Stomatal behaviour under terminal drought affects post-anthesis water use in wheat

2017 ◽  
Vol 44 (3) ◽  
pp. 279 ◽  
Author(s):  
Renu Saradadevi ◽  
Helen Bramley ◽  
Jairo A. Palta ◽  
Kadambot H. M. Siddique

Post-anthesis water use is important for grain yield in wheat under drought because this water is immediately used for grain filling. The aim of this study was to determine whether root capacity for water uptake from deeper layers in the soil profile differed between two genotypes with contrasting stomatal behaviour under terminal drought. The wheat cultivar Drysdale and the breeding line IGW-3262 were grown in 1 m deep pots in a glasshouse under well-watered conditions until anthesis, when three watering treatments were imposed: (i) watering maintained at 90% pot soil water capacity (WW), (ii) watering withheld but supplementary watering supplied to the bottom 30 cm of the pot to keep this layer of the soil profile wet until physiological maturity (WB) and (iii) watering completely withheld (WS). Stomatal conductance, post-anthesis water use and water use efficiency, and grain yield were measured. Post-anthesis water use in Drysdale was similar in the WB and WW treatments, while in IGW-3262 it was 30% less in the WB treatment than in the WW treatment. In the WB treatment as the top soil dried, stomatal closure was faster in IGW-3262 than in Drysdale, which may have affected the capacity of roots to uptake available water at depth. The reduction in post-anthesis water use in IGW-3262 resulted in a decline in grain yield.

1997 ◽  
Vol 48 (5) ◽  
pp. 595 ◽  
Author(s):  
K. L. Regan ◽  
K. H. M. Siddique ◽  
D. Tennant ◽  
D. G. Abrecht

Wheat cultivars with very early maturities appropriate for late sowings in low-rainfall (<325 mm) short-season environments are currently unavailable to wheat growers in the eastern margin of the cropping region of Western Australia. A demonstration that very early-maturing genotypes can out-perform current commercial cultivars would open new opportunities for breeding programs to select very early-maturing, high- and stable-yielding cultivars for these environments. Six field experiments were conducted over 4 seasons at 2 low-rainfall sites in Western Australia to investigate crop growth, grain yield, and water use efficiency of very early-maturing genotypes compared with current commercial cultivars when sown after 1 June. Very early-maturing genotypes reached anthesis up to 24 days (328 degree-days) earlier than the current cultivars, produced less leaves, had similar yields and dry matter, and maintained high water use efficiencies. On average across seasons and locations the very early-maturing genotypes (W87–022–511, W87–114–549, W87–410–509) yielded more than the later maturing cultivars Gamenya and Spear (190 v. 160 g/m2) but they were similar to the early-maturing commercial cultivars Kulin and Wilgoyne (191 g/m2). Very early-maturing genotypes generally had a higher harvest index and produced fewer spikelets, but heavier and more grains, than Kulin and Wilgoyne. There were only small differences in total water use between very early-maturing genotypes and commercial cultivars; however, very early-maturing genotypes used less water in the pre-anthesis period and more water in the post-anthesis period than the later maturing genotypes, and hence, experienced less water deficit during the grain-filling period. This study indicates that there is a role for very early-maturing genotypes in low-rainfall short-season environments, when the first autumn rains arrive late (after 1 June).


2012 ◽  
Vol 2012 ◽  
pp. 1-10 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yunbo Zhang ◽  
Qiyuan Tang ◽  
Shaobing Peng ◽  
Danying Xing ◽  
Jianquan Qin ◽  
...  

One of the technology options that can help farmers cope with water scarcity at the field level is alternate wetting and drying (AWD). Limited information is available on the varietal responses to nitrogen, AWD, and their interactions. Field experiments were conducted at the International Rice Research Institute (IRRI) farm in 2009 dry season (DS), 2009 wet season (WS), and 2010 DS to determine genotypic responses and water use efficiency of rice under two N rates and two water management treatments. Grain yield was not significantly different between AWD and continuous flooding (CF) across the three seasons. Interactive effects among variety, water management, and N rate were not significant. The high yield was attributed to the significantly higher grain weight, which in turn was due to slower grain filling and high leaf N at the later stage of grain filling of CF. AWD treatments accelerated the grain filling rate, shortened grain filling period, and enhanced whole plant senescence. Under normal dry-season conditions, such as 2010 DS, AWD reduced water input by 24.5% than CF; however, it decreased grain yield by 6.9% due to accelerated leaf senescence. The study indicates that proper water management greatly contributes to grain yield in the late stage of grain filling, and it is critical for safe AWD technology.


