Winter Wheat In North China Plain Research Articles

Suitable nitrogen application mode and lateral spacing for drip-irrigated winter wheat in North China Plain.

To propose an appropriate nitrogen application mode and suitable drip irrigation lateral spacing, a field experiment was conducted during 2017–2018 and 2018–2019 growing seasons to quantify the different drip irrigation lateral spacings and nitrogen fertigation strategies effects on winter wheat growth, yield, and water use efficiency (WUE) in the North China Plain (NCP). The experiment consisted of three drip irrigation lateral spacing (LS) (40, 60, and 80 cm, referred to as D40, D60, and D80 respectively) and three percentage splits of nitrogen application modes (NAM) (basal and top dressing application ratio as 50:50 (N50:50), 25:75 (N25:75), and 0:100 (N0-100) respectively). The experimental findings depicted that yield and its components, and WUE were markedly affected by LS and NAM. Fertigation of winter wheat at N25:75 NAM notably (P<0.05) increased the grain yield by 4.88%, 1.83% and 8.03%, 4.61%, and WUE by 3.10%, 3.18% and 5.37%, 7.82%, compared with those at NAM N50:50 and N0:100 in 2017–2018 and 2018–2019 growing seasons, respectively. LS D40 appeared very fruitful in terms of soil moisture and nitrogen distribution, WUE, grain yield, and yield components than that of other LS levels. The maximum grain yield (8.73 and 9.40 t ha-1) and WUE (1.70 and 1.95 kg m-3) were obtained under D40N25:75 during both growing seasons, which mainly due to that all main yield components in D40N25:75 treatment, such as spikes per unit area, 1000-grain weight, and grains per spike were significantly higher as compared to other treatments. The outcomes of this research may provide a scientific basis of lateral spacing and nitrogen fertigation management for the production of drip-irrigated winter wheat in NCP.

Spatial-temporal distribution of climate suitability of winter wheat in North China Plain for current and future climate scenarios

Wheat production in the North China Plain (NCP) is critical to food security in China; however, it is affected by climate change. Understanding the spatiotemporal distribution of climate suitability of wheat in NCP may help to rationally use climatic resources as well as reduce natural disasters. Out of 30 general circulation models in the Coupled Model Intercomparison Project Phase 5, the 5 best GCMs were selected for each meteorological factor to project daily data in 2021–2100 under representative concentration path 4.5 (RCP4.5) and RCP8.5 for 23 national climatic stations in NCP. Based on agricultural climatic suitability theory and the fuzzy mathematics method, the suitability of water, temperature, and solar radiation was analyzed. The results showed that the water suitability increases from 0.30 at present to 0.40 for 2021–2100 under both RCP4.5 and RCP8.5 with the lowest mostly distributed in the northwest. The temperature suitability varies from 0.80 at present to 0.75 for 2021–2100 and generally increases from north to south; however, at stage 2 (from overwintering to greening), it drops from 0.67 to 0.50 under RCP4.5 and 0.20 under RCP8.5 for 2081–2100. The decreases of water suitability at stage 5 (from heading to milking) and temperature suitability at stage 2 show negative effect of climate change to winter wheat. The solar radiation suitability shows an increasing trend under two scenarios in the future. Finally, the integrated climate suitability shows a little increasing trend, indicating climate condition of winter wheat in NCP will be slightly improved.

