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Agriculture
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Optimizing Grain Yield and Water Use Efficiency in Maize Production
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Optimizing Grain Yield and Water Use Efficiency in Maize Production

A special issue of Agriculture (ISSN 2077-0472). This special issue belongs to the section "Crop Production".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (15 December 2022) | Viewed by 25533

Special Issue Editors

Prof. Dr. Shaokun Li

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Institute of Crop Sciences, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences/Key Laboratory of Crop Physiology and Ecology, Ministry of Agriculture, Beijing 100081, China
Interests: maize cultivation; high yield and high efficiency; physiology and ecology
Dr. Jun Xue

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Institute of Crop Sciences, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Beijing 100081, China
Interests: maize; crop physiological; high yield; lodging resistance; cultivation techniques
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Maize is a widely cultivated food crop in the word, which is of great significance for ensuring food security and social stability. Water shortage is a main factor limiting maize growth and grain yield in arid and semi-arid agricultural areas. Therefore, improving maize yield and water use efficiency has become a difficult and hot issue in current research.

Maize grain yield and water use efficiency have been affected by the interaction of genotype, environment, and cultivation measures. Exploiting the drought-tolerant gene to breed new varieties, increasing plant density to improve high grain yield, covering the ground to reduce soil moisture evaporation, and optimizing the irrigation schedule and irrigation method are effective ways to obtain high grain yield and water use efficiency. Revealing the water requirement of maize through molecular, physiological, and phenotypic aspects, and further adopting agronomic and engineering water-saving methods to optimize yield and water use efficiency is the development direction of maize production in arid and semi-arid agricultural areas in the future.

This Special Issue will publish recent research that describes the state of the art in research and development on solutions in maize production systems in arid and semi-arid agricultural areas.

Prof. Dr. Shaokun Li
Dr. Jun Xue
Guest Editors

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Keywords

  • maize
  • grain yield
  • water use efficiency
  • varieties
  • cultural practices
  • irrigation schedule
  • irrigation method
  • soil moisture evaporation

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Published Papers (6 papers)