2016 ◽  
Vol 43 (1) ◽  
pp. 62 ◽  
Author(s):  
Renu Saradadevi ◽  
Helen Bramley ◽  
Jairo A. Palta ◽  
Everard Edwards ◽  
Kadambot H. M. Siddique

Terminal drought is a common abiotic stress affecting wheat yield in Mediterranean-type environments. As terminal drought develops, top layers of the soil profile dry, exposing the upper part of the root system to soil water deficit while deeper roots can still access soil water. Since open stomata rapidly exhausts available soil water, reducing stomatal conductance to prolong availability of soil water during grain filling may improve wheat yields in water-limited environments. It was hypothesised that genotypes with more root biomass in the drying upper layer of the soil profile accumulate more abscisic acid in the leaf and initiate stomatal closure to regulate water use under terminal drought. The wheat cultivar Drysdale and the breeding line IGW-3262 were grown in pots horizontally split into two segments by a wax-coated layer that hydraulically isolated the top and bottom segments, but allowed roots to grow into the bottom segment. Terminal drought was induced from anthesis by withholding water from (i) the top segment only (DW) and (ii) the top and bottom segments (DD) while both segments in well-watered pots (WW) were maintained at 90% pot soil water capacity. Drysdale, initiated stomatal closure earlier than IGW-3262, possibly due to higher signal strength generated in its relatively larger proportion of roots in the drying top segment. The relationship between leaf ABA and stomatal conductance was strong in Drysdale but weak in IGW-3262. Analysis of ABA metabolites suggests possible differences in ABA metabolism between these two genotypes. A higher capability of deeper roots to extract available water is also important in reducing the gap between actual and potential yield.


2017 ◽  
Vol 50 (4) ◽  
pp. 17-28 ◽  
Author(s):  
R. Zaman ◽  
A.R. Akanda ◽  
S.K. Biswas ◽  
M.R. Islam

Abstract The experiment was conducted during Rabi season of 2015-2016 and 2016-2017 at the Regional Agricultural Research station, BARI, Ishurdi, Pabna, Bangladesh, to determine the water requirements of wheat on raised bed and the effect of different deficit irrigation on yield, water use efficiency and applied water productivity under raised bed wheat. This study consisted of following irrigation treatments: T1 = Irrigations up to 100% field capacity (FC) at crown root initiation (CRI), botting and grain filling stages (flat bed), T2 = Irrigations up to 100% FC at CRI, botting and grain filling stages on raised bed, T3 = Irrigations up to 80% FC at CRI, botting and grain filling stages on raised bed and T4 = Irrigations up to 60% FC at CRI, botting and grain filling stages on raised bed and laid out in a randomize complete block design with three replications. The result showed that significant effect of irrigation treatments were observed on plant height, spike per m2 and grain yield. Highest grain yield (4.66 t/ha) was obtained from treatment, irrigations up to 100% FC at CRI, botting and grain filling stages on raised bed, followed by irrigation up to 100% FC at same stages on flat bed. At raised bed wheat cultivation saving 14.30% water with increasing 15.66% grain yield than flat bed. Besides, comparing deficit irrigation (20% and 40% of full irrigation) and full irrigation condition on raised bed seeding system water use could be reduced about 4.18% to 5.57%, while scarifying 18.20% to 32.33% grain yield, where reduced 14.17% to 27.54% water use efficiency. Maximum applied water productivity 1.81 kg m−3 was observed in raised bed full irrigation condition. The rate of daily evaporation started to increase as the temperature started to rise and humidity started to decrease during the crop growing period. The results will be helpful for taking policy decision regarding efficient irrigation and water management under prevailing water scarce situation.


2014 ◽  
Vol 94 (2) ◽  
pp. 349-359 ◽  
Author(s):  
D.-Y. Jia ◽  
X.-L. Dai ◽  
H.-W. Men ◽  
M.-R. He

Jia, D.-Y., Dai, X.-L., Men, H.-W. and He, M.-R. 2014. Assessment of winter wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) grown under alternate furrow irrigation in northern China: Grain yield and water use efficiency. Can. J. Plant Sci. 94: 349–359. Increasing water use efficiency (WUE) can improve agricultural production in the north of China, where there is little or no prospect for the expansion of water resources. A field experiment was carried out to investigate the effects of alternate furrow irrigation (AFI) on the physiological response, grain yield, and WUE of winter wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) over two successive growing seasons (2009/2010 and 2010/2011). The irrigation regimes were: W0, non-irrigated; W2, every furrow was irrigated at jointing and anthesis; W3, every furrow was irrigated before wintering and at jointing and grain filling; and AFI, where one of the two neighboring furrows was alternately irrigated before wintering and at grain filling, and every furrow was irrigated during jointing. Our results indicate that the rate of plant transpiration and soil evaporation during grain filling were lower with AFI than when using W3. A reduced biological yield and increased harvest index were achieved under AFI compared with treatment W3. No difference in grain yield was observed between AFI and W3. The photosynthetic WUE, irrigation WUE, and WUE were all higher with AFI than with W3. Therefore, AFI is suggested as an appropriate irrigation schedule that achieves acceptable grain yields and allows for reductions in irrigation water consumption.


