Increased spike density and enhanced vegetative growth as primary contributors to improvement of dryland wheat yield via surface mulching

IF 5.6 1区农林科学 Q1 AGRONOMY

Field Crops Research Pub Date : 2025-03-15 DOI:10.1016/j.fcr.2025.109853

Yuwei Chai , Yawei Li , Rui Li , Lei Chang , Hongbo Cheng , Jiantao Ma , Yuqing Qin , Fanxiang Han , Changgang Yang , Yuzhang Chen , Qian Chen , Yao Zhang , Caixia Huang , Shouxi Chai

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引用次数: 0

Abstract

Context or Problem

Plastic film mulching and straw mulching are the primary cropping practices for increasing wheat yield and water use efficiency in water-deficient regions. Nevertheless, there remains a deficit in comprehensive and clear understanding of how mulching-induced alterations in yield components contribute to increased grain yield of wheat.

Objective

This study aimed to dissect the causal mechanisms connecting yield increase of wheat with alterations in yield components under mulching.

Methods

From 2012–2020, a total of 56 field experiments of winter wheat with different sites and tested cultivars were conducted in the semiarid rainfed region of Northwest China, using three treatments for each experiment: (1) straw strip mulch (SM), a partial ground mulching; (2) whole-ground plastic film mulching (PM); and (3) no mulching with wheat sown in rows, as a control (CK).

Results

Meta-analysis revealed that PM enhanced grain yield and its components to a greater extent than SM. Compared with CK, on average across the 56 experiments, SM and PM increased (p < 0.05) grain yield by 13.4 and 21.2 %, spike density (spikes ha⁻¹) by 7.0 and 12.9 %, thousand-grain weight by 1.8 (p > 0.05) and 5.5 %, total grains ha⁻¹ by 10.3 and 16.7 %, straw yield by 15.1 and 29.9 %, biomass by 14.6 and 26.2 %, net income by 774 and 68 ¥ ha⁻¹, respectively. However, Grains per spike and harvest indices did not differ among treatments (p > 0.05). The translocation contribution, translocation amount, translocation efficiency of pre-anthesis assimilate from whole plant to grains in SM and PM were 8.5 and 19.5 %, 24.2 and 72.7 %, 3.6 and 7.1 % higher than those in CK, respectively. A significant positive correlation (p < 0.01) was observed between grain yield and straw yield, as well as between each of them and spike density, the translocation contribution rate, respectively. Grain yield of SM increased with an increase in mulched area, and the grain yield in SM with 59 % of mulched area was similar to that in PM (p > 0.05).

Conclusion

The increased spike density was identified as the first component leading to higher grain yield in SM and PM over CK, while the enhanced vegetative growth (straw yield) provided photosynthetic product support for increasing spike density and transferring more pre-anthesis assimilate to grains. The economics of PM were not as attractive as those of the appropriate SM system despite the higher yield merits.

Implications

The findings potentially contribute to innovation, improvement and implementation of mulching practices for wheat cultivation in water-deficient regions.

查看原文本刊更多论文

通过地表覆盖物增加穗密度和促进无性生长是提高旱地小麦产量的主要因素

背景或问题塑料薄膜覆盖和秸秆覆盖是缺水地区提高小麦产量和水分利用效率的主要耕作方法。本研究旨在剖析地膜覆盖下小麦增产与产量成分变化之间的因果关系。方法2012-2020年，在中国西北半干旱多雨地区进行了56个不同地点、不同品种的冬小麦田间试验，每个试验采用三种处理：（1）秸秆条覆盖（SM），即部分地面覆盖；（2）全地面塑料薄膜覆盖（PM）；（3）不覆盖，小麦条播，作为对照（CK）。与 CK 相比，在 56 个试验中，SM 和 PM 的平均谷物产量（p < 0.05）分别增加了 13.4% 和 21.2%，穗密度（穗公顷-1）分别增加了 7.0% 和 12.9%，千粒重分别增加了 1.8 (p > 0.05) 和 5.5 %，总粒数 ha-1 分别增加 10.3 和 16.7 %，秸秆产量分别增加 15.1 和 29.9 %，生物量分别增加 14.6 和 26.2 %，净收入分别增加 774 和 68 ¥ ha-1。然而，各处理的每穗粒数和收获指数没有差异（p >0.05）。花前同化物从全株到籽粒的转位贡献率、转位量和转位效率，SM 和 PM 分别比 CK 高 8.5 % 和 19.5 %、24.2 % 和 72.7 %、3.6 % 和 7.1 %。谷物产量和秸秆产量之间，以及谷物产量和秸秆产量分别与穗密度和转位贡献率之间均呈明显的正相关（p < 0.01）。SM的谷物产量随着覆盖面积的增加而增加，覆盖面积为59%的SM的谷物产量与PM相似（p > 0.05）。尽管产量较高，但 PM 的经济效益不如适当的 SM 系统吸引人。

本文章由计算机程序翻译，如有差异，请以英文原文为准。

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来源期刊

Field Crops Research 农林科学-农艺学

CiteScore

9.60

自引率

12.10%

发文量

307

审稿时长

46 days

期刊介绍： Field Crops Research is an international journal publishing scientific articles on: √ experimental and modelling research at field, farm and landscape levels on temperate and tropical crops and cropping systems, with a focus on crop ecology and physiology, agronomy, and plant genetics and breeding.