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Research

12 pages, 1468 KiB  
Article
Optimizing Planting Density to Increase Maize Yield and Water Use Efficiency and Economic Return in the Arid Region of Northwest China
by Guoqiang Zhang, Dongping Shen, Bo Ming, Ruizhi Xie, Peng Hou, Jun Xue, Keru Wang and Shaokun Li
Agriculture 2022, 12(9), 1322; https://doi.org/10.3390/agriculture12091322 - 27 Aug 2022
Cited by 11 | Viewed by 3128
Abstract
High grain yield and water use efficiency (WUE) are the key goals when producing maize (Zea mays L.) under irrigation in arid areas. Increasing the planting density and optimizing irrigation are important agronomic practices for increasing the maize grain yield and WUE. [...] Read more.
High grain yield and water use efficiency (WUE) are the key goals when producing maize (Zea mays L.) under irrigation in arid areas. Increasing the planting density and optimizing irrigation are important agronomic practices for increasing the maize grain yield and WUE. A two-year field experiment was conducted to investigate the effects of planting density and irrigation on the maize grain yield, WUE, and economic return of spring maize under a mulch drip irrigation system in Xinjiang, Northwest China. The experiment included four irrigation levels and five planting densities. The results showed that the reduction of irrigation decreased the yield and evapotranspiration (ETc) but improved the WUE. Increasing the planting density increased the ETc, but there was a quadratic curve relationship between yield and WUE and planting density. Treatment with 600 mm of water and 12 plants m−2 obtained the highest grain yield (21.0–21.2 t ha−1) and economic return (3036.0 USD ha−1) and a relatively high WUE (2.64–2.70 kg kg−1). Therefore, a reasonable increase in planting density and an appropriate reduction of irrigation combined with drip irrigation under a mulch system can simultaneously achieve high yields and economic return and high WUE in maize production. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Optimizing Grain Yield and Water Use Efficiency in Maize Production)
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16 pages, 2879 KiB  
Article
Assessing Growth and Water Productivity for Drip-Irrigated Maize under High Plant Density in Arid to Semi-Humid Climates
by Feng Wang, Jun Xue, Ruizhi Xie, Bo Ming, Keru Wang, Peng Hou, Lizhen Zhang and Shaokun Li
Agriculture 2022, 12(1), 97; https://doi.org/10.3390/agriculture12010097 - 11 Jan 2022
Cited by 11 | Viewed by 2970
Abstract
Determining the water productivity of maize is of great significance for ensuring food security and coping with climate change. In 2018 and 2019, we conducted field trials in arid areas (Changji), semi-arid areas (Qitai) and semi-humid areas (Xinyuan). The hybrid XY335 was selected [...] Read more.
Determining the water productivity of maize is of great significance for ensuring food security and coping with climate change. In 2018 and 2019, we conducted field trials in arid areas (Changji), semi-arid areas (Qitai) and semi-humid areas (Xinyuan). The hybrid XY335 was selected for the experiment, the planting density was 12.0 × 104 plants ha−1, and five irrigation amounts were set. The results showed that yield, biomass, and transpiration varied substantially and significantly between experimental sites, irrigation and years. Likewise, water use efficiency (WUE) for both biomass (WUEB) and yield (WUEY) were affected by these factors, including a significant interaction. Normalized water productivity (WP*) of maize increased significantly with an increase in irrigation. The WP* for film mulched drip irrigation maize was 37.81 g m−2 d−1; it was varied significantly between sites and irrigation or their interaction. We conclude that WP* differs from the conventional parameter for water productivity but is a useful parameter for assessing the attainable rate of film-mulched drip irrigation maize growth and yield in arid areas, semi-arid areas and semi-humid areas. The parametric AquaCrop model was not accurate in simulating soil water under film mulching. However, it was suitable for the prediction of canopy coverage (CC) for most irrigation treatments. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Optimizing Grain Yield and Water Use Efficiency in Maize Production)
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16 pages, 2794 KiB  
Article
Stereoscopic Planting in Ridge and Furrow Increases Grain Yield of Maize (Zea mays L.) by Reducing the Plant’s Competition for Water and Light Resources
by Shoutian Ma, Fujian Mei, Tongchao Wang, Zhandong Liu and Shouchen Ma
Agriculture 2022, 12(1), 20; https://doi.org/10.3390/agriculture12010020 - 25 Dec 2021
Cited by 2 | Viewed by 4185
Abstract
Increasing planting density is an important ways to increase maize yield. A hot topic of conversation in the current research is how to improve crop light efficiency and yield potential by optimizing the cultivation mode under high density planting is a hot topic [...] Read more.
