Parameters for Use of BEWAB＋ Programme to Schedule Irrigation of Pea （Pisum sativum L,）

A large portion of irrigation farmers make use of subjective （intuition） irrigation scheduling methods as supposed to objective or scientific irrigation scheduling methods, which need to be changed. The BEsproeiingsWAterbestuursprogram （BEWAB＋） irrigation scheduling programme is based on the water balance equation and needs： （1） a crop production function; （2） a relative consumptive water demand curve and （3） an allowable depletion subroutine. The objective of this paper was to describe research aimed at obtaining information on （1） and （2） for pea and also to describe the effect of water application on yield and water use of pea. BEWAB＋ uses this information to estimate the daily irrigation water requirements for a particular soil-crop-atmosphere system under irrigation. A field experiment, based on published line-source irrigation methodology, was conducted on a 3 m deep loamy fine sand Bainsvlei or Ustic Quartzipsamment soil near Bloemfontein （26°08′S; 29°01′E） in South Africa. Results showed that there is a linear relationship of the form Ys = 8.07ET - 249 （r2 = 0.91）, where Ys is the seed yield of pea （kg/ha） and ET is evapotranspiration for the growing season （mm）. The relative consumptive water demand curve is represented by the following third order polynomial function that describes the relationship between time and relative ET for a pea growing season of 120 days： ETrelx = 0.09419646 - 0.01302413x ＋ 0.00059008x2 - 0.00000371x3. ETrelz denotes relative ET and x denotes time in days. A workable balance between practical problem solving and advanced irrigation science has been established with BEWAB＋. Pre-plant irrigation schedules can be made for semi-arid areas with the BEWAB＋ programme using easily obtainable inputs, like target yield, soil depth and soil particle size distribution information.     

Effects of saline irrigation on soil salt accumulation and grain yield in the winter wheat-summer maize double cropping system in the low plain of North China

In the dominant winter wheat(WW)-summer maize(SM) double cropping system in the low plain located in the North China, limited access to fresh water, especially during dry season, constitutes a major obstacle to realize high crop productivity. Using the vast water resources of the saline upper aquifer for irrigation during WW jointing stage, may help to bridge the peak of dry season and relieve the tight water situation in the region. A field experiment was conducted during 2009–2012 to investigate the effects of saline irrigation during WW jointing stage on soil salt accumulation and productivity of WW and SM. The experiment treatments comprised no irrigation(T1), fresh water irrigation(T2), slightly saline water irrigation(T3:2.8 dS m~(–1)), and strongly saline water irrigation(T4: 8.2 dS m~(–1)) at WW jointing stage. With regard to WW yields and aggregated annual WW-SM yields, clear benefits of saline water irrigation(T3 T4) compared to no irrigation(T1), as well as insignificant yield losses compared to fresh water irrigation(T2) occurred in all three experiment years. However, the increased soil salinity in early SM season in consequence of saline irrigation exerted a negative effect on SM photosynthesis and final yield in two of three experiment years. To avoid the negative aftereffects of saline irrigation, sufficient fresh water irrigation during SM sowing phase(i.e., increase from 60 to 90 mm) is recommended to guarantee good growth conditions during the sensitive early growing period of SM. The risk of long-term accumulation of salts as a result of saline irrigation during the peak of dry season is considered low, due to deep leaching of salts during regularly occurring wet years, as demonstrated in the 2012 experiment year. Thus, applying saline water irrigation at jointing stage of WW and fresh water at sowing of SM is most promising to realize high yield and fresh irrigation water saving.     

Effect of Different Irrigation Methods on Dissolved Organic Carbon and Microbial Biomass Carbon in the Greenhouse Soil

