitrogen (N) accumulation in terms of yield–trait relationships is essential to simultaneously increase grain yield and synchronize N demand and N supply. We collected 413 data points from 11 field experiments to address patterns of DM and N accumulation with time in relation to grain yield and management of winter wheat in China. Detailed growth analysis was conducted at the Zadok growth stages (GS) 25 (regreening), GS30 (stem elongation), GS60 (anthesis), and GS100 (maturity) in all experiments, including DM and N accumulation. Grain yield averaged 7.3 Mg ha−1, ranging from 2.1 to 11.2 Mg ha−1. The percent N accumulation was consistent prior to DM accumulation, while both DM and N accumulation increased continuously with growing time. Both the highest and fastest DM and N accumulations were observed from stem elongation to the anthesis stage. Significant correlations between grain yield and DM and N accumulation were found at each of the four growth stages, although no positive relationship was observed between grain yield and harvest index or N harvest index. The yield increase from 7–9 Mg ha−1 to >9 Mg ha−1 was mainly attributed to increased DM and N accumulation from stem elongation to anthesis. Although applying more N fertilizer increased N accumulation during this stage, DM accumulation was not improved, indicating that N fertilizer management and related agronomic management should be intensified synchronously across the wheat growing season to simultaneously achieve high yields and match N demand and N supply.
Highlights
As the largest wheat producer and consumer in the world, China produced around 115 million t wheat with a planting area of about 24.3 million ha in 2010 [1]
More than 6.3 Mg ha21 dry matter (DM) accumulated from stem elongation to anthesis, with an average accumulation rate of 253 kg ha21 day21 (Figure 1A)
A total of 1.5 Mg ha21 DM accumulated from sowing to regreening, 1.4 Mg ha21 DM from regreening to stem elongation, and 5.1 Mg ha21 DM accumulated post-anthesis, while the associated daily accumulation rate averaged 21, 38, and 130 kg ha21 day21, respectively
Summary
As the largest wheat producer and consumer in the world, China produced around 115 million t wheat with a planting area of about 24.3 million ha in 2010 [1]. As one of major cereal, yield growth of wheat in China has dropped from 9% in 1970s to ,3% annually in 2000s [1]. Grain yield has usually been positively correlated with total DM production and nutrient accumulation in crops [5]. DM accumulation and nutrient accumulation vary with growth stage of crops [6]. In practice, a significant correlation has been found between grain yield and DM production post-anthesis in high-yield systems in China [11,12]. Because few studies have focused on the relationship between grain yield and DM and N accumulation with timecourse (e.g., [13]), the pattern of DM and N accumulation preand post-anthesis remains unclear
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