Increasing planting density is an important ways to increase maize yield. A hot topic of conversation in the current research is how to improve crop light efficiency and yield potential by optimizing the cultivation mode under high density planting is a hot topic in current research. Thus, in this study, a field experiment was conducted to explore the effects of stereo-planting patterns on water and the utilization light resource and maize yields. Planting patterns included the conventional flat planting pattern (as the control, CK) and the stereo-planting in ridge and furrow (T). Each planting pattern had three planting densities, i.e., 60,000 plants ha−1 (D1), 75,000 plants ha−1 (D2) and 90,000 plants ha−1 (D3). The results showed that stereo-planting affected the physiological characteristics of plants by changing the spatial distribution of soil moisture. At the silking stage (R1), photosynthetic rate (Pn) of plants on the ridge was similar to CK, and transpiration rate (Tr) was significantly lower than that of CK. Pn of maize in the furrow was significantly higher than that of CK, and Tr was similar to CK. Stereoscopic planting had different effects on intraspecific competition intensity in maize population in different growing stages. In the six-leaf stage (V6), stereo-planting increased competition intensity of maize on the ridge, but lowered that of maize in the furrow by affecting the spatial distribution of soil moisture. During the R1 stage, stereo-planting increased the light transmittance rate within the canopy and eased the plant’s competition for light by reducing plant height and leaf area of maize under three density conditions. Stereo-planting had no effect on grain yield and dry matter accumulation of ridge-planted maize in the later growing stage, but it did increased the dry matter accumulation and grain yield of furrow-planted maize due to the improvement of the light environment and photosynthetic characteristics of the population. In two test years, stereo-planting increased 5.0–11.0% average yield of maize compared to CK under three density conditions. These results indicate that stereo-planting can reduce the plant’s competition for light and water resources and improve its physiological traits of plant by optimizing its spatial distribution of soil moisture and canopy structure, thus further increasing grain yield of maize under high-density planting conditions. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Optimizing Grain Yield and Water Use Efficiency in Maize Production)
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15 pages, 11898 KiB  
Article
The Optimal Cultivar × Sowing Date × Plant Density for Grain Yield and Resource Use Efficiency of Summer Maize in the Northern Huang–Huai–Hai Plain of China
by Lichao Zhai, Lihua Zhang, Haipo Yao, Mengjing Zheng, Bo Ming, Ruizhi Xie, Jingting Zhang, Xiuling Jia and Junjie Ji
Agriculture 2022, 12(1), 7; https://doi.org/10.3390/agriculture12010007 - 22 Dec 2021
Cited by 9 | Viewed by 3491
Abstract
In order to explore the optimal cultivar × sowing date × plant density for summer maize (Zea mays L.) in the Northern Huang–Huai–Hai (HHH) Plain of China, field experiments were conducted over two consecutive years (2018–2019) on a loam soil in the [...] Read more.
In order to explore the optimal cultivar × sowing date × plant density for summer maize (Zea mays L.) in the Northern Huang–Huai–Hai (HHH) Plain of China, field experiments were conducted over two consecutive years (2018–2019) on a loam soil in the Northern HHH Plain. A split–split plot design was employed in this study, and the main plots included three cultivars (HM1: early-maturing cultivar; ZD958: medium-maturing cultivar; DH605: late-maturing cultivar); subplots consisted of three sowing dates (SD1: June 10; SD2: June 17; SD3: June 24); sub-sub plots include two plant densities (PD1: 6.75 × 104 plants ha−1; PD2: 8.25 × 104 plants ha−1). The results showed that the effects of cultivar and plant density on grain yield of summer maize were not significant, and the sowing date was the major factor affecting the grain yield. Delayed sowing significantly decreased the grain yield of summer maize, this was due mainly to the reduced kernel weight, which is associated with the lower post-anthesis dry matter accumulation. Moreover, radiation use efficiency (RUE), temperature use efficiency (TUE), and water use efficiency (WUE) were significantly affected by cultivar, sowing date, and plant density. Selecting early- and medium-maturing cultivars was beneficial to the improvements in RUE and TUE, and plants grown at earlier sowing with higher plant density increased the RUE and TUE. The interactive analysis of cultivar × sowing date × plant density showed that the optimum grain yields of all tested cultivars were observed at SD1-PD2, and the optimum RUE and TUE for HM1, ZD958, and DH605 were observed at SD1-PD2, SD2-PD2, and SD2-PD2, respectively. The differences in the optimum grain yield, RUE, and TUE among the tested cultivars were not significant. These results suggested that plants grown at earlier sowing with reasonable dense planting had benefits of grain yield and resource use efficiency. In order to adapt to mechanized grain harvesting, early-maturing cultivar with lower grain moisture at harvest would be the better choice. Therefore, adopting early-maturing cultivars grown with earlier sowing with reasonably higher plant density would be the optimal planting pattern for summer maize production in the Northern HHH Plain of China in future. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Optimizing Grain Yield and Water Use Efficiency in Maize Production)