The objective of this study was to investigate the contents and distribution of dissolved organic carbon （DOC） and microbial biomass carbon （MBC） at 0-100 cm soil depth under three irrigation treatments, viz., subsurface, drip and furrow irrigation in the greenhouse soil. The soil samples were collected at different depths （0-100 cm）, and the contents of soil total organic carbon （TOC）, DOC and MBC were analysed. The experiment was conducted for 10 yr, during which period the application of fertilizers and crop management practices were kept identical. The results showed that the contents of TOC, DOC and MBC were significantly affected by different irrigation regimes, decreased with the increase of soil depth. TOC at 0-10 and 80-100 cm soil depths followed the order of furrow irrigation 〉 subsurface irrigation 〉 drip irrigation, whereas at the depth of 10-80 cm followed the order of subsurface irrigation 〉 furrow irrigation 〉 drip irrigation. DOC and MBC contents at 0-100 cm soil depths followed the order of furrow irrigation 〉 drip irrigation 〉 subsurface irrigation, and drip irrigation 〉 furrow irrigation 〉 subsurface irrigation, respectively. The ratios of DOC and MBC to TOC accounted for 4.98-12.87% and 1.48-2.82%, respectively, which were the highest in the drip irrigation treatment, followed were in the furrow irrigation treatment, and the lowest in subsurface irrigation treatment. There were significant positive correlations among the contents of DOC, MBC and TOC in all irrigation treatments. The furrow irrigation facilitated the accumulation of TOC and DOC, while drip irrigation increased the MBC. The content of TOC and the ratios of DOC to TOC were the lowest in subsurface irrigation treatment.     

Water Consumption and Maize Yield for Alternative Furrow Irrigation in Western Heilongjiang Province

Aiming at less and un-uniform distribution rainfall problems, the serious draught in spring, low crop production and water efficiency in sandy soil area of Heilongjiang Province, the experiment of alternative furrow irrigation was conducted in Dumeng County in 2009. The purpose of the experiment was to find the water consumption law and its influence on maize yield. The results showed that the highest water consumption was during the heading stage and the highest daily consumption of water was during the filling stage. The stimulation effect of alternative furrow irrigation on yield was obvious in the appropriate irrigation level. The best irrigation pattern for the highest yield was as follows： the seedling stage was 325 m3. hm^-2; the jointing stage was 400 m3-hm^-2; and the filling stage was 288 m3- hm-2. The water consumption during each growing period was that the seedling was 38.85 mm; the jointing was 108.11 mm; the heading was 124.39 ram; the filling was 88.96 ram; the milk was 60.21 ram; and the harvesting was 47.89 mm.     

Positive Impact of Deficit Irrigation on Physiological Response and Fruit Yield in Citrus Orchards： Implications for Sustainable Water Savings

Different strategies of deficit irrigation based on water stress dynamics were applied in an 11-year old citrus trees （Citrus sinensis L. Osb. cv. Navelina） grafted on carrizo citrange （Citrus sinensis L. Osb.×Poncirus Trifoliata L. Osb.）. The trees were subjected to two irrigation treatments： （1） sustainable deficit irrigation （SDI） established with water supplied at 60% of the crop evapotranspiration （ETc） and （2） low frequency deficit irrigation （LFDI） irrigated according to the plant water status. In addition, a treatment irrigated at 100% of ETc was included as a control （C）. Midday stem-water potential （ψUstem）, stomatal conductance （gs）, and micrometric trunk diameter fluctuations were measured during the maximum evapotranspirative demand period to evaluate the plant-water status, and establish the main relationships among them. The seasonal pattern of the studied variables had a behavior consistent with the contributions made by the volumes of applied irrigation water. Especially significant close relationships of ψstem with gs, and with the maximum daily shrinkage （MDS） were found. The lowest ψstem and gs values were registered in the treatments with lowest irrigations levels （SDI and LFDI）, being the MDS was significative higher than in the C treatment. The LFDI showed an oscillating behavior in these parameters, which was on line with the supplied irrigation restrictions cycles. Thus, according to the results of the present experiment the physiological stress indexes based in MDS or ψstem allow establishing different irrigation restriction cycles, encouraging important water saving without significant impact on yield and the fruit quality parameters.     

