Assessing the impact of early and terminal droughts on root growth, grain yield and yield stability in old and modern wheat cultivars on the Loess Plateau

Yan Fang; Jun Wang; Ranran Zhang; Fengxian Li; Liyan Liang; Shuo Liu; Bingcheng Xu; Yinglong Chen

Agricultural Water Management (Aug 2024)

Assessing the impact of early and terminal droughts on root growth, grain yield and yield stability in old and modern wheat cultivars on the Loess Plateau

Yan Fang,
Jun Wang,
Ranran Zhang,
Fengxian Li,
Liyan Liang,
Shuo Liu,
Bingcheng Xu,
Yinglong Chen

Affiliations

Yan Fang: State Key Laboratory of Soil Erosion and Dryland Farming on the Loess Plateau, Institute of Soil and Water Conservation, Northwest A&F University, Yangling 712100, China; College of Soil and Water Conservation Science and Engineering, Northwest A&F University, Yangling 712100, China
Jun Wang: State Key Laboratory of Soil Erosion and Dryland Farming on the Loess Plateau, Institute of Soil and Water Conservation, Northwest A&F University, Yangling 712100, China; College of Agronomy, Northwest A&F University, Yangling 712100, China
Ranran Zhang: State Key Laboratory of Soil Erosion and Dryland Farming on the Loess Plateau, Institute of Soil and Water Conservation, Northwest A&F University, Yangling 712100, China; College of Soil and Water Conservation Science and Engineering, Northwest A&F University, Yangling 712100, China
Fengxian Li: State Key Laboratory of Soil Erosion and Dryland Farming on the Loess Plateau, Institute of Soil and Water Conservation, Northwest A&F University, Yangling 712100, China; College of Soil and Water Conservation Science and Engineering, Northwest A&F University, Yangling 712100, China
Liyan Liang: College of Resources and Environmental Sciences, Gansu Agricultural University, Lanzhou 730070, China
Shuo Liu: State Key Laboratory of Soil Erosion and Dryland Farming on the Loess Plateau, Institute of Soil and Water Conservation, Northwest A&F University, Yangling 712100, China; College of Soil and Water Conservation Science and Engineering, Northwest A&F University, Yangling 712100, China
Bingcheng Xu: State Key Laboratory of Soil Erosion and Dryland Farming on the Loess Plateau, Institute of Soil and Water Conservation, Northwest A&F University, Yangling 712100, China; College of Soil and Water Conservation Science and Engineering, Northwest A&F University, Yangling 712100, China
Yinglong Chen: The UWA Institute of Agriculture & School of Agriculture and Environment, The University of Western Australia, Perth, WA 6001, Australia; Corresponding author.

Journal volume & issue: Vol. 301
p. 108940

Abstract

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Understanding changes in root traits of high-yielding genotypes that consistently perform during different drought periods is crucial for improving wheat production and yield stability. A 2-year field trial and a pot experiment were conducted to determine the response of root growth and grain yield to early and terminal droughts in old and modern cultivars (FC3: 1960s and CH1: 2010s) under rainfed and irrigated conditions in the field. Rainfed wheat faced terminal drought in 2015–2016 and early drought in 2016–2017. Plants in the pot experiment were exposed to terminal drought, early drought, and well-watered. Both field and pot experiments showed higher grain yield in modern cultivar CH1 compared to FC3. Early and terminal droughts reduced grain yield in both cultivars, with a greater reduction in FC3. CH1 exhibited higher yield stability under drought conditions and experienced less reduction in early drought. Compared to FC3, CH1 produced more root biomass in the early growth stage. At anthesis, CH1 had significantly lower root biomass and root length density in the topsoil layer (00.2 m) and higher in the subsoil layer (0.21.0 m) than FC3, respectively. At maturity, the retention rate of subsoil root biomass in CH1 was higher, especially under early drought (80.2 % in field and 93.9 % in pot experiments). Both cultivars consumed similar seasonal water use, but CH1 reduced pre-anthesis water use and consumed more water after anthesis. This study indicates that modern cultivar had vigorous root growth at early stage. A higher proportion of root biomass preserved in deep soil after anthesis enhanced post-anthesis water use and photosynthetic rate, improved post-anthesis dry matter accumulation, and thus resulted in higher thousand kernel weight. These factors ensure higher yield and yield stability under both early and terminal drought stress.

Published in Agricultural Water Management

ISSN: 1873-2283 (Online)
Publisher: Elsevier
Country of publisher: Netherlands
LCC subjects: Agriculture: Agriculture (General); Social Sciences: Industries. Land use. Labor: Special industries and trades: Agricultural industries
Website: https://www.sciencedirect.com/journal/agricultural-water-management

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