Planting Pattern and Seeding Rate Combine to Affect Water Consumption of Spring Wheat

Abstract

【Objective】 Water consumption by crops depends on many abiotic and biotic factors. The purpose of this paper is to investigate how planting pattern and seeding rate affect water uptake by crops and its consequence for water use efficiency. 【Method】 The experiment was conducted in a field with spring wheat used as the model plant. It consisted two planting patterns: Traditional strip planting, and widen strip planting. For each planting pattern, there are five seeding rates: 390 kg/hm2 (D1), 420 kg/hm2 (D2), 450 kg/hm2 (D3), 480 kg/hm2 (D4) and 510 kg/hm2 (D5). During the experiment, we measured and calculated water consumption, grain yield and water use efficiency of the wheat. 【Result】 Seeding rate affected water consumption the most in all growing stages. In the jointing-milk ripe stage and milk ripe-complete ripeness stage, the planting pattern and seeding rate combined to affect water consumption at significant level. When drilling the seeds in the widen strip, water consumption of the wheat increased with seeding rate peaking in D4 treatment, while when sowing the seeds in traditional strip, water consumption of the wheat maximized in D3 treatment. Widening the sowing strip increased the wheat yield of D2, D4 and D5 by 5.3%, 21.0% and 28.3%, respectively, compared their associated seeding rate in traditional planting pattern. The highest grain yield was D4 drilled in the widen planting pattern, increasing by 8.8% compared with D3 planted in traditional strip. On average, increasing seed rate by each 30 kg/hm2 in the widen strip planting pattern led to a 8.4% increase in grain yield, equivalent to 133.2% of the yield of traditional planting strip. The maximal water use efficiency (WUE) was in D4 sowed in the widen strip, which was 6.6% higher than the maximal WUE achieved in D3 planted in traditional strip. 【Conclusion】 Seeding rate was the factor affecting water consumption of spring wheat the most; widening sowing strip combined with increasing seeding rate can improve grain yield and WUE of the wheat. In our experiment, widening the sowing strip combined with 480 kg/hm2 of seeding rate were most effective in simultaneously improving wheat yield and water use efficiency.

Keywords

• widen sowing pattern
• seeding rate
• water consumption
• water use efficiency
• spring wheat