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Measures on Irrigation and Agronomy to Improve Crop Water Use Efficiency

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A special issue of Water (ISSN 2073-4441). This special issue belongs to the section "Water, Agriculture and Aquaculture".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (28 February 2022) | Viewed by 13747

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Prof. Dr. Junzeng Xu

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Guest Editor

College of Agricultural Sciences and Engineering, Hohai University, Nanjing, China
Interests: water-saving irrigation; water-use efficiency; water deficit; smart irrigation
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Prof. Dr. Yang Gao

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Guest Editor

Institute of Farmland Irrigation, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Xinxiang 453003, China
Interests: irrigation management; saline water irrigation
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Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Improving crop water use efficiency is vitally important in efforts to cope with water scarcity and sustainable food security. Scientists from different disciplines are involved in this topic. The goal of this Special Issue is to provide a collection of manuscripts that present innovative studies, tools, approaches, management or techniques that have been successful in improving crop water use efficiency either at plant, field or regional scales. Submissions on (but not limited to) the following topics are invited:

Crop response to water stress and crop water deficit diagnosing;
Drought-related gene expression and plant breeding;
Irrigation techniques and instruments (including fertigation);
Irrigation schedule;
Agronomical practice (i.e., mulch, intercropping, root management) to improve crop water use efficiency;
Practices to improve soil water storage (i.e., chemical materials of SAP);
Practices to reduce crop transpiration;
Information technology to realize precise water management;
Water reuse;
Other new techniques, such as aerobic irrigation, magnetic water irrigation.

Prof. Dr. Junzeng Xu
Prof. Dr. Gao Yang
Guest Editors

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Keywords

crop water use efficiency
crop evapotranspiration
crop water productivity
water deficit/stress
irrigation schedule
irrigation instrument
soil water storage
soil water availability
smart irrigation
precise irrigation
crop water deficit diagnosing

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Published Papers (4 papers)

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Research

10 pages, 934 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Response of Maize Hybrids in Drought-Stress Using Drought Tolerance Indices

by Ali Khatibi, Saeed Omrani, Ali Omrani, Seyed Habib Shojaei, Seyed Mohammad Nasir Mousavi, Árpád Illés, Csaba Bojtor and János Nagy

Water 2022, 14(7), 1012; https://doi.org/10.3390/w14071012 - 22 Mar 2022

Cited by 24 | Viewed by 3480

Abstract

This study was conducted to investigate the response of maize hybrids to drought stress and to select the most drought-tolerant cultivar compared to other hybrids. The experiment was performed on six maize hybrids in a randomized complete block design (RCBD) with three replications under regular irrigation and limited irrigation in the vegetative and reproductive stages in Iran. Drought tolerance indices (TOL, MP, GMP, STI, SSI, and HAR) for the grain yield of genotypes were calculated, and principal component analysis was based on them. The results obtained from estimating the indices showed that the SC647 and KSC704 hybrids, while having good performance in both conditions, also have drought tolerance. Examining the correlation between drought tolerance indices and yield in both conditions, among the indices used to detect drought tolerance, STI, MP, and GMP indices can be considered suitable for selecting high-yielding hybrids in these conditions. The principal components analysis on the stress-tolerance index showed that MP and GMP indices could be used as the best indices with high coefficients to select stress-tolerance hybrids. SC647 and KSC704 hybrids were identified and selected as hybrids with high tolerance to moisture stress. The results of drought tolerance indices in the emergence stage of the crest showed that the KSC260 hybrid has the lowest level of stress sensitivity. SC647 hybrids showed the lowest susceptibility to drought stress in the ear emergence stage. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Measures on Irrigation and Agronomy to Improve Crop Water Use Efficiency)

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13 pages, 3842 KiB

Open AccessFeature PaperArticle

Optimization of Nitrogen Fertilizer Application with Climate-Smart Agriculture in the North China Plain

by Jinsai Chen, Guangshuai Wang, Abdoul Kader Mounkaila Hamani, Abubakar Sunusi Amin, Weihao Sun, Yingying Zhang, Zhandong Liu and Yang Gao

Water 2021, 13(23), 3415; https://doi.org/10.3390/w13233415 - 3 Dec 2021

Cited by 11 | Viewed by 2904

Abstract

Long−term excessive nitrogen fertilizer input has resulted in several environmental problems, including an increase in N₂O emissions and the aggravation of nitrate leaching; monitoring nitrogen fertilizer is crucial for maize with high yield. This study aimed to optimize the amount of nitrogen applied to maize by Climate−Smart Agriculture (CSA) so as to continuously improve agricultural productivity and reduce or eliminate N₂O emissions as much as possible. Field experiments with a completely randomized design were conducted to examine the effects of six nitrogen treatments (N application levels of 0, 120, 180, 240, 300, 360 kg·ha⁻¹, respectively) on N₂O emissions, residual concentration of nitrate and ammonium nitrogen, maize yield, and nitrogen utilization efficiency in 2018 and 2019. The results indicated that the residual concentration of nitrate nitrogen (

{NO}_{3}^{-}

−N) in the two seasons significantly increased; N₂O emissions significantly increased, and the nitrogen fertilizer agronomic efficiency and partial productivity of maize fell dramatically as the nitrogen application rate increased. The maize grain yield rose when the N application amount was raised (N application amount <300 kg·ha⁻¹) but decreased when the N application amount > 300 kg·ha⁻¹. An increase in the nitrogen application rate can decrease nitrogen use efficiency, increase soil

