Effect of irrigation regime on grain yield,water productivity,and methane emissions in dry direct-seeded rice grown in raised beds with wheat straw incorporation

Dry direct-seeded rice grown in raised beds is becoming an important practice in the wheat–rice rotation system in China.However,little information has been available on the effect of various irrigation regimes on grain yield,water productivity(WP),nitrogen use efficiency(NUE),and greenhouse gas emission in this practice.This study investigated the question using two rice cultivars in 2015 and 2016 grown in soil with wheat straw incorporated into it.Rice seeds were directly seeded into raised beds,which were maintained under aerobic conditions during the early seedling period.Three irrigation regimes:continuous flooding(CF),alternate wetting and drying(AWD),and furrow irrigation(FI),were applied from 4.5-leaf-stage to maturity.Compared with CF,both AWD and FI significantly increased grain yield,WP,and internal NUE,with greater increases under the FI regime.The two cultivars showed the same tendency in both years.Both AWD and FI markedly increased soil redox potential,root and shoot biomass,root oxidation activity,leaf photosynthetic NUE,and harvest index and markedly decreased global warming potential,owing to substantial reduction in seasonalThe results demonstrate that adoption of either AWD or FI could increase grain yield and resource-use efficiency and reduce environmental risks in dry direct-seeded rice grown on raised beds with wheat straw incorporation in the wheat–rice rotation system.

Effects of zeolite application on grain yield,water use and nitrogen uptake of rice under alternate wetting and drying irrigation

With the increasing scarcity of water resources and growing population,the dual goal of saving irrigation water and increasing grain yield has become a major challenge in rice production around the world.A two-year lysimetric experiment was conducted to assess the effects of zeolite application(Z_(0):0 and Z1:15 t/hm^(2) and water regimes(W_(0):continuous flooding irrigation,W1:energy-controlled irrigation,W2:alternate wetting and drying irrigation)on grain yield,water use and total nitrogen uptake of rice.Zeolite addition to paddy field significantly increased grain yield,total N uptake,and water use efficiency(WUE),despite a negligible effect on amount of irrigation water used.Compared with W_(0),the separate use of W_(1) and W_(2) each considerably decreased irrigation water.However,W2-grown rice showed a significant decline in grain yield.In contrast,W1 showed comparable grain yield with W_(0),and achieved the highest WUE.Correlation analysis revealed that grain yield was significantly and positively correlated with effective panicles,spikelets per panicle,water consumption,and total N uptake.It is concluded that the combination of zeolite application at the rate of 15 t/hm^(2) and energy-controlled irrigation could be recommended to benefit farmers by reducing irrigation water while improving grain yield on a clay loam soil.