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11 pages, 2903 KiB  
Article
Evaluation of Drought Tolerance in Maize Inbred Lines Selected from the Shaan A Group and Shaan B Group
by Yonghui Lao, Yuan Dong, Yaqin Shi, Yahui Wang, Shutu Xu, Jiquan Xue and Xinghua Zhang
Agriculture 2022, 12(1), 11; https://doi.org/10.3390/agriculture12010011 - 22 Dec 2021
Cited by 2 | Viewed by 3660
Abstract
Drought is one of the most prevailing abiotic stresses affecting the growth, development, and productivity of maize. Knowledge of drought tolerance could help in maize improvement. However, less research has been done to comprehensively evaluate the drought tolerance of maize inbred lines. We [...] Read more.
Drought is one of the most prevailing abiotic stresses affecting the growth, development, and productivity of maize. Knowledge of drought tolerance could help in maize improvement. However, less research has been done to comprehensively evaluate the drought tolerance of maize inbred lines. We used 27 elite maize inbred lines selected from Shaan A group and Shaan B group breeding populations to estimate their drought tolerance in 3 years 2 locations under normal field conditions and low irrigation. Using principal component analysis (PCA) and GGE biplots, all inbred lines, including the controls, could be divided into four types. Ten lines could be categorized as the high-yield drought-resistant type (‘KB081’, ‘KA105’, ‘KB417’, ‘KB215’, ‘KB-7’, ‘2013KB-37’, ‘KA203’, ‘2012KA-34’, ‘KA225’, and ‘91227’) because of their stability and wide adaptability. Compared with the controls, a large proportion of the inbred lines selected from Shaan A and Shaan B breeding populations demonstrated higher drought resistance. Our results suggest that multi-year drought screening can be used as a tool to improve the drought resistance of maize inbred lines and provide a scientific basis for making better use of the Shaan A and Shaan B maize inbred lines to breed new varieties and to identify existing drought-resistant maize varieties. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Optimizing Grain Yield and Water Use Efficiency in Maize Production)
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16 pages, 3801 KiB  
Article
Determining Threshold Values for a Crop Water Stress Index-Based Center Pivot Irrigation with Optimum Grain Yield
by Anzhen Qin, Dongfeng Ning, Zhandong Liu, Sen Li, Ben Zhao and Aiwang Duan
Agriculture 2021, 11(10), 958; https://doi.org/10.3390/agriculture11100958 - 2 Oct 2021
Cited by 14 | Viewed by 6662
Abstract
The temperature-based crop water stress index (CWSI) can accurately reflect the extent of crop water deficit. As an ideal carrier of onboard thermometers to monitor canopy temperature (Tc), center pivot irrigation systems (CPIS) have been widely used in precision irrigation. However, [...] Read more.
The temperature-based crop water stress index (CWSI) can accurately reflect the extent of crop water deficit. As an ideal carrier of onboard thermometers to monitor canopy temperature (Tc), center pivot irrigation systems (CPIS) have been widely used in precision irrigation. However, the determination of reliable CWSI thresholds for initiating the CPIS is still a challenge for a winter wheat–summer maize cropping system in the North China Plain (NCP). To address this problem, field experiments were carried out to investigate the effects of CWSI thresholds on grain yield (GY) and water use efficiency (WUE) of winter wheat and summer maize in the NCP. The results show that positive linear functions were fitted to the relationships between CWSI and canopy minus air temperature (Tc − Ta) (r2 > 0.695), and between crop evapotranspiration (ETc) and Tc (r2 > 0.548) for both crops. To make analysis comparable, GY and WUE data were normalized to a range of 0.0 to 1.0, corresponding the range of CWSI. With the increase in CWSI, a positive linear relationship was observed for WUE (r2 = 0.873), while a significant inverse relationship was found for the GY (r2 = 0.915) of winter wheat. Quadratic functions were fitted for both the GY (r2 = 0.856) and WUE (r2 = 0.629) of summer maize. By solving the cross values of the two GY and WUE functions for each crop, CWSI thresholds were proposed as being 0.322 for winter wheat, and 0.299 for summer maize, corresponding to a Tc − Ta threshold value of 0.925 and 0.498 °C, respectively. We conclude that farmers can achieve the dual goals of high GY and high WUE using the optimal thresholds proposed for a winter wheat–summer maize cropping system in the NCP. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Optimizing Grain Yield and Water Use Efficiency in Maize Production)
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