To determine root growth and grain yield of winter wheat (Triticum aestivum L) under moderate drought stress, a nursery experiment and a field trial were conducted with or without water stress using three representative cultivars released in different years: CW134 (old landrace), CH58 (modern cultivar) and CH1 (new release). In the nursery experiment, plants were grown in soil-filled rhizoboxes under moderate drought (MD, 55% of field capacity) or well-watered (WW, 85% of field capacity) conditions. In the field trial, plots were either rainfed (moderate drought stress) or irrigated with 30 mm of water at each of stem elongation, booting and anthesis stages (irrigated). Compared to drought stress, grain yields increased under sufficient water supply in all cultivars, particular the newly released cultivar CH1 with 70% increase in the nursery and 23% in the field. When well-watered (nursery) or irrigated (field), CH1 had the highest grain yields compared to the other two cultivars, but produced similar yield to the modern cultivar (CH58) under water-stressed (nursery) or rainfed (field) conditions. When exposed to drought stress, CW134 had the highest topsoil root dry mass in topsoil but lowest in subsoil among the cultivars at stem elongation, anthesis, and maturity, respectively; while CH1 had the lowest topsoil and highest subsoil root dry mass at respective sampling times. Topsoil root mass and root length density were negatively correlated with grain yield for the two water treatments in nursery experiment. When water was limited, subsoil root mass was positively correlated with thousand kernel weight (TKW). In the field trial, CH1 and CH58 used less water during vegetative growth than CW134, but after anthesis stage, CH1 used more water than the other two cultivars, especially in the soil profile below 100 cm, which was associated with the increased TKW. This study demonstrated that greater root mass and root length density in subsoil layers, with enhanced access to subsoil water after anthesis, contribute to high grain yield when soil water is scarce.

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Moderate Drought Stress Affected Root Growth and Grain Yield in Old, Modern and Newly Released Cultivars of Winter Wheat.

In order to maintain high yields and protect the environment, the replacement of chemical fertilizers with organic ones has received increasing attention in recent years. A 2-year field experiment (2015-2016) was carried out to assess the effects of substituting equal amounts of mineral fertilizer with organic manure on the yield, dry matter (DM), and nitrogen (N) uptake of spring maize (Zea mays L.) and on the mineral N (Nmin) distribution in the soil profile. The treatments included chemical fertilizer; different amounts of maize straw, cow manure, and chicken manure; and an unfertilized control (CK). Compared with the chemical fertilizer treatments, equal amounts of substitutions with cow manure or chicken manure increased production, and a 25% nutrient substitution resulted in the best yield increase. Straw return had no effect on maize production, and 100% straw return resulted in reduced production. The N accumulation and DM content both exhibited a slow-fast-slow growth trend throughout the various growth stages, and the average N uptake and DM accumulation in response to the treatments followed the order of chicken manure > cow manure > chemical fertilizer > straw return > CK. The Nmin content in the profile not only increased as the Nmin application rate increased but also showed greater increases at certain depths than at the surface, indicating that excessive N led to leaching. These results suggest that an appropriate proportion of organic substitution not only provides enough nutrients but also improves the soil environment and leads to increased yields. This technique represents a practical method of continuously increasing production and reducing the risk of N leaching.

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Effects of equal chemical fertilizer substitutions with organic manure on yield, dry matter, and nitrogen uptake of spring maize and soil nitrogen distribution.

The present review of gas-exchange studies conducted in rainfed or irrigated field conditions clearly indicates that stomatal conductance (gs) of major crops has been inadvertently increased in the last 50 to 80 years as higher yields were being reached through conventional plant breeding. These findings suggest that high gs rates are critical to optimum growth and yield of modern crops, in particular to crop growth rate (CGR) during seed formation and filling. Several hypotheses are presented that may account for this increase. This review also includes studies in which increases in gs were documented for genetically-engineered plants. However, field evaluations of their gas-exchange performance remain sparse. The main finding of this review is that higher rates of gs should be sought, as we forego the usual consideration of crop plants as single organisms losing water, but rather acknowledge that water does exit a crop canopy along a Soil Plant Atmosphere Continuum (SPAC). In non-limiting or moderately-...

Stomatal Conductance Is Essential for Higher Yield Potential of C3 Crops

Wheat yield improvements in China: Past trends and future directions

Fertilizer application often significantly affects soil quality and crop productivity, thus, can affect soil greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and nitrogen use efficiency (NUE) as well. However, the impacts have not been well documented under double maize cropping system in subtropical China. Based on a thirty-year field experiment with five fertilization treatments (i.e. no fertilizer (CK), organic manure (OM), N, NPK and NPK plus OM (NPKM)), maize cultivar (Yedan 13) was planted both at the early maize season and late maize season, we assessed the impacts of different fertilizer application on nitrous oxide (N 2 O) and methane (CH 4 ) emissions, grain yield and NUE. Compared to the NPK, manure application (i.e. OM and NPKM) significantly increased N 2 O emissions, and maize yield. Nevertheless, there was no significant difference in yield–scaled global warming potential (GWP) among NPK, OM, and NPKM. Manure application increased soil pH, soil organic carbon, and soil total N, suggesting it can improve soil quality. The NPKM treatment had the highest N uptake, but in terms of NUE, it was lower than OM, due to double N application. Our results suggest that manure application can compensate its negative impacts on N 2 O emission through improving soil quality, maize yield and N use efficiency.

Long-term fertilization on nitrogen use efficiency and greenhouse gas emissions in a double maize cropping system in subtropical China

Changes in the yield and associated photosynthetic traits of dry-land winter wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) from the 1940s to the 2010s in Shaanxi Province of China

Applications of organic manure increased maize (Zea mays L.) yield and water productivity in a semi-arid region

Eight cultivars of dry-land wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) historically planted in Shaanxi Province, China, were grown in plots with irrigation and drought treatments during the growing seasons of 2011–2014, so as to characterize the differences in the rate and duration of the grain-filling stage among cultivars. The experimental results showed no obvious change among cultivars with respect to the duration of the grain-filling stage and no significant correlation between duration and grain weight. The filling rates of all three phases (lag, linear, and mature periods) showed significant differences among cultivars and had a greater effect on the grain weight than the duration of the filling stage, even though drought decreased the filling rate in the linear and mature periods. A lower filling rate led to a lighter grain weight in inferior grains than in superior grains. For the superior and inferior grains in the central spikelets, modern cultivars possess faster filling rates, especially in the lag and linear periods, whereas for the whole spike, no significant trend with cultivar replacement was observed. Faster filling rates with stable filling durations will be beneficial in obtaining additional yield increases.

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Nan Wang

Papers

Changes in the yield and associated photosynthetic traits of dry-land winter wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) from the 1940s to the 2010s in Shaanxi Province of China

Applications of organic manure increased maize (Zea mays L.) yield and water productivity in a semi-arid region

Wheat cultivars at different decades vary widely in grain-filling characteristics in Shaanxi Province, China