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Effects of deficit irrigation with saline water on spring wheat growth and yield in arid Northwest China

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Abstract

Field experiments were conducted in 2008 and 2009 to study the effects of deficit irrigation with saline water on spring wheat growth and yield in an arid region of Northwest China. Nine treatments included three salinity levels s1, s2 and s3 (0.65, 3.2, and 6.1 dS/m) in combination with three water levels w1, w2 and w3 (375, 300, and 225 mm). In 2008, for most treatments, deficit irrigation showed adverse effects on wheat growth; meanwhile, the effect of saline irrigation was not apparent. In 2009, growth parameters of w1 treatments were not always optimal under saline irrigation. At 3.2 and 6.1 dS/m in 2008, the highest yield was obtained by w1 treatments, however, in 2009, the weight of 1,000 grains and wheat yield both followed the order w2 > w1 > w3. In this study, spring wheat was sensitive to water deficit, especially at the booting to grain-filling stages, but was not significantly affected by saline irrigation and the combination of the two factors. The results demonstrated that 300-mm irrigation water with a salinity of less than 3.2 dS/m is suitable for wheat fields in the study area.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. College of Water Science and Engineering, Taiyuan University of Technology, Taiyuan, 030024, China

    Jing Jiang & ChaoBo Zhang

  2. Centre for Agricultural Water Research in China, China Agricultural University, Beijing, 100083, China

    Jing Jiang, ZaiLin Huo, ShaoZhong Kang & FenXing Wang

  3. College of Water Science and Engineering, Yangzhou University, Yangzhou, 225009, China

    ShaoYuan Feng

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  1. Jing Jiang
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  2. ZaiLin Huo
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  3. ShaoYuan Feng
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  4. ShaoZhong Kang
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  5. FenXing Wang
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Correspondence to ZaiLin Huo.

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Jiang, J., Huo, Z., Feng, S. et al. Effects of deficit irrigation with saline water on spring wheat growth and yield in arid Northwest China. J. Arid Land 5, 143–154 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s40333-013-0152-4

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s40333-013-0152-4

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