Effects of Crop Rootzone Non-Pressure Subirrigation on Tomato Physiological Characteristics, Yield, and Quality

The purpose of this article is to study the effects of different water elevations of non-pressure subirrigation on some indexes of tomato, including soil water status around crop rootzone, morphological indexes, physiological indexes, photosynthetic indexes, yield, quality, and water use efficiency. With the tomato materials of Dongsheng 1, the irrigation experiment was carried out in the greenhouse, and significance analysis was done on the experiment data through the software of DPS. The results showed that different water elevations, had significant influence on the growth, yield, and quality of tomato. The yield of the 6-cm treatment was the highest, the 3-cm treatment was inferior to the 6-cm treatment, and the 0-cm treatment was the lowest. However, the WUE was 0 cm 〉 3 cm 〉 6 cm. The sugar/acid and soluble protein was the highest under the 0-cm treatment, and the content of ascorbic acid did not decrease considerably. When compared to the 0-cm treatment, the ascorbic acid content of 6-cm and 3-cm treatment increased by 19.2 and 6.8%, respectively. These irrigation methods can satisfy the requirements of tomato growth; different water elevations have different influences on the tomato soil water status around crop rootzone, the physiological characteristics, and yield. It also harmonized the percentage between sugar and acid, increased the content of soluble protein and ascorbic acid, and made tomato more delicious. The irrigation methods can improve the quality of tomato by water control, which is worth promoting in the agricultural production.     

Research on Theories and Techniques of Irrigation for Safeguarding Seed Production of Two-Line Hybrid Rice

By inducing frequency, intensity and duration of lower temperature in the middle and last ten-day periods in August in the rice-growing areas of southern China, increasing temperature for safe seed production was defined as 2℃. During the sensitive period of fertility, characters of panicle height and canopy structure of TGMS rice, Pei＇ai64S, were measured. Results showed that temperature changes caused by irrigation in fields were below 40 cm of rice plant, and heating effect was significant at 20 cm when the temperature was increased by 3.1 ℃. For the present study, the following irrigation techniques were put forth： the water depth of 15-20 cm, current water used, irrigating after 17：00 and bailing at 10：00 in sunny or cloudy weather, irrigating on whole day, in shady or rainy weather, increasing inflows and outflows in large fields. In the present experiment, pollen fertility and self-fertilized seed setting rate accepted that the techniques were feasible and effective for against lower temperature and safeguarding seed production of two-line hybrid rice.     

Effects of water application intensity of microsprinkler irrigation on water and salt environment and crop growth in coastal saline soils

Laboratory and field experiments were conducted to investigate the effects of water application intensity(WAI) on soil salinity management and the growth of Festuca arundinacea(festuca) under three stages of water and salt management strategies using microsprinkler irrigation in Hebei Province, North China. The soil water content(è) and salinity of homogeneous coastal saline soils were evaluated under different water application intensities in the laboratory experiment. The results indicated that the WAI of microsprinkler irrigation influenced the è, electrical conductivity(ECe) and p H of saline soils. As the WAI increased, the average values of è and ECe in the 0–40 cm profile also increased, while their average values in the 40–60 cm profile decreased. The p H value also slightly decreased as depth increased, but no significant differences were observed between the different treatments. The time periods of the water redistribution treatments had no obvious effects. Based on the results for è, ECe and p H, a smaller WAI was more desirable. The field experiment was conducted after being considered the results of the technical parameter experiment and evaporation, wind and leaching duration. The field experiment included three stages of water and salt regulation, based on three soil matric potentials(SMP), in which the SMP at a 20-cm depth below the surface was used to trigger irrigation. The results showed that the microsprinkler irrigation created an appropriate environment for festuca growth through the three stages of water and salt regulation. The low-salinity conditions that occurred at 0–10 cm depth during the first stage(-5 k Pa) continued to expand through the next two stages. The average p H value was less than 8.5. The tiller number of festuca increased as SMP decreased from the first stage to the third stage. After the three stages of water and salt regulation, the highly saline soil gradually changed to a low-saline soil. Overall, based on the salt desalinization, the microsprinkler irrigation and three stages of water and salt regulation could be successfully used to cultivate plants for the reclamation of coastal saline land in North China.     