1992 ◽  
Vol 43 (1) ◽  
pp. 1 ◽  
Author(s):  
WK Anderson

Factorial experiments were conducted at eight sites in the central wheatbelt of Western Australia over two seasons. Time of sowing (mid-May, early June), cultivar (old tall, new semi-dwarf), nitrogen (N) fertilizer (- or +) and amount of seed sown (low and high) were combined as treatments, and grain yield, yield components, biomass, grain quality, water use, soil chemical and weather variables were measured. The aim was to increase grain yield by combining relevant agronomic inputs and increasing the seasonal water use or water use efficiency. Grain yields were increased by from 30 to over 100% by the combination of mid-May sowing, semi-dwarf cultivar, N fertilizer and increased seed level (high-inputs) compared to early June sowing, old tall cultivar, without N and lower seed level (low-inputs). The yield improvements mostly came from increased dry matter production at anthesis, largely due to increased applications of N and seed. Ear and kernel numbers were also increased by earlier sowing and N fertilizer and to a lesser extent by cultivar and increased weight of seed sown. Water use was increased at most sites, especially in the post-anthesis period and water use efficiency of grain production was increased at all sites. Soil evaporation was reduced by the high-input treatments and the low-input treatments did not use water supplies of > 250 mm efficiently in grain production. It was concluded that appropriate combinations of cultivar and agronomic practices can increase grain yields linearly up to about 5 t ha-1 at seasonal water use of about 400 mm, even in situations where considerable water stress occurs during grain filling. Grain protein concentration was generally increased and hectolitre weight and small grain sievings were not adversely affected by increasing agronomic inputs.


2017 ◽  
Vol 43 (6) ◽  
pp. 899 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ming HUANG ◽  
Zhao-Hui WANG ◽  
Lai-Chao LUO ◽  
Sen WANG ◽  
Ming BAO ◽  
...  

Agriculture ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (4) ◽  
pp. 313
Author(s):  
Guoqiang Zhang ◽  
Bo Ming ◽  
Dongping Shen ◽  
Ruizhi Xie ◽  
Peng Hou ◽  
...  

Achieving optimal balance between maize yield and water use efficiency is an important challenge for irrigation maize production in arid areas. In this study, we conducted an experiment in Xinjiang China in 2016 and 2017 to quantify the response of maize yield and water use to plant density and irrigation schedules. The treatments included four irrigation levels: 360 (W1), 480 (W2), 600 (W3), and 720 mm (W4), and five plant densities: 7.5 (D1), 9.0 (D2), 10.5 (D3), 12.0 (D4), and 13.5 plants m−2 (D5). The results showed that increasing the plant density and the irrigation level could both significantly increase the leaf area index (LAI). However, LAI expansion significantly increased evapotranspiration (ETa) under irrigation. The combination of irrigation level 600 mm (W3) and plant density 12.0 plants m−2 (D4) produced the highest maize yield (21.0–21.2 t ha−1), ETa (784.1–797.8 mm), and water use efficiency (WUE) (2.64–2.70 kg m−3), with an LAI of 8.5–8.7 at the silking stage. The relationship between LAI and grain yield and evapotranspiration were quantified, and, based on this, the relationship between water use and maize productivity was analyzed. Moreover, the optimal LAI was established to determine the reasonable irrigation level and coordinate the relationship between the increase in grain yield and the decrease in water use efficiency.


2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
M. A. Gomaa ◽  
Essam E. Kandil ◽  
Atef A. M. Zen El-Dein ◽  
Mamdouh E. M. Abou-Donia ◽  
Hayssam M. Ali ◽  
...  

AbstractIn Egypt, water shortage has become a key limiting factor for agriculture. Water-deficit stress causes different morphological, physiological, and biochemical impacts on plants. Two field experiments were carried out at Etay El-Baroud Station, El-Beheira Governorate, Agriculture Research Center (ARC), Egypt, to evaluate the effect of potassium silicate (K-silicate) of maize productivity and water use efficiency (WUE). A split-plot system in the four replications was used under three irrigation intervals during the 2017 and 2018 seasons. Whereas 10, 15, and 20 days irrigation intervals were allocated in main plots, while the three foliar application treatments of K-silicate (one spray at 40 days after sowing; two sprays at 40 and 60 days; and three sprays at 40, 60, and 80 days, and a control (water spray) were distributed in the subplots. All the treatments were distributed in 4 replicates. The results indicated that irrigation every 15 days gave the highest yield in both components and quality. The highly significant of (WUE) under irrigation every 20 days. Foliar spraying of K-silicate three times resulted in the highest yield. Even under water-deficit stress, irrigation every fifteen days combined with foliar application of K-silicate three times achieved the highest values of grain yield and its components. These results show that K-silicate treatment can increase WUE and produce high grain yield requiring less irrigation.


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