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Photosynthetic Rate and Water Utilization of Rainfed Wheat with Plastic Mulching on the Semiarid Loess Plateau, China

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Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, India Section B: Biological Sciences Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Bunch sowing after whole-field plastic mulching with soil coverage (PMS) is a creative way to increase the wheat yield in semiarid rainfed areas of China. The authors conducted a two-year field experiment in Dingxi, Gansu, from 2012 to 2013, with three treatments of: (1) PMS, (2) bunch sowing after plastic mulching on the land surface (PM), and (3) direct bunch sowing without mulching (CK). Compared to CK, PM and PMS were affected by increasing soil water content in the early growth stage in the 0–60 cm profile, as well as average soil temperature in the 0–25 cm profile. Water consumption after flowering was significantly increased in PMS, which was higher than in CK and PM by 36.1 and 30.2 mm in 2012 and by 24.8 and 23.4 mm in 2013, respectively. PMS resulted in significantly higher SPAD and Pn values at the jointing and heading stage as compared to PM (P < 0.05), and it increased by 10.2 and 23.7 at the jointing stage and 7.70 and 11.0% at the heading stage, in 2013 (extremely arid in spring), respectively. The spike length, grain number per spike, and 1000-grain weight in PMS and PM were similar, but significantly higher than those in CK. Compared to PM, PMS significantly increased yield (15.7%) and WUE (20.1%) in 2013. It suggested that PMS was considered to be superior to PM because the soil water supply after flowering was significantly improved, which facilitated yield formation.

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Abbreviations

PMS:

Bunch sowing after whole-field plastic mulching with soil coverage

PM:

Bunch sowing after plastic mulching on the land surface

CK:

Direct bunch sowing without mulching

P n :

Net photosynthesis rate

WUE:

Water use efficiency

SWS:

Soil water storage

SPAD:

Soil and plant analyzer development

ET:

Evapotranspiration

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Acknowledgements

This work was supported by grants from the Key Scientific-Technological Project of Gansu Province (17ZD2NA016), National Natural Science Foundation of China (31560390) and the Agricultural Scientific Research Projects in the Public Welfare Industry (201503125-1).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Institute of Wheat, Gansu Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Gansu Engineering Research Center for Wheat, Lanzhou, 730070, China

    Na Liu & Wen-Xiong Yang

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  1. Na Liu
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  2. Wen-Xiong Yang
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Correspondence to Wen-Xiong Yang.

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The authors declare that there is no conflict of interest to publish this manuscript.

Additional information

Significance statement PMS enhanced the water consumption after flowering, and decreased soil temperature as compared to PM, improved the regulation of crop water consumption and increase the rate of leaf photosynthesis of rainfed wheat, resulted in the higher yield and WUE in dry year.

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Liu, N., Yang, WX. Photosynthetic Rate and Water Utilization of Rainfed Wheat with Plastic Mulching on the Semiarid Loess Plateau, China. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci., India, Sect. B Biol. Sci. 89, 1047–1056 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s40011-018-1018-5

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