[Effects of mono- and mixed culture on the grain yield and water use efficiency of two winter wheat cultivars].
Taking two winter wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) cultivars Changwu 135 and Pingliang 40 commonly cultivated in the semi-arid area on Loess Plateau as test materials, and by the method of ecological replacement, a 2-year field experiment was conducted to study the effects of mono- and mixed culture on the grain yield and water use efficiency of the cultivars. The results showed that under mono-culture, Pingliang 40 had a much higher unit area root biomass (367.60 g x m(-2)) than Changwu 135 (297.31 g x m(-2)), and a more uniform root distribution (i.e., a better root type for water absorption), but its grain yield and water use efficiency were lower than Changwu 135. Under mixed culture, the population root biomass of Pingliang 40 and Changwu 135 was 13.36 g * m(-2) and 8.50 g x m(-2) higher than that under mono-culture, respectively, suggesting that mixed population could absorb the water in deeper soil layers, and had higher total unit area biomass, which in turn increased the water use efficiency. Comparing with Pingliang 40, Changwu 135 allocated more dry matter to its productive organ, leading to its higher grain yield, harvest index, and water use efficiency.
Liu
Lin
L
State Key Laboratory of Soil Erosion and Dryland Farming on the Loess Plateau, Institute of Soil and Water Conservation, Chinese Academy of Sciences and Ministry of Water Resources, Yangling 712100, Shaanxi, China. liulin_lin@yahoo.com.cn
Li
Feng-min
FM
Xu
Bing-cheng
BC
Ma
Shou-chen
SC
Liu
Wen-zhao
WZ
D000383:Agriculture / Q000379:methods; D018533:Biomass; D002523:Edible Grain / Q000254:growth & development; D018517:Plant Roots / Q000254:growth & development* / Q000378:metabolism; D013045:Species Specificity; D014908:Triticum / Q000145:classification / Q000254:growth & development* / Q000378:metabolism; D014867:Water / Q000378:metabolism*
D014867:Water