Drought-resistant Hybrid Millet under Water- saving Irrigation in Extreme Drought Area of Dunhuang City

[Objective]This study aimed to select hybrid mil et varieties those can produce high yield under water-saving irrigation conditions. [Method] From 2011 to 2013, drought-resistant experiments on 200 hybrid mil et combinations were carried out in the three consecutive years in Dunhuang City. Plastic film was covered on the soil surface in one treatment （F） and was not in the other treatment （NF）. Irri-gation was only performed once before sowing. At seedling stage, jointing stage, heading stage and fil ing stage, we measured the water contents of soil at 0-20, 20-40, 40-60, 60-80, 80-100 and 100-120 cm deep. Plant height, panicle length, til er number, grain weight per ear, grain weight per plant, grass weight and above-ground biomass were measured from a bulk of eight plants in each plot. Grain yield per plot was measured final y. [Result] Under the only irrigation of 1 200 m3/hm2 before sowing, 18 hybrid mil et combinations exhibited stronger resistance to drought, and four of them： 13DH2, 13DH3, 13DH8 and 13DH9 produced grain more than 3 000 kg/hm2. The yield of hybrid mil et combination 13DH8 was up to 6 000 kg/hm2 under the only irrigation of 1 200 m3/hm2, i.e. 1 m3 of water could produce 5 kg of grain on average. Therefore, application of this cultivation technology could increase arable land of irrigated arid area by several times. In addition, irrigation of 1 200 m3/hm2 is equivalent to 120 mm of rainfal; so this cultivation technology also can be applied in arid area with 200 mm of rainfal . [Conclusion] The cultivation technology can cope with the occurrence of extreme weather, protect water re-sources and enlarge global grain planting area. At the same time, it also ensures food production and food safety.