Studying the physiological and yield responses of sunflower inbred lines to full and limited irrigation

In order to study the physiological and yield responses of sunflower inbred lines to full and limited irrigation, an experiment was conducted in the growing season of 2014–2015 in the research field of the Agricultural Research Station in Khoi, Iran. Water withholding was imposed in the flowering stages from R4 (initial flowering) to R6 (full flowering). The results showed that the main effect of irrigation and inbred lines and the interaction effect between irrigation and inbred lines in terms of the proline and protein contents, the catalase, peroxidase, and polyphenol oxidase activities, and seed yield in all inbred lines, and relative water content(RWC) were significant at 1% level. Water withholding in the flowering stage increased the proline content and the catalase, peroxidase, and polyphenol oxidase activities, whereas limited irrigation decreased the protein content and seed yield in all inbred lines and RWC. The lowest protein content and the highest catalase, peroxidase, and polyphenol oxidase activities were observed in BGK 39 under limited irrigation condition, while BGK 37 revealed the highest proline content in such circumstances. The highest seed yield was seen in BGK 1 and BGK 375 in full irrigation condition. Limited irrigation increased the proline content by 49.51%, compared to that of full irrigation condition.     

Productive Performance and Response of Green Chilli （Capsicum annum L.） to Drip Irrigation Schedules under Water Limited Conditions

Drip irrigation is often preferred under water limited conditions over the other irrigation methods because of its high water application efficiency on account of reduced surface evaporation and percolation losses. The major limitation of drip irrigation is its initial investment. Therefore, there is a need to reduce the cost of drip installation by altering the planting geometry besides enhancing the productivity and moisture use. Results of the two years field study conducted on sandy loam soils revealed that drip irrigation at 1.0 Epan with normal row system （60 cm×30 cm） registered significantly higher yield of green chilli（ 14.08 t ha^-1） which was on par with 0.8 Epan two rows paired system （90-45-90 cm×30 cm：13.45 t ha^-1） and significantly lowest was noticed with 0.6 Epan four rows paired system（45-45-45-120 cm×30 cm ） （5.50 t ha^-1）. The quality parameters viz; TSS and Ascorbic acid were significantly higher with drip irrigation at 1.0 Epan with normal row system and lowest was observed with 0.6 Epan four rows paired system. Total water used was maximum in 1.0 Epan （691.7 mm） followed by 0.8 Epan irrigation （590.2 mm） and the lowest was recorded in 0.6 Epan irrigation （488.8 mm）. There was a saving of water by 14.68 percent and 29.34 percent under 0.8 and 0.6 Epan drip irrigation schedules respectively over 1.0 Epan. Indications of less leaf water potential in 1.0 Epan drip irrigation （-0.58 to-0.67 MPa） followed by 0.8 Epan （-0.61 to-0.68 MPa） and more negative leaf water potential in 0.6 Epan （-0.71 to-0.88 MPa） in relation to water applied were observed. Water use efficiency recorded was maximum in 0.6 Epan normal row systems （24.1 Kg ha-mm^-1） and the least was recorded in 0.6 Epan four rows paired system （11.3 Kg ha-mm^-1）. The significantly higher root growth characters such as root length （42.6 cm）, number of primary roots （28.7）, root dry weight （11.05 g plant^-1） and maximum depth of penetration were recorded with 0.6 Epan four rows paired system and the least was observed with 1.0 Epan with normal row system. This indicating root proliferation under stress conditions and marked performance in terms of yield under water limited environments. Significantly higher Benefit： Cost ratio was recorded with 0.8 Epan two rows paired system （2.24：1） and was on par with 1.0 Epan two rows paired system （2.00：1） and 1.0 Epan normal row system （1.85： 1 ）. The significantly lowest B： C ratio was noticed with 0.6 Epan four rows paired system.     

Analysis of Water Resources Supply and Demand and Security of Water Resources Development in Irrigation Regions of the Middle Reaches of the Heihe River Basin, Northwest China

