Stem lfow of seed-maize under alternate furrow irrigation and double-row ridge planting in an arid region of Northwest China

• Published in: 农业科学学报（英文版） no. 7; pp. 1434 - 1445
• Main Authors: BO Xiao-dong, DU Tai-sheng, DING Ri-sheng, TONG Ling, LI Si-en
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Center for Agricultural Water Research in China, China Agricultural University, Beijing 100083, P.R.China 2015
• Subjects: stem lfow; double-row ridge planting; alternate partial root-zone furrow irrigation; seed-maize
• ISSN: 2095-3119; 2352-3425
• DOI: 10.1016/S2095-3119(14)60930-8

Maize is widely planted throughout the world and has the highest yield of al the cereal crops. The arid region of North-west China has become the largest base for seed-maize production, but water shortage is the bottleneck for its long-term sustainability. Investigating the transpiration of seed-maize plants wil offer valuable information for suitable planting and irrigation strategies in this arid area. In this study, stem lfow was measured using a heat balance method under alternate furrow irrigation and double-row ridge planting. Meteorological factors, soil water content (θ), soil temperature (Ts) and leaf area (LA) were also monitored during 2012 and 2013. The diurnal stem lfow and seasonal dynamics of maize plants in the zones of south side female parent (SFP), north side female parent (NFP) and male parent (MP) were investigated. The order of stem lfow rate was:SFP>MP>NFP. The relationships between stem lfow and inlfuential factors during three growth stages at different time scales were analyzed. On an hourly scale, solar radiation (Rs) was the main driving factor of stem lfow. The inlfuence of air temperature (Ta) during the maturity stage was signiifcantly higher than in other periods. On a daily scale, Rs was the main driving factor of stem lfow during the heading stage. During the ifl ing growth stage, the main driving factor of NFP and MP stem lfow was RH and Ts, respectively. However, during the maturity stage, the environ-mental factors had no signiifcant inlfuence on seed-maize stem lfow. For different seed-maize plants, the main inlfuential factors were different in each of the three growing seasons. Therefore, we identiifed them to accurately model the FP and MP stem lfow and applied precision irrigation under alternate partial root-zone furrow irrigation to analyze major factors affecting stem lfow in different scales.