Stable isotope measurements show increases in corn water use efficiency under deficit irrigation

Deficit irrigation has usually improved crop water use efficiency (WUE), but there are still gaps in our understanding of the mechanisms. Four irrigation treatments were a conventional furrow irrigation (CFI), border irrigation (BI), alternate furrow irrigation (AFI), and an AFI_(M/2) (the amount of irrigation was 50% of the AFI). The volume of irrigation water applied were nearly the same for CFI, BI, and AFI. The isotope (δ¹⁸O and δD) method was used to quantify corn root water uptake (RWU) during 2013-2014. Compared to CFI and BI, corn yield and WUE were 17.0-30.2% and 13.3-33.8% higher in AFI, respectively. No significant yield reduction were observed between AFI and AFI_(M/2). Corn RWU was more from deeper soil with increasing growth stage for AFI_(M/2), AFI, and CFI, but from shallower depth for BI. The depth for RWU varied in the order of AFI_(M/2)  > AFI > CFI > BI. The maximum root density was in the depth of 40-80 cm at the growing stage in AFI, and 4-26% more water was extracted from the wetter and deeper root zones. The WUE increased under deficit irrigation, and stimulated the root growth with attendant decreases in water loss to deep percolation.