Based on the data for meteorology, hydrology, soil, planting, vegetation, and socio-economic development of the irrigation region in the middle reaches of the Heihe River basin, Northwest China, the model of balance of water supply and demand in the region was established, and the security of water resource was assessed, from which the results that the effects of unified management of water resources in the Heihe River basin between Gansu Province and Inner Mongolia on regional hydrology are significant with a decrease in water supply diverted from Heihe River and an increase in groundwater extracted. In addition, it was found that the groundwater level has been steadily decreasing due to over pumping and decrease in recharges. In present year （2003）, the volume of potential groundwater in the irrigation districts is far small because of the groundwater overdraft; even in the particular regions, there is no availability of groundwater resources for use. By 2003, water supply is not sufficient to meet the water demand in the different irrigation districts, the sustainable development and utilization of water resources are not secured, and the water supply crisis occurs in Pingchuan irrigation district. Achieving water security for the sustainable development of society, agriculture, economy, industry, and livelihoods while maintaining or improving the abilities of the management and planning of water resources, determining of the reasonable percentage between water supply and groundwater utilization and water saving in agricultural irrigation are taken into account. If this does not occur, it is feared that the present performance of water development and planning may further aggravate the problem of scarcities of water resources and further damage the fragile ecological system.     

Research on Forecasting Water Requirement of Well Irrigation Rice by Time Series Analysis Method

The paper builds up the forecasting model of air temperature according to the data(1994-1998)of Fu Jin area.At the same time,the writer inquires into the relation of water requirement of well irrigation rice(ET)and average air temperature(T).Furthermore,the rice irrigation water reuqirement(ET)of Fu Jin area has been forecast in 1999.Thus,we can apply the model in irrigation management.     

Coupling Effect of Water and Fertilizer on Soybean Yield and Nutrient Absorption

Soybean cultivar Bei 92-28 was tested in this experiment in 2000 to study the coupling effect of water and ferilizer on soybean yield. The results showed that the effect of irrigation varied among the levels of fertilizer application,and vice versa；pods per plant ,seeds per pod. and 100-seed weight had positive correlations with soybean yield,but the degrees of correlations of different treatments were various;LAI and dry matter accumulation could be significantly increased when watered and applied fertilizer with different levels,but high fertilizer application treatment didn‘t obtain the highest yield; watering could increase the absolute absorption amount of N,P,K in seeds,but the accumulation rates were various.     

Considering the Influence of Multi-weather-factors to Forecasting the Water Requirement of Well Irrigation Rice Based on ANN Model

The author considered the influences of several weather factors, such as air temperature, sunlight, saturation deficiency, wind speed and so on to forecasting the water requirement of well irrigation rice based on Artificial Neutron Network. Through dealing with the time series of water requirement and its influence factors, the author applied the multi-dimension data correlation analysis to ensure the net structure. Thus, the ANN model to forecast the water requirement of well irrigation rice has been built. By means of the ANN model, uncertainty relation between water requirement and many influence factors among the interior and exterior can be discovered. The results of ANN model is good, and can provide some references for establishing the water saving irrigation system.     

Irrigation water salinity and N fertilization:Effects on ammonia oxidizer abundance,enzyme activity and cotton growth in a drip irrigated cotton field

Use of saline water in irrigated agriculture has become an important means for alleviating water scarcity in arid and semi-arid regions. The objective of this field experiment was to evaluate the effects of irrigation water salinity and N fertilization on soil physicochemical and biological properties related to nitrification and denitrification. A 3×2 factorial design was used with three levels of irrigation water salinity(0.35, 4.61 and 8.04 d S m–1) and two N rates(0 and 360 kg N ha~(–1)). The results indicated that irrigation water salinity and N fertilization had significant effects on many soil physicochemical properties including water content, salinity, p H, NH_4-N concentration, and NO_3-N concentration. The abundance(i.e., gene copy number) of ammonia-oxidizing archaea(AOA) was greater than that of ammonia-oxidizing bacteria(AOB) in all treatments. Irrigation water salinity had no significant effect on the abundance of AOA or AOB in unfertilized plots. However, saline irrigation water(i.e., the 4.61 and 8.04 d S m–1 treatments) reduced AOA abundance, AOB abundance and potential nitrification rate in N fertilized plots. Regardless of N application rate, saline irrigation water increased urease activity but reduced the activities of both nitrate reductase and nitrite reductase. Irrigation with saline irrigation water significantly reduced cotton biomass, N uptake and yield. Nitrogen application exacerbated the negative effect of saline water. These results suggest that brackish water and saline water irrigation could significantly reduce both the abundance of ammonia oxidizers and potential nitrification rates. The AOA may play a more important role than AOB in nitrification in desert soil.     

