Interactive effects of sowing pattern and planting density on grain yield and nitrogen use efficiency in large spike wheat cultivar

Abstract

In order to find out the way to achieve further improvement in the grain yield (GY) and nitrogen use efficiency (NUE) of winter wheat, two sowing pattern (the wide range sowing and conventional drilling sowing) and seven planting densities (130×10 4 , 200×10 4 , 270×10 4 , 340×10 4 , 410×10 4 , 480×10 4 , and 550×10 4 plants hm-2) were designed during 2015-2016 and 2016-2017 growing seasons. Tainong 18, a winter wheat cultivar with larger spike and lower tillering capacity, was used to investigate the combined effects of sowing pattern and planting density on GY and NUE. Compared with the conventional drilling sowing, the wide range sowing with higher planting density effectively alleviated the negative effect of increasing spikes per unit area and nitrogen uptake efficiency (NUpE) on decreasing single spike weight and nitrogen utilization efficiency (NUtE), respectively. Concurrent improvement in GY and NUE was achieved by increasing the number of spikes per unit area and NUpE. The planting density resulting in the highest GY and NUE under wide range sowing conditions was 410×10 4 plants hm-2 , which was significantly higher than that (340×10 4 plants hm-2) under conventional drilling sowing. Moreover, the increase percentage of GY and NUE under wide ranging sowing was also significantly higher than that under drilling sowing. In summary, it is feasible to further improve GY and NUE of large spike wheat cultivar through rational combination of wide range sowing with higher planting density. Under the condition of this experiment, the optimal combination measure for high GY and NUE was sowing width of 8-10 cm with plant density of 410×10 4 plants hm-2 .

Interactive Effect of Irrigation Volume and Planting Density on Growth and Salt Uptake in Field-Grown Drip-Irrigated Suaeda salsa (L.) Pall.

“…D2 had the highest WUE and WSE under the W2 irrigation volume, while D3 had the highest WUE and WSE under the W3 irrigation volume. These findings are consistent with those of Zhang et al [ 49 ], who demonstrated that an increase in the planting density causes the water use efficiency to increase initially before decreasing.…”

Higher Seed Rates Enlarge Effects of Wide-Belt Sowing on Canopy Radiation Capture, Distribution, and Use Efficiency in Winter Wheat

“…However, when the seed rate reached 600 and 700 m −2 , the increase in the yield was decreased. High yields were obtained at SR300 and SR400 under NDS, but the high yields under WBS were obtained at relatively greater seed rates of 400-500 m −2 , and similar results were reported by Zheng et al (2020) [6]. These results suggest that relatively higher seed rates are suitable for enhancing the positive effect of WBS to maximize yields.…”

“…PAR intensity above canopy − PAR intensity slightly above the soil surface PAR intensity above canopy × 100 (6) At the anthesis stage in all seasons, we also measured the PAR intensity within the canopy at 0 (slightly above the soil surface), 15, 30, 45, and 60 cm above the soil surface. The relative PAR intensity at a specific canopy height was calculated as follows.…”

“…On one hand, the increased wheat yields were attributed to genetic improvements, such as enhanced photosynthesis, spike fertility, and the partitioning of available assimilates to the spikes [2,3]. On the other hand, intensified crop management practices involving improved fertilization, irrigation, control of pests and weeds, and different plant arrangements have critical roles in improving wheat yields [4][5][6]. In particular, the sowing method and seed rate can be changed to readily adjust the plant arrangement, and they have clear effects on crop growth and yield formation [7,8].…”

“…Recently, Zheng et al found a significant interaction between the effects of the sowing method and seed rate on the grain yield in a trial conducted over two seasons [6]. The positive effect of WBS depended significantly on the seed rate.…”