Grain yield and water use of winter wheat as affected by water and sulfur supply in the North China Plain

Water shortage has threatened sustainable development of agriculture globally as well as in the North China Plain (NCP). Irrigation, as the most effective way to increase food production in dry land, may not be readily available in the situation of drought. One of the alternatives is to supply plants with enough nutrients so that they can be more sustainable to the water stress. The objective of this study was to explore effects of irrigation and sulphur (S) application on water consumption, dry matter accumulation (DMA), and grain yield of winter wheat in NCP. Three irrigation regimes including no irrigation (rainfed, I0) during the whole growth period, once irrigation only at jointing stage (90 mm, I1), and twice respective irrigation at jointing and anthesis stages (90 mm plus 90 mm, I2), and two levels of S application including 0 (S0) and 60 kg ha−1 (S60) were designed in the field experiment in NCP. Results showed that increasing irrigation times significantly increased mean grain yield of wheat by 12.5-23.7% and nitrogen partial factor productivity (NPFP) by 21.2-45.0% in two wheat seasons, but markedly decreased crop water use efficiency (YWUE). Furthermore, S supply 60 kg ha−1 significantly increased mean grain yield, YWUE, IWUE and NPFP by 5.6, 6.1, 23.2, and 5.6% (across two wheat seasons), respectively. However, we also found that role of soil moisture prior to S application was one of important greater factors on improving the absorption and utilization of storage water and nutrients of soil. Thus, water supply is still the most important factor to restrict the growth of wheat in the present case of NCP, supplying 60 kg ha−1 S with once irrigation 90 mm at the jointing stage is a relatively appropriate recommended combination to improve grain yield and WUE of wheat when saving water resources is be considered in irrigated wheat farmlands of NCP.

Effect of Postsowing Compaction on Cold and Frost Tolerance of North China Plain Winter Wheat

Improper postsowing compaction negatively affects soil temperature and thereby cold and frost tolerance, particularly in extreme cold weather. In North China Plain, the temperature falls to 5 degrees below zero, even lower in winter, which is period for winter wheat growing. Thus improving temperature to promote wheat growth is important in this area. A field experiment from 2013 to 2016 was conducted to evaluate effects of postsowing compaction on soil temperature and plant population of wheat at different stages during wintering period. The effect of three postsowing compaction methods—(1) compacting wheel (CW), (2) crosskill roller (CR), and (3) V-shaped compacting roller after crosskill roller (VCRCR)—on winter soil temperatures and relation to wheat shoot growth parameters were measured. Results showed that the highest soil midwinter temperature was in the CW treatment. In the 20 cm and 40 cm soil layer, soil temperatures were ranked in the following order of CW &gt; VCRCR &gt; CR. Shoot numbers under CW, CR, and VCRCR treatments were statistically 12.40% and 8.18% higher under CW treatment compared to CR or VCRCR treatments at the end of wintering period. The higher soil temperature under CW treatment resulted in higher shoot number at the end of wintering period, apparently due to reduced shoot death by cold and frost damage.

Limited-irrigation improves water use efficiency and soil reservoir capacity through regulating root and canopy growth of winter wheat

The North China Plain (NCP) is a remarkable region with serious water shortages, especially during the winter wheat growing season. Developing water-saving irrigation is an important strategy to thoroughly resolving water scarcity in this region. Field experiments were conducted at Wuqiao Experiment Station of China Agricultural University, Hebei, China, in 2013–2014 and 2014–2015 using “Jimai22”, a winter wheat cultivar planted widely across China. The three irrigation regimes used were no-irrigation (no water applied after sowing), limited-irrigation (60mm of water applied at elongation), and sufficient-irrigation (a total of 180mm of water applied, with 60mm at regreening, elongation, and anthesis stages, respectively). Soil water storage, soil reservoir capacity, root length density, leaf expansion, water use efficiency (WUE), and grain yield of winter wheat were measured. The highest WUE was observed in the limited-irrigation treatment, achieving a relatively high grain yield. With increases in water (i.e., sufficient-irrigation), winter wheat grain yield increased, but water WUE decreased. Limited-irrigation hampered leaf expansion, which can reduce transpiration, and slightly reduced grain yield compared to the sufficient-irrigation treatment. Moreover, limited-irrigation stimulated roots to grow into deeper soil layers and thus enhanced the uptake of soil-stored water from the subsoil layer, developing a large soil reservoir capacity to store rain-water in summer. Overall, this study demonstrates that regulating soil water depletion moderately in the non-critical period and supplementary water in the critical period (through limited-irrigation, i.e., 60mm of water applied at elongation) in winter wheat results in high WUE with relatively high grain yield and enlarges soil reservoir capacity. Therefore, in years with typical climate conditions, irrigation of 60mm applied at elongation is the best irrigation scheme for efficient water use and relatively high yield in winter wheat in NCP.