Short Response of Spring Wheat to Tillage,Residue Management and Split Nitrogen Application in a Rice-Wheat System

A ifeld experiment was conducted to study the impact of tillage, crop residue management and nitrogen （N） splitting on spring wheat （Triticum aestivum L.） yield over 2 yr （2010-2012） in a rice （Oryza sativa L.）-wheat system in northwestern Pakistan. The experiment was conducted as split plot arranged in randomized complete blocks design with three replications. Treatments comprised six tillage and residue managements：zero tillage straw retained （ZTsr）, zero tillage straw burnt （ZTsb）, reduced tillage straw incorporated （RTsi）, reduced tillage straw burnt （RTsb）, conventional tillage straw incorporated （CTsi）, and conventional tillage straw burnt （CTsb） as main plots and N （200 kg ha-1） was applied as split form viz., control （no nitrogen＆no splitting, N0S0）;2 splits of total N, half at sowing and half at the 1st irrigation （i.e., 20 d after sowing （DAS）） （NS1）;3 splits of total N, 1/3 at sowing, 1/3 at the 1st irrigation, and 1/3 at the 2nd irrigation （NS2）;4 splits of total N, 1/4 at sowing, 1/4 at the 1st irrigation, 1/4 at the 2nd irrigation （45 DAS）, and 1/4 at the 3rd irrigation （70 DAS） （NS3）;and 4 splits of total N, 1/4 at the 1st irrigation, 1/4 at the 2nd irrigation, 1/4 at the 3rd irrigation, and 1/4 at the 4th irrigation （95DAS） （NS4） as sub plots. The results showed that the most pikes m-2, grains/spike, 1 000-grain weight, grain yield, and N use efifciency （NUE） were obtained at zero tillage, straw retained and 4 splits application of total N （i.e., at sowing 20, 45 and 70 d after sowing）. The results indicated that ZTsr with application of 200 kg N ha-1 in 4 equal splits viz. at sowing 20, 45 and 70 d after sowing is an appropriate strategy that enhanced wheat yield （7 436-7 634 kg ha-1） and N efifciency （28.6-29.5 kg kg-1） in rice-wheat system.     

Irrigation Water Use Efficiency of Farmers and Its Determinants： Evidence from a Survey in Northwestern China

Irrigation water shortage is becoming an increasingly serious problem in agricultural production. In this case, it is very important for policy makers to take measures to improve irrigation water use efficiency, especially in the water-scarce areas. In this paper, the data envelopment analysis （DEA） techniques, based on the concept of input-specific technical efficiency were used to develop farm-level technical efficiency measures and sub-vector efficiencies for irrigation water use. The Tobit regression technique was then adopted to identify the factors that influence irrigation water efficiency differentials under the shortage of water resources. Based on a sample data of 432 wheat farmers in northwestern China, our experimental results of the DEA analysis showed the average technical efficiency of 0.6151. It suggested that wheat farmers could increase their production by as much as 38.49% by using inputs more efficiently. Further, the mean irrigation water efficiency of 0.3065, suggested that wheat farmers could produce the same quantity of wheat using the same quantity of inputs but with 69.35% less water. The results of the Tobit regression analysis showed that the farmer＇s age, income, education level, and the farm size tended to affect the degree of irrigation water efficiency positively, and the channel conditions and different irrigation methods made a significant impact on irrigation water use efficiency. Furthermore, the arrangements of exclusive water property rights and competitive water price mechanism have effectively encouraged the water saving behavior of farmers. These results are valuable for policy makers since it could help to guide policies towards high irrigation water use efficiency.     

