Water use efficiency of wheat in a Mediterranean-type environment. I. The relation between yield, water use and climate

1984 ◽  
Vol 35 (6) ◽  
pp. 743 ◽  
Author(s):  
RJ French ◽  
JE Schultz

The relations between wheat yield and water use were determined from field measurements in South Australia. Highest production of dry matter was 37 kg ha-1 per mm of water use and of grain was 12.7 kg ha-1 per mm. More than 70% of the total water use occurred by anthesis. Time of sowing and soil water content at sowing had a big influence on yield. The loss of water by direct evaporation was estimated to be 110 mm, equal to about one-third of the water use. The maximum efficiency of water transpired was 55 kg ha-1 mm-1 for dry matter and 20 kg ha-1 mm-1 for grain. The efficiencies of most of the crops were below this level. Yield (Y), water use (W) and evaporation (Ep) could be fitted to the de Wit formula Y = m W/Ep, but the m factor varied with the proportion of water use that was lost by direct evaporation.

Author(s):  
Fernando J. da Silva Júnior ◽  
José A. Santos Júnior ◽  
Manassés M. da Silva ◽  
Ênio F. de F. e Silva ◽  
Edivan R. de Souza

ABSTRACT Hydroponic cultivation using saline waters is an alternative for agricultural production, especially in the cultivation of vegetables. Therefore, the present work was conducted with the objective of evaluating the water consumption, water use efficiency and water content, as well as dry matter partitioning of chives (Allium schoenoprasum), cv. Todo Ano Evergreen – Nebuka exposed to six levels of nutrient solution salinity (1.5, 3.0, 4.5, 6.0, 7.5 and 9.0 dS m-1), applied at two circulation frequencies (twice a day at 8 and 16 h; and three times a day - at 8, 12 and 16 h). The level in the nutrient solution reservoir, which decreased according to the water consumption by plants, was replaced with the respective saline water (Experiment I) and supply water (Experiment II). Both experiments used a completely randomized design, in a 6 x 2 factorial scheme, with five replicates. It was observed that increased circulation frequency and the use of supply water in the replacement mitigated the effects of salinity on water consumption, water use efficiency and water content in the plant. However, with the increase in nutrient solution electrical conductivity, dry matter allocation in the roots increased, to the detriment of the shoots.


1990 ◽  
Vol 41 (3) ◽  
pp. 431 ◽  
Author(s):  
KHM Siddique ◽  
D Tennant ◽  
MW Perry ◽  
RK Belford

Water use and water use efficiency of old and modern wheat cultivars and one barley cultivar were measured in a Mediterranean environment at Merredin, W.A. Water use efficiency for grain increased substantially from old to modern cultivars, with little difference among modern cultivars. Water use efficiency for dry matter was similar between cultivars. Barley had the highest water use efficiency of both grain and dry matter. Improved water use efficiency for grain in modern cultivars was associated with faster development, earlier flowering, improved canopy structure and higher harvest index. Modern cultivars used slightly less water than old cultivars. The pattern of water use was also different, with late-maturing old cultivars using more water in the pre- than the post-anthesis period. The ratio of pre- to post-anthesis water use was highest with the late-maturing, old cultivar Purple Straw (5.2:1) and lowest with early-maturing, modern cultivar Gutha (3.0:1). Soil evaporation estimates showed that modern cultivars had lower rates of soil evaporation in the early part of the growing season. This was associated with their faster leaf area development and improved light interception. About 40% of the total water use was lost by soil evaporation with very little difference between wheat cultivars. Barley had 15% less soil evaporation than wheat. Water use efficiency for grain based on transpiration (transpiration efficiency) for the four modern cultivars was 15.8 kg ha-1 mm-1, similar to other studies in comparable environments. Some further improvement in water use efficiency appears possible through improvement in crop biomass and harvest index. However, given the frequent and severe limitations of total water supply at low rainfall sites such as Merredin, there appears to be more scope for improvement in yield and water use efficiency in the medium and high rainfall areas of the wheatbelt.


2013 ◽  
Vol 39 (9) ◽  
pp. 1687 ◽  
Author(s):  
Zi-Jin NIE ◽  
Yuan-Quan CHEN ◽  
Jian-Sheng ZHANG ◽  
Jiang-Tao SHI ◽  
Chao LI ◽  
...  

2015 ◽  
Vol 33 (4) ◽  
pp. 679-687 ◽  
Author(s):  
M.Z. IHSAN ◽  
F.S. EL-NAKHLAWY ◽  
S.M. ISMAIL

ABSTRACT Understanding the critical period of weed competition is indispensable in the development of an effective weed management program in field crops. Current experiment was planned to evaluate the critical growth period ofSetaria and level of yield losses associated with delay in weeding in rain-fed drip irrigated wheat production system of Saudi Arabia. Field experiment was conducted to evaluate the effect of weeding interval (07-21, 14-28, 21-35, 28-42 and 35-49 days after sowing) and drought stress (75% and 50% of field capacity) on Setaria growth, wheat yield and water use efficiency. Season long weedy check and wellwatered (100% FC) plots were also maintained for comparison. Weeding interval and drought stress significantly (p ≤ 0.05) affected the growth and yield of Setaria and wheat. Drought stress from 75% to 50% FC resulted in reductions of 29-40% in Setaria height, 14-27% in Setaria density and 11-26% in Setaria dry biomass. All weeding intervals except 35-49 DAS significantly suppressedSetaria growth as compared with control. Delay in weeding increased weed-crop competition interval and reduced wheat yield and yield contributors. Therefore, the lowest yield of 1836 kg ha-1 was attained for weeding interval of 35-49 DAS at 50% FC. Water use efficiency and harvest index increased with decreasing FC levels but reduced with delay in weeding. Correlation analysis predicted negative association ofSetariadensity with wheat yield and yield contributors and the highest negative association was for harvest index (-0.913) and water use efficiency (-0.614). Early management of Setaria is imperative for successful wheat production otherwise yield losses are beyond economical limits.


2002 ◽  
Vol 38 (2) ◽  
pp. 237-248 ◽  
Author(s):  
R. Mrabet

Wheat (Triticum aestivum) production using no-tillage is becoming an increasingly accepted management technology. Major obstacles to its adoption in Morocco, however, are exportation of wheat straw from the field and stubble grazing. Among pertinent solutions is the control of these practices. A four-year field study was conducted to determine the effect of residue level under no-tillage on wheat grain and total dry-matter yields, water use and water-use efficiency, and to compare this with conventional tillage systems. The aim was to evaluate whether all the straw produced is needed for no-till cropping or whether partial removal of straw from the field is possible without any adverse effect on production. No-tillage and deep tillage with disk plough performed equally well and subsurface tillage with an off-set disk produced the lowest yields. Both bare and full no-tillage covers depressed wheat production. Uo to 30% of straw produced under no-tillage can be removed without jeopardizing wheat crop performance.


2019 ◽  
Vol 230 ◽  
pp. 62-71 ◽  
Author(s):  
Changlu Hu ◽  
Victor O. Sadras ◽  
Guoyan Lu ◽  
Runze Zhang ◽  
Xueyun Yang ◽  
...  

2020 ◽  
Vol 14 (3) ◽  
pp. 522-536 ◽  
Author(s):  
Marwa Gamal Mohamed Ali ◽  
Mahmoud Mohamed Ibrahim ◽  
Ahmed El Baroudy ◽  
Michael Fullen ◽  
El-Said Hamad Omar ◽  
...  

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document