Related Experiment Video
Updated: Nov 1, 2025

A Telemetric, Gravimetric Platform for Real-Time Physiological Phenotyping of Plant–Environment Interactions
Published on: August 5, 2020
Deficit drip irrigation based on crop evapotranspiration and precipitation forecast improves water- use efficiency
Junsheng Lu1,2, Lihui Ma3, Tiantian Hu1,2
1Key Laboratory of Agricultural Soil and Water Engineering in Arid and Semiarid Areas of Ministry of Education, Northwest A&F University, Yangling, China.
Background:
Limited and erratic precipitation with inefficient irrigation scheduling often leads to an unstable crop yield and low water-use efficiency (WUE) in semi-arid and semi-humid regions. A 2-year field experiment was conducted to evaluate the effect of three irrigation strategies (conventional irrigation (CK), full-drip irrigation (FI), based on crop evapotranspiration and precipitation forecast, and deficit drip irrigation (DI) (75% FI)) on photosynthetic characteristics, leaf-to-air temperature difference (∆T), grain yield, and the WUE of summer maize.
Results:
The results showed that the daily average net photosynthetic rate (Pn) of DI and FI increased by 25.4% and 25.8% at jointing stage in 2018, and 26.3% and 26.5% at grain-filling stage in 2019 compared with CK, respectively. At jointing stage in 2018 and grain-filling stage in 2019, the transpiration rate (Tr) of DI was significantly lower than that of FI (P < 0.05) but there was insignificant difference in Pn value (P > 0.05). The ∆T between 12:00-14:00 of DI and FI was significantly lower than that of CK at jointing stage in 2018 and grain-filling stage in 2019 (P < 0.05). The 2-year average grain yields of DI and FI were 11.4 and 11.5 t ha-1 , which increased by 32.4% and 32.8% compared with CK, respectively. The WUE of DI was 2.82 kg m-3 , which was 17.9% and 33.8% higher than that of FI and CK, respectively.
Conclusion:
Deficit drip irrigation based on crop evapotranspiration and precipitation forecast improves crop WUE and maintains high grain yields in semi-arid and semi-humid regions. © 2021 Society of Chemical Industry.
More Related Videos
06:41Imaging and Analysis for Quantifying Maize (Zea mays) Abiotic Stress Phenotypes
Published on: March 28, 2025
12:11Measurement of Leaf Hydraulic Conductance and Stomatal Conductance and Their Responses to Irradiance and Dehydration Using the Evaporative Flux Method EFM
Published on: December 31, 2012
Related Concept Videos
Responses to Drought and Flooding
Adaptations that Reduce Water Loss
Regulation of Transpiration by Stomata
Design Example: Design of an Irrigation Channel
Regulation of Water Output
Light Acquisition