The Equilibrium and Growth Stability of Winter Wheat Root and Shoot Under Different Soil Water Conditions

The equilibrium between root, shoot and growth stability under different soil water conditions were investigated in a tube experiment of winter wheat. The water supplying treatments included： sufficient irrigation at whole growth phase, moderate deficiency irrigation at whole growth phase, serious deficiency irrigation at whole growth phase, sufficient irrigation at jointing stage, tillering stage, flowering stage, and fillering respectively, after moderate and serious water deficit during their previous growth stage. Root and shoot biomass were measured. On the basis of the cooperative root-shoot interactions model, the equilibrium and growth stability were studied on the strength of the kinetics system theory. There was only one varying equilibrium point between the root and shoot over the life time of the winter wheat plant. Water stress prolonged the duration of stable growth, the more serious the water deficit, the longer the period of stable growth. The duration of stable growth was shortened and that of unstable growth was prolonged after water recovery. The growth behavior of the plants exposed to moderate water deficit shifted from stable to unstable until the end of the growth, after rewatering at flowering. In the life-time of the crop, the root and shoot had been adjusting themselves in structure and function so as to maintain an equilibrium, but could not achieve the equilibrium state for long. They were always in an unbalanced state from the beginning to the end of growth. This was the essence of root-shoot equilibrium. Water stress inhibited the function of root and shoot, reduced root shoot interactions, and as a result, the plant growth gradually tended to stabilize. Rewatering enhanced root shoot interactions, prolonged duration of instable growth. Rewatering at flowering could upset the inherent relativity during the long time of stable growth from flowering to filling stage, thus leading to unstable growth and enhanced dry matter accumulating rate in the whole plant.     

Effects of Partial Rootzone Drying on the Growth of Vitis vinifera cv. Malvasia Grafted on Different Rootstocks

To lay a biological foundation for rootstocks and alternate irrigation （AI） popularization, the effects of partial rootzone drying （PRD） on the growth of the grapevine Malvasia grafted on different rootstocks were investigated. Biological effects of 1/2 divided root irrigation on three combinations, i.e., Malvasia/420A, Malvasia/3309C, and Malvasia/110R, were studied by wood-boxed plants. All the plants were separated into three groups for different irrigation strategies. Mass growth of new root in alternate-irrigated plants was remarkably promoted by about 7.8-22.2% higher than the well- watered ones. However, new shoot growth, especially the internode was reduced by alternate irrigation. The average root-shoot ratio of all the three combinations was increased from 1.1 to 1.46. New root growth and internode length were decreased by fixed partial rootzone irrigation （FI） at different amount, M/3309C at 37.9 and 36.9%, M/110R at 18.4 and 22.5%, respectively. Total biomass of all the three combinations under FI decreased at the rate of 19.2-34.3% compared with well-watered ones. Water stress adaptation of grapevine mainly depends on rootstock. 110R is more efficient than 3309C and 420A in water stress adaptation. PRD-AI benefited root growth, thus improved the drought-resistant ability of grapevine.     

Grain yield and water use of winter wheat as affected by water and sulfur supply in the North China Plain

Water shortage has threatened sustainable development of agriculture globally as well as in the North China Plain(NCP).Irrigation,as the most effective way to increase food production in dry land,may not be readily available in the situation of drought.One of the alternatives is to supply plants with enough nutrients so that they can be more sustainable to the water stress.The objective of this study was to explore effects of irrigation and sulphur(S)application on water consumption,dry matter accumulation(DMA),and grain yield of winter wheat in NCP.Three irrigation regimes including no irrigation(rainfed,I_0)during the whole growth period,once irrigation only at jointing stage(90 mm,I_1),and twice respective irrigation at jointing and anthesis stages(90 mm plus 90 mm,I_2),and two levels of S application including 0(S_0)and 60 kg ha~(–1)(S_(60))were designed in the field experiment in NCP.Results showed that increasing irrigation times significantly increased mean grain yield of wheat by 12.5–23.7%and nitrogen partial factor productivity(NPFP)by 21.2–45.0%in two wheat seasons,but markedly decreased crop water use efficiency(YWUE).Furthermore,S supply 60 kg ha~(–1) significantly increased mean grain yield,YWUE,IWUE and NPFP by 5.6,6.1,23.2,and 5.6%(across two wheat seasons),respectively.However,we also found that role of soil moisture prior to S application was one of important greater factors on improving the absorption and utilization of storage water and nutrients of soil.Thus,water supply is still the most important factor to restrict the growth of wheat in the present case of NCP,supplying 60 kg ha~(–1) S with once irrigation 90 mm at the jointing stage is a relatively appropriate recommended combination to improve grain yield and WUE of wheat when saving water resources is be considered in irrigated wheat farmlands of NCP.