Water use efficiency of controlled alternate irrigation on root-divided maize plants |
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| Affiliation: | 1. Jiangsu Key Laboratory of Agricultural Meteorology, School of Applied Meteorology, Nanjing University of Information Science and Technology, Nanjing 210044, China;2. Nicholas School of the Environment, Duke University, Durham, North California 27708, USA;3. Key Laboratory of Agricultural Water Resources, Center for Agricultural Resources Research, Institute of Genetics and Developmental Biology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, 286 Huaizhong Road, Shijiazhuang 050021, China;4. College of Water Conservancy and Hydropower Engineering, Hohai University, Nanjing 210098, China;5. Center for Agricultural Water Research in China, China Agricultural University, Beijing 100083, China;6. State Key Laboratory of Simulation and Regulation of Water Cycle in River Basin, China Institute of Water Resources and Hydropower Research, Beijing 100038, China;7. Department of Science and Technology-Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (DOST-PAGASA), Quezon 1100, Philippines |
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| Abstract: | A new method of irrigation was designed and tested for its water use efficiency (WUE). Maize plants were grown in pots with their roots divided and established into two or three separated containers of which irrigation and soil drying were controlled alternately. Results showed that when the two halves of the root system were alternatively exposed to a drying soil and a soil with its water content maintained above 55% or 65% of its field capacity, water consumption was reduced by 34.4–36.8% and the total biomass production was reduced by only 6–11%, when compared to the well-irrigated plants. Significant increase in WUE, root to shoot ratio and stomatal resistance for water diffusion were observed as a result of such treatment. Leaf transpiration was reduced substantially while the rate of photosynthesis and leaf water content were not significantly altered. The results were also compared to root-divided plants of which irrigation was fixed to one container only and showed that a better WUE, root development and distribution, shoot biomass production were achieved by the alternate drying and rewetting. We conclude that the controlled alternate irrigation (CAI) is an effective and water-saving irrigation method and may have the potential to be used in the field. |
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