Maize is widely planted throughout the world and has the highest yield of all 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 will offer valuable information for suitable planting and irrigation strategies in this arid area. In this study, stem flow was measured using a heat balance method under alternate furrow irrigation and double-row ridge planting. Meteorological factors, soil water content （e）, soil temperature （Ts） and leaf area （LA） were also monitored during 2012 and 2013. The diurnal stem flow 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 flow rate was： SFP〉MP〉NFP. The relationships between stem flow and influential 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 flow. The influence of air temperature （Ta） during the maturity stage was significantly higher than in other periods. On a daily scale, Rs was the main driving factor of stem flow during the heading stage. During the filling growth stage, the main driving factor of NFP and MP stem flow was RH and Ts, respectively. However, during the maturity stage, the environ- mental factors had no significant influence on seed-maize stem flow. For different seed-maize plants, the main influential factors were different in each of the three growing seasons. Therefore, we identified them to accurately model the FP and MP stem flow and applied precision irrigation under alternate partial root-zone furrow irrigation to analyze major factors affecting stem flow in different scales.
BO Xiao-dongDU Tai-shengDING Ri-shengTONG LingLI Si-en
Furrow irrigation is a traditional widely-used irrigation method in the world. Understanding the dynamics of soil water distribution is essential to developing effective furrow irrigation strategies, especially in water-limited regions. The objectives of this study are to analyze root length density distribution and to explore soil water dynamics by simulating soil water content using a HYDRUS-2D model with consideration of root water uptake for furrow irrigated tomato plants in a solar greenhouse in Northwest China. Soil water contents were also in-situ observed by the ECH_2O sensors from 4 June to 19 June and from 21 June to 4 July, 2012. Results showed that the root length density of tomato plants was concentrated in the 0–50 cm soil layers, and radiated 0–18 cm toward the furrow and 0–30 cm along the bed axis. Soil water content values simulated by the HYDRUS-2D model agreed well with those observed by the ECH_2O sensors, with regression coefficient of 0.988, coefficient of determination of 0.89, and index of agreement of 0.97. The HYDRUS-2D model with the calibrated parameters was then applied to explore the optimal irrigation scheduling. Infrequent irrigation with a large amount of water for each irrigation event could result in 10%–18% of the irrigation water losses. Thus we recommend high irrigation frequency with a low amount of water for each irrigation event in greenhouses for arid region. The maximum high irrigation amount and the suitable irrigation interval required to avoid plant water stress and drainage water were 34 mm and 6 days, respectively, for given daily average transpiration rate of 4.0 mm/d. To sum up, the HYDRUS-2D model with consideration of root water uptake can be used to improve irrigation scheduling for furrow irrigated tomato plants in greenhouses in arid regions.
Field experiments were conducted for two years to investigate the benefits of alternate furrow irrigation on fruit yield, quality and water use efficiency of grape （Vitis vinifera L. cv. Rizamat） in the arid region of Northwest China. Two irrigation treatments were included, i.e., conventional furrow irrigation （CFI, two root-zones were simultaneously irrigated during the consecutive irrigation） and alternate partial root-zone furrow irrigation （AFI, two root-zones were alternatively irrigated during the consecutive irrigation）. Results indicate that AFI maintained similar photosynthetic rate （Pn） but with a reduced transpiration rate when compared to CFI. As a consequence, AFI improved water use efficiency based on evapotranspiration （WUEEr, fruit yield over water consumed） and irrigation （WUE~, fruit yield over water irrigated） by 30.0 and 34.5%, respectively in 2005, and by 12.7 and 17.7%, respectively in 2006. AFI also increased the edible percentage of berry by 2.91-4.79% significantly in both years. Vitamin C （Vc） content content of berry was increased by 25.6-37.5%, and tritrated acidity （TA） was reduced by 9.5-18.1% in AFI. This resulted in an increased total soluble solid content （TSS） to TA ratio （TSS/TA） by 11.5-16.7% when compared to CFI in both years. Our results indicate that alternate furrow irrigation is a practical way to improve grape fruit quality and water use efficiency for irrigated crops in arid areas.
DU Tai-shengKANG Shao-zhongYAN Bo-yuanZHANG Jian-hua
