Effect of Limited Single Irrigation on Yield of Winter Wheat and Spring Maize Relay Intercropping

A field experiment was conducted during the 2002/2003 cropping season of winter wheat （Triticum aestivum） and spring maize （Zea mays） to evaluate the effect of limited single drip irrigation on the yield and water use of both crops under relay intercropping in a semi-arid area of northwestern China. A controlled 35 mm single irrigation, either early or late, was applied to each crop at a certain growth stage. Soil water, leaf area, final grain yield and yield components such as the thousand-grain weight, length of spike, fertile spikelet number, number of grains per spike, and grain weight per spike were measured, and water use efficiency and leaf area index were calculated for the irrigated and non-irrigated relay intercropping treatments and sole cropping controls. The results showed that yield, yield components, water use efficiency, and leaf area index in the relay intercropping treatments were affected by limited single drip irrigation during various growth stages of wheat and maize. The total yields in the relay intercropping treatment irrigated during the heading stage of wheat and the heading and anthesis stage of maize were the highest among all the treatments, followed by that irrigated during the anthesis stage of wheat and silking stage of maize; so was the water use efficiency. Significant differences occurred in most yield components between the irrigated and non-irrigated relay-intercropping treatments. The dynamics of the leaf area index in the relay-intercropped or solely cropped wheat and maize showed a type of single-peak pattern, whereas that of the relay intercropping treatments showed a type of double-peak pattern. Appropriately, limited single irrigation and controlled soil water content level could result in higher total yield, water use efficiency, and leaf area index, and improved yield components in relay intercropping. This practice saved the amount of water used for irrigation and also increased the yield. Therefore, heading stage of wheat and heading and anthesis stage of maize were suggested to be the optimum limited single irrigation time for relay-intercropped wheat and maize in the semi-arid area.

一个场地实验在收割冬小麦(Triticum aestivum ) 和春天玉米(Zea mays ) 的季节评估有限单身者的效果的 2002/2003 期间被进行在接力赛在西北的中国的一个半干旱的区域杂种下面在收益和两庄稼的水使用上滴灌溉。A 控制了 35 公里单身者灌溉，早或迟了，在某个生长阶段被用于每庄稼。土壤水，叶面积，最后的谷物收益和产量构成因素象千谷物的重量那样，一些尖铁，肥沃的小穗状花小穗数，每尖铁谷物数，并且粒重每尖铁被测量，并且水使用效率和叶面积指数被计算为灌溉并且非灌溉的接力赛杂种处理和唯一的收割控制。结果在杂种的继电器显示出那收益，产量构成因素，水使用效率，和叶面积指数处理被有限单身者影响在小麦和玉米的各种各样的生长阶段期间滴灌溉。处理在小麦和标题的出发阶段和玉米的开花期舞台期间灌溉了的在杂种的继电器的全部的收益在所有处理之中是最高的，由在小麦的开花期阶段和玉米的 silking 舞台期间灌溉了那列在后面；那么是水使用效率。重要差别发生在大多数产量构成因素在之间灌溉并且非灌溉的杂种继电器的处理。在杂种继电器或完全收割的小麦和玉米的叶面积指数的动力学显示出单个山峰的模式的一种类型，而杂种的继电器，处理显示出双山峰的一种类型模式。适当地，有限单个灌溉和控制土壤水分含量水平能导致更高全部的产量，水使用效率，和叶面积指数，并且在接力赛杂种改进产量构成因素。这个惯例节省了为灌溉使用并且也增加了收益的水的数量。因此，小麦和标题的标题舞台和玉米的开花期舞台被建议是最佳在半干旱的区域的杂种继电器的小麦和玉米的有限单个灌溉时间。