{NO}_{3}^{-}

−N residual, and N₂O emissions. Reasonable nitrogen application can increase maize yield and reduce N₂O emissions and be conducive to improving nitrogen use efficiency. By considering summer maize yield, nitrogen use efficiency, and farmland ecological environment, 173.94~178.34 kg N kg·ha⁻¹ could be utilized as the nitrogen threshold for summer maize in the North China Plain. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Measures on Irrigation and Agronomy to Improve Crop Water Use Efficiency)

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16 pages, 4218 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Study on the Water Supply and the Requirements, Yield, and Water Use Efficiency of Maize in Heilongjiang Province Based on the AquaCrop Model

by Tangzhe Nie, Yang Jiao, Yi Tang, Na Li, Tianyi Wang, Chong Du, Zhongxue Zhang, Tiecheng Li, Shijiang Zhu, Zhongyi Sun and Fengrui Li

Water 2021, 13(19), 2665; https://doi.org/10.3390/w13192665 - 27 Sep 2021

Cited by 5 | Viewed by 2427

Abstract

Agricultural irrigation depends heavily on freshwater resources. Under the context of increasingly severe water shortages, studying the relationship among crop water requirements (ET_c), actual crop evapotranspiration (ET_a), irrigation water requirements (I_r), yield, and water use efficiency (WUE) would be beneficial to improve the agricultural application of irrigation water. Based on the daily data of 26 meteorological stations in Heilongjiang Province from 1960 to 2015, this study used the calibrated AquaCrop model to calculate the ET_c, ET_a, I_r, and yield of maize (Zea mays L.) in different hydrological years (extremely dry years, dry years, normal years, and wet years) along with WUE to evaluate the mass of yield produced per unit mass of crop evapotranspiration (ET) under rainfed and irrigated scenarios. The results showed that ET_c and ET_a decreased first and then increased from the west to the east during the four types of hydrological years. I_r exhibited a decreasing trend from the west to the east. Compared with the irrigation scenario, the rainfed scenario’s average yield only decreased by 2.18, 0.55, 0.03, and 0.05 ton/ha, while the WUE increased by 0.32, 0.4, 0.33, and 0.21 kg/m³ in the extremely dry years, dry years, normal years, and wet years, respectively. The results indicated that in the normal and wet years, the WUE was high in the central regions, and irrigation did not significantly increase yield; further, we determined that irrigation should not be considered in these two hydrological years in Heilongjiang Province. In the extremely dry and dry years, irrigation was necessary because it increased the yield, even though the WUE decreased. This study provides a theoretical basis for studying the regional irrigation schedule in Heilongjiang Province. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Measures on Irrigation and Agronomy to Improve Crop Water Use Efficiency)

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28 pages, 8150 KiB

Open AccessEditor’s ChoiceArticle

Impacts of Irrigation Managements on Soil CO₂ Emission and Soil CH₄ Uptake of Winter Wheat Field in the North China Plain

by Faisal Mehmood, Guangshuai Wang, Yang Gao, Yueping Liang, Muhammad Zain, Shafeeq Ur Rahman and Aiwang Duan

Water 2021, 13(15), 2052; https://doi.org/10.3390/w13152052 - 28 Jul 2021

Cited by 23 | Viewed by 3411

Abstract

The North China Plain is an important irrigated agricultural area in China. However, the effects of irrigation management on carbon emission are not well documented in this region. Due to the uneven seasonal distribution of rainfall, irrigation is mainly concentrated in the winter wheat growing season in the North China Plain. In this study, we estimated CO₂ emission and soil CH₄ uptake from winter wheat fields with different irrigation methods and scheduling treatments using the static chamber-gas chromatography method from April to May 2017 and 2018. Treatments included three irrigation methods (surface drip, sprinkler, and border) and three irrigation scheduling levels that initiated as soon as the soil moisture drained to 50%, 60%, and 70% of the field capacity for a 0–100 cm soil profile were tested. The results showed that both the irrigation methods and scheduling significantly influenced (p < 0.05) the cumulative CO₂ and CH₄ emission, grain yield, global warming potential (GWP), GWP Intensity (GWPI), GWPI per unit irrigation applied, and water use efficiency (WUE). Compared to 60% and 70% FC, 50% FC irrigation scheduling de-creased accumulated CH₄ uptake 26.8–30.3% and 17.8–25.4%, and reduced accumulated CO₂ emissions 7.0–15.3% and 12.6–19.4%, respectively. Conversely, 50% FC reduced GWP 6.5–13.3% and 12.5–19.4% and lower grain yield 10.4–19.7% and 8.5–16.6% compared to 60% and 70% FC irrigation scheduling in 2017 and 2018, respectively. Compared to sprinkler irrigation and border irrigation, drip irrigation at 60% FC increased the accumulated CH₄ uptake 11.3–12.1% and 1.9–5.5%, while reduced the accumulated CO₂ emissions from 7.5–8.8% and 10.1–12.1% in 2017 and 2018, respectively. Moreover, drip irrigation at 60% FC increased grain yield 5.2–7.5% and 6.3–6.8%, WUE 0.9–5.4% and 5.7–7.4%, and lowered GWP 8.0–9.8% and 10.1–12.0% compared to sprinkler and border irrigation in 2017 and 2018, respectively. The interaction of irrigation scheduling and irrigation methods significantly impacted accumulated CH₄ uptake, cumulative CO₂ amount, and GWP in 2018 only while grain yield and WUE in the entire study. Overall, drip irrigation at 60% FC is the optimal choice in terms of higher grain yield, WUE, and mitigating GWP and GWPI from winter wheat fields in North China Plain. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Measures on Irrigation and Agronomy to Improve Crop Water Use Efficiency)

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