Developing a new Crop Circle active canopy sensor-based precision nitrogen management strategy for winter wheat in North China Plain

Active canopy sensor (ACS)—based precision nitrogen (N) management (PNM) is a promising strategy to improve crop N use efficiency (NUE). The GreenSeeker (GS) sensor with two fixed bands has been applied to improve winter wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) N management in North China Plain (NCP). The Crop Circle (CC) ACS-470 active sensor is user configurable with three wavebands. The objective of this study was to develop a CC ACS-470 sensor-based PNM strategy for winter wheat in NCP and compare it with GS sensor-based N management strategy, soil Nmin test-based in-season N management strategy and conventional farmer’s practice. Four site-years of field N rate experiments were conducted from 2009 to 2013 to identify optimum CC vegetation indices for estimating early season winter wheat plant N uptake (PNU) and grain yield in Quzhou Experiment Station of China Agricultural University located in Hebei province of NCP. Another nine on-farm experiments were conducted at three different villages in Quzhou County in 2012/2013 to evaluate the performance of the developed N management strategy. The results indicated that the CC ACS-470 sensor could significantly improve estimation of early season PNU (R2 = 0.78) and grain yield (R2 = 0.62) of winter wheat over GS sensor (R2 = 0.60 and 0.33, respectively). All three in-season N management strategies achieved similar grain yield as compared with farmer’s practice. The three PNM strategies all significantly reduced N application rates and increased N partial factor productivity (PFP) by an average of 61–67 %. It is concluded that the CC sensor can improve estimation of early season winter wheat PNU and grain yield as compared to the GS sensor, but the PNM strategies based on these two sensors perform equally well for improving winter wheat NUE in NCP. More studies are needed to further develop and evaluate these active sensor-based PNM strategies under more diverse on-farm conditions.

Allelic Variation at the Vernalization Genes Vrn‐A1, Vrn‐B1, Vrn‐D1, and Vrn‐B3 in Chinese Wheat Cultivars and Their Association with Growth Habit

Information on the distribution of vernalization genes and their association with growth habit is crucial to understanding the adaptability of wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) cultivars to different environments. In this study, 278 Chinese wheat cultivars were characterized with molecular markers for the vernalization genes Vrn‐A1, ‐B1, ‐D1, and ‐B3 Heading time was evaluated in a greenhouse under long days without vernalizaton. The dominant Vrn‐D1 allele showed the highest frequency in the Chinese wheat cultivars (37.8%), followed by the dominant Vrn‐A1, ‐B1, and ‐B3 alleles. Ninety‐two winter cultivars carried recessive alleles of all four vernalization loci, whereas 172 spring genotypes contained at least one dominant Vrn allele. All cultivars released in the North China Plain Winter Wheat Zone were winter type. Winter (53.0%), spring (36.1%), and early‐heading (10.9%) cultivars were grown in the Yellow and Huai River Valley Winter Zone. Most of the spring genotypes from this zone carried only the dominant Vrn‐D1 allele, which was also predominant (64.1%) in the Middle and Lower Yangtze Valley Winter Zone and Southwestern Winter Wheat Zone. In three spring‐sown wheat zones, all cultivars were early‐heading spring types that frequently possessed the strongest dominant Vrn‐A1a allele and combinations with other dominant Vrn gene(s). The Vrn‐D1 allele is associated with the latest heading time, Vrn‐A1 the earliest, and Vrn‐B1 intermediate values. The information is important for breeding programs in countries interested in using Chinese wheats.